SOME NOTEWORTHY WAR CRIMINALS

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VII. 
COMMANDANTS OF CONCENTRATION 
CAMPS ; AND CONCENTRATION CAMP TRIALS

ALMEIER:

Former deputy commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp. Tried, with other members of the Auschwitz camp staff, by the Polish Supreme Court at Cracow, in November, 1947, and sentenced to death. Executed 28.1.48.

Johannes BALZER:

Deputy commandant of prisoner of war camp at Allendorf. Sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment by a Yugoslav court at Belgrade, I .4.47.

Hans BIEBOW:

Former commandant of the Lodz Ghetto. Sentenced to death by a Polish court at Lodz on 24.4.74 and hanged.

Colonel Ernst BLUMMEL:

Ex-commandant of Osnabrück camp. Tried and sentenced to death by a Yugoslav court at Belgrade on 5.11.46.

Anton BRUNNER:

Former commandant of Drancy concentration camp for Jews in France. Tried by an Austrian court at Vienna for deporting Jews to the death camps for extermination. Sentenced to death 115.46; hanged 24.5.46.

Karl BUCK (SS), Haupstrumfiihrer:

In charge of the concentration camp at Schiermeck in Alsace, and Lagerkommandant of Gaggenau camp. Tried by a British military court at Wuppertal in May, 1946, as concerned in the killing of British and French prisoners of war. Sentenced to death by shooting 10.5.46. (Sentence confirmed 4.7.46.) Handed over to the French 3.8.46.

Waldemar DEHM:

Ex-commandant of the Ravensbruck camp. Tried and sentenced to death by a Yugoslav court at Belgrade on 5.11.46.

Heinz DETMERS:

Deputy commandant of Dachau camp. Sentenced to be hanged by an American Military Tribunal 18.1.47.

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Friedrich EBSEN:

Commandant of Schandelah labour camp. Sentenced to death by a British war crimes court in Germany, 3.2.47.

Colonel Friedrich EVCKE:

Ex-commandant of Osnabrück camp. Tried and sentenced to death by a Yugoslav court at Belgrade on 5.11.46.

Willy FRIEDRICH:

Gestapo official; ex-commandant of the Banjica concentration camp near Belgrade. Tried by a Yugoslav military court at Belgrade on 27.3.47 and sentenced to death.

Karl GALLASCH:

Former commandant of Gross Rosen concentration camp. Sentenced to death by a Polish court; hanged himself in his cell at Wroclaw 22.5.47.

Heinrich GERICKE:

Official in charge of Velpke baby farm. Sentenced to death by a British war crimes court in Germany, 20.3.46.

Richard GLUECKS:

Lieut.-General of Waffen SS. Inspector General of all concentration camps. Chief of Amtsgruppe D in the WHVA. Committed suicide after the capitulation to avoid trial.

Aman GOETH:

Ex-commandant of the Cracow Ghetto and Tarnow camp. Tried by the Polish Supreme Court, and sentenced to death 5.9.46. Executed.

Max GRABNER:

Former political officer at the Auschwitz concentration camp. Tried with other members of the Auschwitz camp staff by the Polish Supreme Court at Cracow in November, 1947, and sentenced to death.

Rudolf GUENTHER:

Second camp commandant of Banterweg camp. Sentenced to 15 years imprisonment by a British war crimes court in Germany, 6.3.47.

Otto HARDER:

Lager fiihrer of the Aussenkommando Hanover-Ahlen camp. Sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment by a British war crimes court in Germany, 65.47.

Fritz HARTJENSTEIN (SS):

Ex-commandant of Natzweiler concentration camp. Tried by a British court at Wuppertal and sentenced to death 5.6.46. Was handed over to the French after sentence for eventual trial.

Karl HESSE:

Ex-commandant of Korgen concentration camp in Norway, where Yugoslav citizens were interned. Tried and sentenced to death by a Yugoslav court at Belgrade 23.10.46.

Rudolf Hoess:

Former commandant of Auschwitz; guilty of the systematised killing of millions of internees. Sentenced to death by the Polish Supreme Court on 2.4.47; hanged at Auschwitz on 16.4.47.

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HOFFMAN;

Supervisor of the crematorium at the death camp of Maidanek. Tried by a Polish special criminal court at Lublin, 13-14th November, 1945, for mass murder of camp inmates at Maidanek; sentenced to death 23.12.45.

