As an ethnic German born and living in Ukraine (at the time part of the Soviet Union) during World War II, he was conscripted at the age of 17 and served as an interpreter for the Sonderkommando 10a (Sk 10a) which was part of Einsatzgruppe D when it entered Soviet Ukraine in 1941.
A young ethnic German living in Ukraine (which was part of the Soviet Union) during World War II was drafted at 17 and worked as an interpreter for Sonderkommando 10a, a subgroup of Einsatzgruppe D that entered Soviet Ukraine in 1941.