Posted on 10/16/2025 8:17:44 AM PDT by lowbridge
A German historian has utilized the omnipresent tech to glean the identity of a notorious Nazi executioner in a World War II photograph — over 80 years after it was taken.
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In the chilling photo, taken in today’s Ukraine, a bespectacled Nazi soldier aims a pistol at a man who’s kneeling before a mass grave as other SS troops look on.
Commonly known as the “Last Jew of Vinnitsa,” the pic remained a mystery for decades until Matthäus cracked the caper with the aid of AI, historical records and personal accounts.
According to the study published in the Journal of Historical Studies, the massacre took place July 28, 1941 in the citadel of Berdychiv and not Vinnitsa as previously thought. The regiment, Einsatzgruppe C, had reportedly been charged with eradication of “Jews and partisans” in the newly occupied Soviet region ahead of a visit by Adolf Hitler.
The gunman is believed to be Jakobus Onnen, a French, English and gym teacher who was born in 1906 in Tichelwarf, Germany, and joined the Nazi party in 1931.
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It’s not clear what prompted Onnen to radicalize, but he was reportedly a dedicated Nazi. In August 1939, just before the outbreak of war, he enlisted in the SS Death’s Head Unit at Dachau concentration camp and was working for the Nazi “Order Police” in occupied Poland by 1940, the Independent reported.
He then joined the Einsatzgruppe C — with whom he’d be snapped carrying out his horrific execution — in 1941, shortly after the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union. The unit reportedly eliminated all but 15 of the 20,000 Jews that were there upon their arrival.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Bkmk
Sadly, I bet some of our own teachers would pitch in to help.
Has AI solved the DB Cooper case yet?
I would have guessed his name was “Drumpf”. /s
“Matthäus happened upon this revelation in part due to a stroke of luck, when, after word of the massacre’s real whereabouts, date and unit circulated in German media last year, a reader came forward with some vital information.
Based on correspondence from the time in his family’s possession, he said that the shooter bore a striking resemblance to his wife’s uncle, Onnen, and provided the aforementioned biographical details.
The pics were then sent to open-source journalism group Bellingcat volunteers, who were able to forensically analyze it using AI.”
“Jakobus Onnen, a French, English and gym teacher “
Almost 100 years and the teachers (not all but certainly the union) still with the violent extremists and antisemitic.
While AI “hallucination” is definitely an issue, I’d think that whatever system the researcher set up was less apt to produce incorrect data, in this situation. They probably digitized tons of known ID pics they acquired (of nazis) and let the AI comb through them, comparing basic features. I would assume they then triple checked the results to make sure. But then again, it could be absolute bullshit too.
Has this been verified?
He sold his soul for a snappy Hugo Boss SS uniform.
'AI', as we are all discovering as we use it, is very prone to giving you the answer you are seeking. Without seeing the full spectrum of research and the methods used this is not verifiable at all. And if Gen AI was used at all to enhance the imagery or 'imagine' how the guy looked as SS...forget it. If they got this tip and then 'guided' AI into verifying the claim, this is suspect at best.
We should think long and hard before condemning a man and his family name for something he may not have been guilty of.
We just say ‘Bingo’.
“It’s not clear what prompted Onnen to radicalize,”
We have the same conundrum with democrats.
He is celebrated as a national hero in Gaza
“Omnipresent tech” says so.
Two points.
A guy turned in his speculations about his wife’s uncle. I am sure he will be popular at the next family reunion.
I thought you couldn’t join the SS (Waffen?) if you wore glasses. (Himmler aside).
“...with over 800,000 individuals, that we know of, who served in the SS, the odds of this being a 100% verifiable outcome are pretty low..”
Valid point. However, if they’ve accurately identified this as being an execution in Vinnitsa by that particular Einsatzkommando, then that narrows it down considerably. There were probably fewer than 1,000 Germans who served in that EK in 1941-2.
Really? Like millions of other Germans weren't radicalized??? WTFF??
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