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Fritz Hartmann grew up in normal family circumstances. In 1934, after completing his studies, he was accepted into the SS and worked for the Gestapo in Berlin. He had joined the NSDAP one year earlier. Fritz Hartmann worked his way up: on 8 March 1941, he was appointed head of the Gestapo in Trier and Luxembourg. From then on he spent most of his time in Luxembourg. He was regarded as aloof and coarse, and he was one of the main perpetrators of the persecution of Jews in Luxembourg. He made the situation of the Jews even worse by issuing additional decrees. Starting in August 1941, he had an empty convent in Fünfbrunnen converted into a “Jewish old people’s home”. Over 300 Jews were imprisoned there until 1943. Hartmann inspected the place regularly, made life for the inmates even more difficult, harassed them and stole from them. From October 1941, Jews in Luxembourg were deported to the ghettos and extermination camps of eastern Europe. Fritz Hartmann often personally supervised the process. He also took harsh action against resistance fighters. When a “general strike” broke out in Luxembourg in August/September 1942, he had it brutally suppressed. A state of emergency was imposed on Luxembourg and courts-martial were held, presided by Hartmann. Strike participants were arbitrarily charged, with no lawyer allowed to defend them. Hartmann intimidated the defendants, insulted them and gave them no opportunity to defend themselves. The court-martial sentenced 20 Luxembourgers to death and resettled their families in Poland or in what is now the Czech Republic.