Willy Lages

Willy Paul Franz Lages (October 5 1901 - February 2 1971) was the German chief of the Sicherheitsdienst in Amsterdam during the Second World War. From March 1941 he led the so-called Zentralstelle für jüdische Auswanderung (Central Bureau for the Jewish Emigration). As such he was responsible for the deportation of Dutch Jews to the concentration camps in Germany and Poland.

Lages was sentenced to life in prison in the Netherlands. He was imprisoned in Breda, along with Joseph Kotälla, Ferdinand aus der Fünten and Franz Fischer (members of the "Vier van Breda"/"The Breda Four" group). In 1966 he was released from prison for humanitarian reasons as he was seriously ill. The decision taken by the minister of justice Ivo Samkalden provoked a public outcry. Lages received medical treatment in Germany after which he lived for another five years.