[2] The young Hassebroek also attempted to enlist in the army but was rejected, due largely to the reduction in size ordered by the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, and as such he was apprenticed to a factory instead.
[3] During this time, he was a regular in the SA street fights against Communist Party supporters whilst also serving as a volunteer counsellor with the Hitler Youth.
[3] The party found him a job with the Saxon Fishermen's Association in 1934, although this ended when their offices moved to Berlin, leaving Hassebroek unemployed again.
[5] Hassebroek fell ill in the summer of 1942 before suffering a right leg wound, resulting in long spells in military hospitals in Riga, Munich and Berlin.
[7] By late 1944, Hassebroek, who had been promoted to Major (Sturmbannführer) in the interim, also had responsibility for thirteen sub-camps set up to deal with the severe overcrowding in Gross-Rosen.
[9] He was accused of being personally responsible for the killings of nine Jews and three other inmates at Gross-Rosen, in part because of evidence arising from the testimonies given by Oskar Schindler earlier in the decade.
[10] Up to his death in 1977, Hassebroek remained nostalgic for his SS days, commenting to Israeli historian Tom Segev that "our service was an overwhelming emotional experience of enormous strength.