Paul HOSSLER:

Former commandant at Auschwitz. Subsequently at Belsen. Tried at Luneburg by a British war crimes court, and sentenced to death. Hanged 13.12.45.

Heinrich JOECKL:

Ex-commandant of Terezin concentration camp. Sentenced to death by a Czechoslovak court; hanged in Litmerice prison on 25.10.46.

KAINDL:

Ex-commandant of Sachsenhausen concentration camp; handed over by the British to the U.S.S.R. war crimes authorities for trial in July, 1946. Tried by a Russian court 1.11.47 and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Walter KEUS:

SS Leader. Ex-official of Neuengamme concentration camp. Sentenced to death by a British military court at Hamburg on 3.2.47. Executed 26.6.47.

Fritz KIEFER:

Ex-commandant of internment camp for Yugoslav prisoners at Rognan in Norway. Tried by a Yugoslav military court at Belgrade on 27.3.47, and sentenced to death.

Josef KISCH:

SS. Gruppenführer. Former official of Mauthausen camp. Sentenced to death 15.9.47 by a U.S. war crimes court at Dachau for murders of Allied paratroops.

Kurt KLEBECK:

District chief of camps in Hanover area. Sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment by a British war crimes court in Germany, 6.5.47.

Wilhelm KLIEM:

Commandant of Neugraben and Tiefstak camps. Sentenced to 15 years imprisonment by a British war crimes court at Hamburg, 3.7.46.

Max KOEGL:

Lieutenant-Colonel Waffen SS. Adjutant of Dachau concentration camp. Hanged himself while in custody awaiting trial 26.6.46.

Josef KRAMER:

Ex-commandant of Belsen and Natzweiler concentration camps. Tried by a British court at Luneburg on 17.11.45, and sentenced to death. Hanged on 13.12.45.

Arthur LIEBEHENSCHEL:

Former SS Commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp. Tried, with other members of the Auschwitz camp staff, by the Polish Supreme Court at Cracow in November, 1947, and sentenced to death. Executed 28.1.48.

LUETKE-MEYER:

SS Leader. Ex-official of Neuengamme concentration camp. Sentenced to death by a British military court at Hamburg on 3.2.47. Executed 26.6.47.

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LORITZ:

Ex-commandant of Sachsenhausen concentration camp; charged as a war criminal. Committed suicide after arrest (February, 1946).

Kurt MATHESIUS:

Former commandant of Nordhausen. Hanged himself while awaiting trial by a U.S. court at Dachau, May, 1947.

Theodore MEYER:

Commandant of Stutthof camp. Tried by a Polish court on 10th October, 1947, and sentenced to death.

Hans MOESER:

Former commandant of Nordhausen concentration camp. Tried by a U.S. court at Dachau on 30th December, 1947, and sentenced to death.

Max PAULY:

Ex-commandant of Neuengamme. Tried at Hamburg by a British court, and sentenced to death, together with 11 of his staff, on 3.5.46; hanged on 8.10.46.

Alex. PIOKOWSKI:

Ex-commandant of Dachau camp. Sentenced to be hanged by an American military tribunal 18.1.47.

Karl RAHM:

Ex-SS commandant of Terezin concentration camp. Sentenced to death by a Czechoslovak court on 30.4.47.

Alfred ROSENTHAL:

Ex-commandant of a concentration camp in the Ukraine. Sentenced to death by a Yugoslav court in Subotica about 23.11.47.

Wilhelm SCHMIDT:

Deputy-commandant of Terezin concentration camp. Sentenced to death by a Czechoslovak court on 12.11.46; hanged the same day.

Heinrich SCHULTE:

Ex-commandant of the concentration camp at Korgen, Norway, where Yugoslav citizens were confined. Sentenced to death by a Yugoslav court at Belgrade 25.10.46, for murders of internees.

Johann SCHWARTZHUBER:

Deputy-commandant of Ravensbrück Women’s camp. Sentenced to death by a British court at Hamburg on 3.7.47, and hanged 3.5.47. (Note: SUHREN, ex-commandant of the camp, escaped before the trial, and has not been recaptured.)

Siegfried SEIDL:

Ex-commandant of Theresienstadt (Terezin) concentration camp. Sentenced to death by an Austrian court 4.10.46 under the Austrian war criminals legislation.

Kurt SIEBER:

Colonel. Ex-commandant of a camp at Strasbourg. Tried and sentenced to death by a Yugoslav court at Belgrade on 5.11.46.

