Ernst Kaltenbrunner
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ernst Kaltenbrunner (October 4, 1903 – October 16, 1946) was a senior Nazi official during World War II. He was executed for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
Born in Ried im Innkreis, Austria, Kaltenbrunner was the son of a lawyer, and was educated at the State Realgymnasium in Linz and Graz University. He obtained a law degree in 1926. He worked as a lawyer briefly in Linz and Salzburg and from 1928 in Linz. He was a huge man, standing just over 6'6 (201 cm) tall. He had deep scars on his face from dueling in his student days.[1] However, according to some sources, these "duelling scars" were actually acquired in an alcohol-linked driving accident. [2]
Kaltenbrunner joined the Nazi Party and the SS in Austria in 1932. He was the Gauredner (district speaker) and Rechtsberater (legal consultant) of the SS division VIII. In January 1934 Kaltenbrunner was briefly jailed by the Engelbert Dollfuss government with other National Socialists at the Kaisersteinbruch concentration camp. In 1934 he was jailed again on suspicion of High Treason in the assassination of Dollfuss. This accusation was dropped, but he was sentenced to six months for conspiracy. Also that year Kaltenbrunner married Elisabeth Eder; they had a son, Werner.
[edit] Kaltenbrunner rises to a major Nazi figure
From mid-1935 Kaltenbrunner was the leader of the Austrian SS. He assisted in the Anschluss and Hitler promoted him to SS Brigadeführer on the day the Anschluss was completed. On September 11, 1938 he was promoted to the rank of SS Gruppenführer (see Video of Kaltenbrunner in Vienna January 1939). He was also a member of the Reichstag from 1938. In April 1941 was promoted to Major General of the Police. On January 30, 1943 Kaltenbrunner was appointed Chief of the RSHA, comprising both the Security Police (Sicherheitspolizei, or Sipo) and the SD, replacing Reinhard Heydrich, who had been assassinated in June 1942. Kaltenbrunner held this position until the end of the war.
Toward the end of the war, Kaltenbrunner's power increased greatly, especially after the attack on Hitler of July 20, 1944, upon which he gained direct access to the Fuhrer. It was said that even Heinrich Himmler feared him, and it was rumoured that he was responsible for Adolf Eichmann's failure to attain the rank of SS-Colonel.
Following Himmler's appointment as Minister of the Interior in August 1943, Kaltenbrunner sent him a letter wherein he argued that Himmler's new powers must be used to reverse the party cadre organisation's annexation of the civil service and the government apparatus. However he soon changed course and assiduously courted Martin Bormann much to Himmler's resentment. His closeness to Bormann further strengthened his position vis-a-vis Himmler and indeed the rest of the SS.
On December 9, 1944 he was awarded the Knight's Cross. By then his full title was SS Obergruppenführer and General of the Police Dr. Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Chief of the Security Police and the SD. In addition he held the Golden Insignia of Honor and the Blutorden.
[edit] Nuremberg Trials
At the Nuremberg Trials he was charged with conspiracy to commit crimes against peace, war-crimes and crimes against humanity. The most notable witness in this trial was Rudolf Hoess, the camp commander of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
His close control over the RSHA meant that direct knowledge of and responsibility for the following crimes was ascribed to him:
- Mass murders of civilians of occupied countries by Einsatzgruppen.
- Screening of prisoner of war camps and executing racial and political undesirables.
- The taking of recaptured prisoners of war to concentration camps, where in some cases they were executed.
- Establishing concentration camps and committing racial and political undesirables to concentration and annihilation camps for slave labor and mass murder.
- Deportation of citizens of occupied countries for forced labor and disciplining of forced labor.
- The execution of captured commandos and paratroopers and protection of civilians who lynched Allied fliers.
- The taking of civilians of occupied countries to Germany for secret trial and punishment.
- Punishment of citizens of occupied territories under special criminal procedure and by summary methods.
- The execution and confinement of people in concentration camps for crimes allegedly committed by their relatives.
- Seizure and spoliation of public and private property.
- Murder of prisoners in SIPO and SD prisons.
- Persecution of Jews.
- Persecution of the churches.
During the trial his lawyer attempted to bring out the worst in direct examination but only served to make things worse for him. He told his guards to relay to the prosecution that thanks were in order "for bringing him such a stupid attorney." He also denied his signed name so many times that his own attorneys referred to him as (Der Mann ohne Unterschrift) "the man without a signature."
He was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity and sentenced to death. He was executed by hanging at around 1.40 a.m. on October 16, 1946; his last words were:
| “ | I have loved my German people and my fatherland with a warm heart. I have done my duty by the laws of my people and I am sorry this time my people were led by men who were not soldiers and that crimes were committed of which I had no knowledge. Germany, good luck. | ” |
[edit] Personal Life
In 1934 Kaltenbrunner married Elisabeth Eder (b. 1908) and they had three children. In addition, he had twins (b. 1945) with his long-time mistress Gisela Gräfin von Westarp (née Wolf). All of his children survived the war.
[edit] Miscellaneous
- In the twelve episode Russian television series, Seventeen Moments of Spring, Ernst Kaltenbrunner plays an important role and he is portrayed by Mikhail Zharkovsky.
- In the book Colonization: Down to Earth Harry Turtledove creates an alternative history where Kaltenbrunner is the successor of Himmler as the third Fuhrer and Reich Chancellor of the Greater German Reich and triggers a war between Nazi Germany and aliens, a war that results in the destruction of the Reich.
- He is represented in the landmark NBC docu-drama mini-series, Holocaust.
- A character in the movie The Return of the Living Dead is named "Ernie Kaltenbrunner".
[edit] Notes
[edit] External links
- Video of a Parade with Kaltenbrunner in January 1939
- Testimony of Rudolf Hoess in the Nuremberg Trial
