Erwin Dold
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Erwin Dold (16 November 1919, in
Wagensteig Buchenbach is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the south west of the Black Forest in Germany. It is located in the district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald in Baden-Württemberg. It is made up of four communities, the main town of Buchen ...
,
Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...
– 11 September 2012, in Buchenbach,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
) was a fighter pilot in the
Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
, then sergeant-major in the Luftwaffe ground staff,
Commandant Commandant ( or ; ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ...
of the
Dautmergen Dautmergen is a municipality in the Zollernalbkreis district of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. History Dautmergen was a possession of the County of Hohenberg until 1381, when it became part of the Duchy of Austria's territory in Swabia. The town ...
Concentration Camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...
, and director of the lumber company Dold Holzwerke in Buchenbach.


Early life

Dold was born in
Wagensteig Buchenbach is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the south west of the Black Forest in Germany. It is located in the district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald in Baden-Württemberg. It is made up of four communities, the main town of Buchen ...
in the
Black Forest The Black Forest ( ) is a large forested mountain range in the States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is th ...
region of
southern Germany Southern Germany (, ) is a region of Germany that includes the areas in which Upper German dialects are spoken, which includes the stem duchies of Bavaria and Swabia in present-day Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, and the southern portion of Hesse ...
in 1919, and was connected to his family's lumber mill from his earliest years.Obituary "Ein Leben für die Gemeinschaft" in Badische Zeitung retrieved 2015.05.07
/ref> The outbreak of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
prevented him from officially joining the company, and he instead was trained as a fighter pilot in the
German air force The German Air Force (, ) is the aerial warfare branch of the , the armed forces of Germany. The German Air Force (as part of the ) was founded in 1956 during the era of the Cold War as the aerial warfare branch of the armed forces of West Ger ...
, seeing action in
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
,
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
, and the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
, before being shot down over
Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...
. He was seriously wounded and transferred to the ground staff in
Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...
after his recovery. Dold was sent as to the
concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...
Haslach im Kinzigtal Haslach im Kinzigtal (, ; ) is a small city in the Black Forest in the district Ortenaukreis, Baden-Württemberg in south-western Germany. In 2015, it comprised a population of 6,893 inhabitants. Haslach is a member of the " Deutsche Fachwerkstr ...
to serve as commander. After its closure in autumn of 1944, Dold was transferred to the concentration camp in
Dautmergen Dautmergen is a municipality in the Zollernalbkreis district of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. History Dautmergen was a possession of the County of Hohenberg until 1381, when it became part of the Duchy of Austria's territory in Swabia. The town ...
, one of the sub-camps of the
Natzweiler-Struthof Natzweiler-Struthof was a Nazi concentration camp located in the Vosges Mountains close to the villages of Natzweiler and Struthof in the Gau Baden-Alsace of Germany, on territory annexed from France on a basis in 1940. It operated from 21 Ma ...
concentration camp. Its main purpose was the mining of oil shale, gained under grossly inhumane conditions.


Commandant at Dautmergen

The catastrophic situation of the inmates appalled the 24-year-old officer; the barracks stood on a swampy field and had no floor. The mortality rate, primarily from
typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...
and
paratyphus Paratyphoid fever, also known simply as paratyphoid, is a bacterial infection caused by one of three types of ''Salmonella enterica''. Symptoms usually begin 6–30 days after exposure and are the same as those of typhoid fever. Often, a gradual ...
, stood at up to 50 dead per day. At Dold's request, a sanitary inspection commission was called in to examine the hygienic and medical facilities, resulting in the transfer of the commandant. On 7 March 1945 Dold himself became the camp commandant. He distinguished himself through his humane conduct, saw to it that prisoners received clothing and food and improved the hygiene conditions. In various sorties, he managed to procure food with the help of a small groups of prisoners he had organised to help him, and with the financial assistance of his father, who ran the family firm. When ordered by the
Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...
to organise a firing squad for the execution of 23 Soviet officers between 5 and 7 April 1945, he refused to do so. That same month the camp was evacuated, few remaining prisoners were liberated by the French army. Dold gave himself up voluntarily to the
French army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...
and was interned with 24 other defendants accused of crimes against humanity. On 1 February 1947, on the basis of witness testimony by prisoners, he was acquitted as the sole concentration camp commandant on the grounds of "proven innocence."


Post-war years

After the war, Dold joined his father's company, which he later took over. For over 40 years he remained silent about the events of the war until in 1990, he spoke to Dr Thomas Seiterich. A year later a documentary movie was made for German television by Manfred Bannenberg. On 8 November 2002, Dold was made citizen of honour of Buchenbach. In preparation for the film " Himmel und Erde" by Christian Schumacher, with the French actor
Gérard Depardieu Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu (, , ; born 27 December 1948) is a French actor. An icon of French cinema, considered a world star in the same way as Alain Delon or Brigitte Bardot, he has completed over 250 films since 1967, most of which as ...
situated in Schömberg, he was able give sound advice for the film script. Dold is played in the film by
Matthias Schweighöfer Matthias Schweighöfer (; born 11 March 1981) is a German actor and filmmaker known for his work in several German and American film productions. He is best known for his role as Lieutenant Franz Herber in the 2008 film ''Valkyrie''. In 2021, Sch ...
. On 11 September 2012, Dold died in his home town at the age of 92.


Literature

* Yveline Pendaries, ''Les Procès de Rastatt (1946-1954). Le jugement des crimes de guerre en zone française d'occupation en Allemagne'', Peter Lang, 1995, p. 189. * Thomas Seiterich-Kreuzkamp: ''Der Fall Erwin Dold.'' In: Michael Kißener (Ed.): ''Widerstand gegen die Judenverfolgung.'' Universitätsverlag Konstanz, Konstanz 1996, , S. 261–283. * Edwin Ernst Weber: ''Opfer des Unrechts: Stigmatisierung, Verfolgung und Vernichtung von Gegnern durch die NS-Gewaltherrschaft an Fallbeispielen aus Oberschwaben''. Thorbecke 2009, .


Film

* Manfred Bannenberg: ''Der KZ-Kommandant. Die ungewöhnliche Geschichte des Erwin Dold'', Dokumentarfilm, Deutschland 1991. * Christian Schumacher: ''Himmel und Erde'', Deutschland 2012, mit Matthias Schweighöfer, Anna-Maria Mühe und Gérard DepardieuHimmel und Erde (2012/13)
Bundesverband Regie


Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dold, Erwin Nazi concentration camp commandants Businesspeople from Baden-Württemberg German Air Force personnel 1919 births 2012 deaths People from Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald