12. Every year, Niklas Frank celebrates the fact his infamous Nazi father Hans Frank was executed for his crimes
Like many people, the German writer and journalist Niklas Frank carries around a family photo in his wallet. However, for Niklas, this is not some happy reminder of his loved ones. Rather, as he famously explained one time, he carries a picture of his father for a much darker reason. “I am pleased by what the picture show: He is dead.” In fact, Hans Frank has been dead for more than 70 years. As a convicted Nazi war criminal, he was hanged by the Allies in October 1946.
Niklas Frank has written extensively about his dark family connections. While some children of leading Nazis, including the most monstrous, struggled to reconcile their disgust with their happy family memories, Niklas has had no such problems. His childhood was a deeply unhappy one. Both his father and his mother were emotionally distant. Hans Frank worked as a lawyer for the Nazi regime and also their governor-general in occupied Poland. Under his watch, millions of Jews were murdered. His wife, Niklas’ mother, knew all about her husband’s crimes.
Far from trying to rehabilitate his father’s reputation, Niklas has nothing but contempt for his father – something he has written about numerous times as a journalist. He has come to conclude that his father was simply greedy, opportunistic and highly ambitious, and would have done anything to further his own goals. Indeed, though he had a hand in killing most of Poland’s Jewish population, Niklas believes his father would have killed anyone if Hitler had given him the order.
These days, Niklas Frank lives with his own family in northern Germany. Alongside his essays and books, he also regularly gives lectures and talks. He also takes care to celebrate the anniversary of his father’s death every year without fail.