Heinrich Boere is a former German Nazi hit man, former member of the Waffen-SS, and convicted war criminal. Boere was born on September 27, 1921, in Eschweiler, Germany to a German mother and a Dutch father. At the age of two, Boere’s parents moved the family to Maastricht, a capital city in the southern part of the Dutch province of Limburg. He remained in Maastricht throughout his formative years.http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-2684-Law-Enforcement-Examiner~y2009m11d28-Nazi-on-Trial-Im-very-proud-of-my-Waffen-SS-service

Several months after the Germans had occupied the Netherlands in 1940, 19-year-old Heinrich Boere volunteered for the Waffen-SS in September of that same year. The Waffen-SS, which is German for Armed-SS, was the combat arm of the ‘Schutzstaffel’ Protective Squadron, a part of the Nazi party. The Waffen-SS underwent a great deal of expansion during World War II, going from 3 regimens to over 38 divisions. In 1940, the same year Boere joined, Adolf Hitler had opened the membership in the Waffen-SS from only Aryans to foreign volunteers. http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-2684-Law-Enforcement-Examiner~y2009m11d28-Nazi-on-Trial-Im-very-proud-of-my-Waffen-SS-service

Boere left home to fight on the Eastern Front in 1941. After serving in the Caucasus, Boere was sent back home to Maastricht in December of 1942. He had contracted pyelonephritis, a urinary tract infection that has reached the pyelum of the kidney, and was sent home to receive treatment. http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/pyelonephritis/

Heinrich Boere returned to service with the Waffen-SS a short time later in 1943. During his service, he committed a number of confessed war crimes. Although undergoing trials during the late 20th century, Boere had escaped any punishment for his crimes committed during World War II. On March 23, 2010, Boere was convicted for his war crimes and received a sentence of life in prison.http://www.aolnews.com/world/article/former-nazi-hitman-heinrich-boere-convicted-of-dutch-murders/19410471

As a member of the Dutch squad of the Warren-SS volunteers, Heinrich Boere was charged with the task of eliminating members of the Dutch resistance and anti-German citizens.

Boere committed his first killing in July of 1944, after receiving orders to murder a pharmacist named Fritz Hubert Ernst Bicknese. Dressed as civilians, Boere and another member of his Warren-SS squad, entered Bicknese’s pharmacy. The two asked Bicknese his name, and upon him confirming his identity, Boere fired 3 shots into the pharmacist.http://www.aolnews.com/world/article/former-nazi-hitman-heinrich-boere-convicted-of-dutch-murders/19410471

Later, in September of 1944, Boere committed two more murders. First he shot and killed Teun de Groot, a bicycle shop owner, who was known for hiding fugitives in his shop and was an acquaintance of anti-Nazi activists. Next, Boere and another of his squad members, went to the home of F.W. Kusters, where they force Kusters into their car and drove him out of town. Under the false pretense of a flat tire, the two men stopped the vehicle and subsequently shot and killed Kusters. http://www.aolnews.com/world/article/former-nazi-hitman-heinrich-boere-convicted-of-dutch-murders/19410471

Heinrich Boere admitted to the three killings under interrogation at a prisoner of war camp, following World War II. After being released from the camp, Boere went into hiding in Germany, fearing repercussions for his war crimes.

Boere was sentenced to death in absentia for the three killings and serving in the armed forces of the enemy, but escaped the punishment by claiming German citizenship. Despite numerous attempts by Dutch officials, the German government refused to extradite Boere. http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2010/03/24/2010-03-24_delayed_but_not_denied.html

In 2007 a court in Aachen, Germany ruled that Boere could serve his sentence in Germany. However, this ruling was overturned by a Cologne court who charged the 1949 ruling as invalid on the basis that Boere was not present to defend himself at the trial.http://www.aolnews.com/world/article/former-nazi-hitman-heinrich-boere-convicted-of-dutch-murders/19410471

On October 28, 2009, the trial began against Heinrich Boere for his war crimes began, despite his appeals that he was medically unfit to stand trial. Boere’s only defense during the trial was that he would have faced execution had he disobeyed orders. On March 23, 2010 88-year old Heinrich Boere was sentenced to life in prison in Aachen, Germany. http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2010/03/24/2010-03-24_delayed_but_not_denied.html