US Army

Military Governor of Fürstenfeldbruck - 1946

Capt. John J. McBride, Third Army, became the Military Governor of Fürstenfeldbruck county in 1945, heading up Detachment H-286. His staff consisted of four officers and seven enlisted men, governing 57,825 civilians. He was a former cop in Philadelphia. Capt. McBride held twice-weekly trials of those accused of disobeying the posted laws. The Summary Court Officer was Lt. Henry Klein, the Prosecutor was Pfc. Fred Schmidt. Two civilian women (an interpreter and a recorder) completed the panel. Each defendant was entitled to a lawyer, drawn from an approved list. Crowded into the courtroom usually were the friends of the accused, as well as "just curious" spectators. One man attended all hearings only as a spectator. The most common infractions were curfew violatins (usually six or eight cases) or illegal weapons charges. The Americans spoke only English, the Germans only Bavarian dialect, so everything went through the interpreter. The recorder did not have an easy job. During one hearing,two men were charged with falsifying their "Fragebogen" denazification questionnaires. After a brief interrogation,their cases were postponed a few days so they could get lawyers. (At that rate, McBride would have needed many years to process the tens of thousands of German-language questionnaires in Fürstenfeldbruck, which is why that process was turned over to German tribunals.) McBride was merciless in seeking out illegal firearms, which generally brought a one-year prison sentence. He was also vigorous in prosecuting,the law forbidding possession of American goods, such as cigareetes (a common medium of barter on the black market), which could result in a year behind bars. A woman who accepted meat from a slaughtered deer was given a three-month sentence. The harsh sentncing was in keeping with the JCS 1068 mandates for Military Government in the American Military Occupation Zone, influenced by the input of U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau. The mandates were rescinded in 1947.