. NMT05-T1019
Volume V · Page 1019
| During the time that he was
engaged in his studies of architecture, a certain amount of his time was
consumed with construction jobs of the Reich Railway Inspectorate, as well as
taking study trips to Italy, France, Holland, and Belgium. In the year 1914 he
completed his studies in architecture, was graduated, and soon thereafter
became city architect for the city of Aachen. During World War I, the defendant Kiefer was drafted into military service and served for the entire period of the war, being discharged with the rank of lieutenant in the reserve. After the First World War the defendant pursued his career as an architect working for the government and later as a private architect, specializing in city planning and housing projects. In 1936 he accepted a position with the Reich Air Ministry as building councilor in the department of dwellings and settlements. In this position his immediate superior was Kammler, who was later chief of Amtsgruppe C of the WVHA. The defendant joined the Allgemaine SS in July 1935 and the NSDAP in May 1937. When he was called up for military service in August 1941, Kammler intervened in his behalf and was successful in having him assigned to the Waffen SS. Later he was assigned to the building section of the Budget and Buildings Office of the WVHA. In February 1942, he was appointed chief of Office C II of the WVHA and remained as the chief of this office until the close of the War. In order to properly carry out and maintain the various functions of the WVHA, specialists were required for every field. The defendant Kiefer was a specialist in architecture and his services were in great demand by the WVHA. With his great experience covering a long period of time as a master planner and architect, the Tribunal can easily understand why the defendant Pohl, as chief of the WVHA, appointed him chief of Amt C II, and assigned to him duties which included the planning, maintenance, and construction of concentration camps in the Reich and in occupied territories. Amtsgruppe C was the supreme building office of the Waffen SS, and office C II was concerned primarily with special construction tasks. The defendant, as chief of office C II, was also head of the main department in charge of general affairs of the Building Inspectorate. Subordinate offices to office C II, which were also subordinate to the defendant Kiefer, were as follows: |
C II/1 — food and clothing installations. |