Johannes STEENBOCK:

Commandant of Draegerwerke Wandsbek camp. Sentenced to 20 years imprisonment by a British war crimes court in Germany, 13.6.47.

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Willi TESSMANN:

Ex-Governor of Ftihlsbüttel prison. Tried by a British war crimes court at Hamburg for ill-treatment of Allied prisoners. Sentenced to death by hanging 25.9.47.

Otto THUEMEL:

Senior camp commandant at Banterweg camp. Sentenced to 5 years imprisonment by a British war crimes court in Germany, 6.3.47.

Herman VOGEL:

Leading official of the Maidanek camp. Tried by Polish Special Criminal Court in Lublin. Sentenced to he hanged 2.12.44.

Johannes WALTZER:

Ex-commandant of camp for Yugoslav prisoners of war at Allendorf. Tried by a Yugoslav military court at Belgrade on 27.3.47 and sentenced to death.

Jacob WINKLER:

Comandant of Loibl Pass, sub-camp of Mauthausen. Sentenced to death by a British war crimes court at Klagenfurth, Austria. 10.10.47.

Karl WINKLER:

Ex-commandant of Lahde-Weser labour camp. Sentenced to death by a British military court at Wuppertal 14.2.47 for murders of Allied prisoners of war. Sentence commuted to 20 years’ imprisonment in October, 1947.

Gottfried WEISS:

Ex-commandant of Dachau concentration camp. Tried by a US. Military Government court at Dachau. Sentenced to death 13.12.45; hanged 29.5.46.

ZIEREIS:

Commandant of Mauthausen concentration camp. Died, after capture, of wounds received while trying to escape, April, 1945.

Viktor ZOLLER:

Ex-commander of the guards at Mauthausen concentration camp. Sentenced to death by a U.S. military court at Dachau in April, 1946; hanged 21.5.47.

CONCENTRATION CAMP TRIALS

The reports show that very large numbers of the officials and guards of the Concentration Camps were guilty of atrocities. Exemplary trials for groups of as many as sixty persons accused of the worst crimes were held in regard to most of the main concentration camps in Germany.

Auschwitz Concentration Camp Trial

This trial, held at Cracow, ended on 22nd December, 1947, when the 23 defendants, including LIEBEHENSCHEL, ex-commandant, and Maria MANDL, head of the women’s camp, were sentenced to death. They were hanged on 28th January, 1948.

Beendorf Concentration Camp Trial

A group of officials of this camp were tried by a British war crimes court at Hamburg. 1 was sentenced to death and 2 to imprisonment on 13.8.46.

Belsen Concentration Camp

The commandant, Josef KRAMER, and 44 others were tried by a British war crimes court at Luneburg, 17.9.45-17.11.45; 30 of the accused were found guilty; of these, 11 were sentenced to death and hanged; 19 to various terms of imprisonment. The death sentences were carried out on 13.12.47.

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A second group of officials of the Belsen camp were tried by a British court at Celle, 16-30 May, 1946; three defendants were sentenced to be hanged and five to imprisonment.

Buchenwald Camp Trial

In this trial, before a United States military tribunal at Dachau, April, August, 1947, 31 members of the staff of the Buchenwald camp were found guilty of atrocities and 22 were sentenced to death; the rest to imprisonment.

Dachau Camp Trials

Forty officials were tried by a U.S. military court at Dachau; 36 of the defendants were sentenced to death (13.12.45), of whom 23 were hanged on 28-29.5.46, including the commandant (WEISS) and the camp doctor (SCHILLING).

Smaller groups of Dachau camp officials and guards were included in several subsequent trials by the U.S. court at Dachau. On 21 .I 1.46 it was announced that, up to that date, 116 defendants of this category had been convicted and sentenced to terms of imprisonment.

Dora-Nordhausen Camp Trial

Twenty-two ex-officials of this camp were placed on trial before a U.S. war crimes court at Dachau on 3 1.7.47.

Flossenburg Camp Trial

Fifty-two officials and guards of this camp were tried by a U.S. military court at Dachau 12.6.46-19.1.47. Forty of the defendants were found guilty; 15 of these were sentenced to be hanged, and 25 to terms of imprisonment.

The Fuhlsbuettel Prison

Two groups of officials of this prison were tried by a British war crimes court in Germany in September and November, 1947. 3 were sentenced to death and 14 to imprisonment.

