AI identifies Nazi shooter in Holocaust photo
What's the story
A chilling photograph from the Holocaust, showing a bespectacled Nazi soldier pointing a gun at the head of a resigned man kneeling before a pit full of corpses, has been studied by US-based German historian Jurgen Matthaus. The image was long thought to be from Vinnytsia, Ukraine, and called "The Last Jew in Vinnitsa." But Matthaus believes it was actually taken on July 28, 1941, in Berdychiv, Ukraine.
Historical context
Who were the killers
The massacre was carried out by the SS (a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party), most likely in the early afternoon, in the citadel of Berdychiv on July 28. It was committed by Einsatzgruppe C, one of several mobile units sent to eliminate "Jews and partisans" in newly occupied Soviet territories. The unit had been active in Berdychiv days before Hitler's visit.
Technological assistance
High percentage match with Jakobus Onnen
Matthaus used artificial intelligence (AI) to help identify the shooter in the photo. The tech was provided by the open-source journalism group Bellingcat. The AI analysis showed a high percentage match with Jakobus Onnen, a French, English, and gym teacher born in 1906 in the German village of Tichelwarf, near the Dutch border. He had joined the Nazi Party before Hitler came to power.
Profile
Onnen's background and career
Onnen came from an educated family and enjoyed "traveling, studying languages" in his youth. He was never promoted beyond a relatively lowly rank and was killed in battle in August 1943. Matthaus said that "participating in a killing like that was taken for granted and didn't give you any kind of bonus points in these murder units."
Ongoing investigation
Ongoing search for the victim's identity
Matthaus, who was the head of research at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC, is now working to identify the victim in this photograph. He is collaborating with Ukrainian colleague Andrii Mahaletskyi using Soviet-era records of local communities. AI could also be useful in this search if similar images of the man in the suit can be found.