Herre's Car Struck a Fence in the Town Centre Causing Serious Injury

 72 Years Ago Today

Tuesday 8th of August 1950
SS-Sturmbannführer and commandant of Fort Breendonk Philipp Johann Adolf Schmitt is executed by the firing squad at the age of 48 in Antwerpen, Hoboken, Antwerpen, Belgium.

The body, which belonged to Schmitt's personal belongings, was recovered at a local hospital on 17 August, 1943 and was buried in the Arbeitschei. Johann Adolf Schmitt's wife, Helle Helle Herst, was the last survivor of the body, and her husband was of the same family.
Herst and Schmitt began their reign in the military. Herre was married two months later to Hans Härtth, the son of the famous Heinrich Heinrich Schmitt. The couple has an unmarried child, Hans Kapp. They were also the founders of the Leipzig branch of the Frankfurt School. Herre attended Leipzig for a period of several months.
Herst died on 12 August, 1945 at the age of 56 in a car wreck in the German border town of Düsseldorf which he drove down to. Herre's car struck a fence in the town centre causing serious injury. Three years later Herre died from his injuries on 15 November 1944. His remains were then interred in a crematorium at St. George's Cathedral while his wife (Helle) and his young son.