The British government sought to prosecute Werner at the Leipzig war crimes trials, but he fled to Brazil, where he was reported to have worked as an architect and a coffee planter.
Werner rose to the rank of SS-Brigadeführer (equivalent to brigadier general) and during the Second World War served on the personal staff of Heinrich Himmler.
[2] On 31 July 1917, in a later cruise, U-55 sank Belgian Prince; her crew were taken onto the deck of the submarine, where Werner ordered them to take off their life jackets and overcoats, and scuttled the lifeboats with axes.
[5] For his actions in the war Werner was awarded the House Order of Hohenzollern, the Iron Cross first and second class and, on 18 August 1918, the Pour le Mérite.
[8] Werner returned to Germany in 1924, and the Reich Court at Leipzig dismissed the charges against him in 1926, as was the German government's practice for outstanding war crimes cases.
[1] By 1936 he had reached the rank of SS-Brigadeführer (equivalent to brigadier general) and during the Second World War served on Heinrich Himmler's personal staff.