Gaggenhau Camp

11 officials of this camp were tried at Wuppertal by a British war crimes court, for murders of prisoners of war. 5 were sentenced to death and 5 to imprisonment.

Hamburg-Sasel Camp

A group of 22 officials were tried by a British war crimes court at Hamburg. 17 were sentenced to varying terms of imprisonment.

Kiel-Hasse Internment Camp

A group of 9 officials of this camp were tried by a British war crimes court in Germany. 2 were sentenced to death and 6 to imprisonment.

Lahde-Weser Concentration Camp

A group of the camp staff were tried by a British war crimes court at Wuppertal on 14.2.47. 4 were sentenced to terms of imprisonment. One other official was sentenced to death on 16.12.47.

Loibl Pass Concentration Camp

A group of the staff of this camp were tried by a British war crimes court at Klagenfurth, Austria. 2 were sentenced to death and 8 to imprisonment on 10.10.47.

Maidanek Concentration Camp (Poland)

A group of six officials of the Maidanek concentration camp were arraigned before a Polish Special Criminal Court in Lublin, 27.11.44-2.12.44. All were found guilty and sentenced to death. They were hanged on 3.12.44.

Mauthausen Camp Trial

Sixty-one officials of this camp were tried by a U.S. military court at Dachau in March/April, 1946; 58 defendants were sentenced to death (11.5.46) and were executed, including the commandant of the Todtenkopf guard.

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Muehldorf Concentration Camp Trial

5 officials of this camp were sentenced to death by a U.S. war crimes court at Dachau on 135.47 and 7 others to imprisonment.

Natzweiler Concentration Camp

A group of officials of this camp were tried by a French military court at Rastatt in January, 1947. Twenty-one of the defendants were sentenced to death 3.2.47.

Neuebrenne Concentration Camp

Thirty-three officials of this camp were tried by a French military court at Rastatt on 6.6.46; 15 defendants were sentenced to death and executed; 20 to terms of imprisonment.

Neugraben-Tiefstack Camp

14 officials of this camp were tried by a British war crimes court at Hamburg; 10 of them were sentenced to varying terms of imprisonment.

Neuengamme Camp Trial

The commandant, PAULY, and 13 other members of the camp staff were tried by a British war crimes court at Hamburg, 18.3.46-13.5.46; eleven defendants, including the commandant, were sentenced to death by hanging; the remainder to various terms of imprisonment. A second group of officials of this camp were tried in July, 1946, and sentenced, 1 to death and 5 to imprisonment; a third group of 3 were sentenced in August, 1946, 2 to death and 1 to imprisonment.

Ravensbrück Women’s Camp Trial

Sixteen members of the staff of this camp were tried by a mixed inter-allied court in the British zone. All were found guilty, 3.2.47, except one, who died during the trial. Eleven were sentenced to death by hanging and the remainder to imprisonment.

Sachsenhausen (Oranienburg) Concentration Camp Trial

The trial of the commandant (KAINDL) and a number of officials and guards of this camp was prepared in the British zone, but was handed over, by agreement, together with the defendants, to the U.S.S.R. war crimes authorities in June, 1946. 15 defendants were tried by a Russian court in November, 1947, and sentenced to 25 years’ hard labour.

Schandelah Concentration Camp

A group of the camp staff were tried by a British war crimes court in Germany, on 3.2.47. 2 were sentenced to death and 5 to imprisonment.

Stocken-Ahlen Concentration Camp

2 officials of this camp were tried by a British war crimes court at Brunswick; 1 was sentenced to death and the other to life imprisonment, 25.6.46.

Struthof-Natzweiler Camp

A first group of officials were tried by a British war crimes court at Wuppertal. 1 was sentenced to death and 5 to varying terms of imprisonment. A second group were tried, on other counts, immediately after; 3 of the accused, including the commandant, were sentenced to death and 1 to imprisonment.

Stutthof Concentration Camp Trial

A group of officials and guards of this camp were tried by a Polish court in May-June, 1946. Eleven of the defendants were found guilty and sentenced to death in May, 1946.

Velke “ Baby Farm ” [This should be Velpke-editor] Officials of this institution were tried by a British war crimes court in Germany, March-April, 1946. 2 were condemned to death and 2 to imprisonment.

Wolfsberg-Ruehen “ Baby Farm ” Ten officials of this institution were tried by a British war crimes court at Helmstedt. 1 was sentenced to death and 2 to imprisonment on 24.6.46.