Emanuel Schäfer

Emanuel Schäfer (April 20, 1900 – December 4, 1974) was a high-ranking SS functionary (SS-Oberführer) and a protégé of Reinhard Heydrich in Nazi Germany.

Born in 1900, Schäfer served in World War I. Post-war, he participated in far-right Freikorps groups such as the Marinebrigade Ehrhardt and from 1925–28, the Stahlhelm (Steel Helmet).

Schäfer joined the paramilitary Sturmabteilung (SA) in 1933. He was an active member of the Sicherheitsdienst (SD), the SS security service, in 1933, and entered the SS in September 1936.

During World War II, Schäfer was head of the Nazi security police in Serbia. Between January and May 1942, Schäfer supervised the murder by gassing of around 7,300 Jews from the Semlin camp across the Sava river from Belgrade. A Saurer gas van was used to kill the 7,300. A further 1200 Jews died as a result of the camp's harsh conditions, or from executions. The van was used for the last time on 10th May 1942. In May 1942, Schäfer sent a cable to the Reich Main Security Office boasting "with pride" that "Belgrade was the only great city in Europe that was free of Jews."

In Germany after the war, Schäfer was sentenced to six and a half years in prison for his crimes during the war. He died in 1974.