Klaus Hubert Hermann Dylewski (born 11 May 1916 – 1 April 2012) was a German Volksdeutscher with Polish citizenship and '' SS-

Oberscharführer __NOTOC__ ''Oberscharführer'' (, ) was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that existed between 1932 and 1945. ''Oberscharführer'' was first used as a rank of the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA) and was created due to an expansion of the enlisted positions ...

'' (Staff Sergeant) who perpetrated acts of genocide at

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...

Early life

Klaus Dylewski was born in

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

Finkenwalde Zdroje () is a municipal neighborhood of the city of Szczecin, Poland situated on the right bank of the river East Oder, south-east of the Szczecin Old Town, and south-west of Dąbie, Szczecin. Within Nazi Germany, the suburb was the site of D ...

(now Zdroje,

Szczecin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Poland-Germany border, German border, it is a major port, seaport, the la ...

, Poland), on 11 May 1916. He spent his childhood in Lazisk where he went to German schools. Dylewski identified himself as

ethnic German Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The constitution of Germany, implemented in 1949 following the end of World War ...

. After he graduated in 1935, he attended a technical course at Danzig

Technical School A vocational school (alternatively known as a trade school, or technical school), is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocationa ...

and studied

Mechanical Engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

. He did not finish this course, but he joined the

3rd SS Division Totenkopf The 3rd SS Panzer Division "Totenkopf" () was an elite division of the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany during World War II, formed from the Standarten of the SS-TV. Its name, '' Totenkopf'', is German for "death's head"the skull and crossbones s ...

of the

Waffen-SS The (; ) was the military branch, combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscr ...

as a foreign collaborator in 1939. In 1940, he participated in the

Invasion of France France has been invaded on numerous occasions, by foreign powers or rival French governments; there have also been unimplemented invasion plans. * The 978 German invasion during the Franco-German war of 978–980 * The 1230 English invasion of ...

, in which he was wounded.

War Crimes

In September 1940, he was transferred to

Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...

and was assigned by the

Concentration Camps Inspectorate The Concentration Camps Inspectorate (CCI) or in German, IKL (''Inspektion der Konzentrationslager''; ) was the central SS administrative and managerial authority for the concentration camps of the Third Reich. Created by Theodor Eicke, it was or ...

in the Political Department of Auschwitz. From the day of his assignment until 1944, he participated in shootings,

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...

, and gassings in the Department. In the spring of 1944, he was promoted to SS

Staff Sergeant Staff sergeant is a Military rank, rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. History of title In origin, certain senior sergeants were assigned to administr ...

, and was assigned to

Hersbruck Hersbruck () is a small town in Middle Franconia, Bavaria, Germany, belonging to the district Nürnberger Land. It is best known for the late-gothic artwork of the Hersbruck altar, the "Hirtenmuseum" and the landscape of Hersbruck Switzerland. ...

, Germany, where he worked as a manager of an aircraft factory.

Political prisoners A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although ...

from concentration camps were working as slave laborers at that factory.

Auschwitz Trials

At the end of the war, in May 1945, Dylewski moved to

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

to evade justice and to conceal his real identity. Months later, he moved to

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, and worked there as a laborer. In 1948, he continued his unfinished course in

Humboldt University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

, in the German capital under a false identity. After he graduated in 1952, he taught in a technical school in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

, but after seven years, in 1959, he was arrested and later revealed his true identity as a former SS officer. He was released the same year for lack of evidence. In 1960–61, he was arrested and incarcerated for nearly four months, and was released again. But in late 1963, he was arrested for the third time prior to the

Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials The Frankfurt Auschwitz trials, known in German language, German as , was a series of three trials running from 20 December 1963 to 14 June 1968, charging 25 defendants under German criminal law for their roles in the Holocaust as mid- to lower- ...

. He was tried and found guilty of "aiding and abetting murder on 32 separate occasions, 2 involving the murder of at least 750 people" and was sentenced to five years

imprisonment Imprisonment or incarceration is the restraint of a person's liberty for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is considered " false imprisonment". Impri ...

. Dylewski was released in 1968 by the court, having served only three years in prison. Dylewski died in

Hilden Hilden () is a town in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is situated in the Mettmann (district), District of Mettmann, west of Solingen and east of Düsseldorf on the right side of the Rhine. It is a middle sized industrial town ...

on 1 April 2012.

References

Page with death date
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dylewski, Klaus 1916 births 2012 deaths SS non-commissioned officers Gestapo personnel People convicted in the Frankfurt Auschwitz trials Volksdeutsche Waffen-SS personnel