Franz Hermann Johann Maria Freiherr von Bodmann, sometimes written as Bodman (born 23 March 1908 in Zwiefaltendorf – died 25 May 1945 in

Altenmarkt im Pongau Altenmarkt im Pongau is a small town in the Austrian state of Salzburg. Geography Altenmarkt is situated 65 km southeast of Salzburg. Economy The town is principally known for its winter tourism. It is also the location of the factory manufactur ...

) was a German SS-

Obersturmführer __NOTOC__ (, ; short: ''Ostuf'') was a Nazi Germany paramilitary rank that was used in several Nazi organisations, such as the SA, SS, NSKK and the NSFK. The rank of ''Obersturmführer'' was first created in 1932 as the result of an expa ...

who served as a camp physician in several

Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as con ...

. Von Bodmann joined the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

in May 1932 (membership number 1,098,482) and the SS itself in 1934 (member number 267,787). From October 1939 to June 1940 and from July 1941 to January 1942 he served with the 79th SS-Standarte in

Ulm Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...

in the Second Bataillon as a physician.Aleksander Lasik, 'Die Organisationsstruktur des KL Auschwitz', in: Aleksander Lasik,

Franciszek Piper Franciszek Piper (born 1941) is a Polish scholar, historian and author. Most of his work concerns the Holocaust, especially the history of the Auschwitz concentration camp. Dr. Piper is credited as one of the historians who helped establish a mo ...

, Piotr Setkiewicz, Irena Strzelecka, '' Auschwitz 1940–1945. Studien zur Geschichte des Konzentrations und Vernichtungslagers Auschwitz'', Band I: Aufbau und Struktur des Lagers'', Staatliches Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau, Oświęcim 1999, p. 286 It was 1941 that he was promoted to the rank of Obersturmführer.Ernst Klee, ''Das Personenlexikon zum Dritten Reich: Wer war was vor und nach 1945''., Frankfurt am Main 2007, p. 57 Von Bodmann was appointed camp physician at Auschwitz concentration camp in February 1942 and the following year held a similar position at Majdanek concentration camp. He subsequently filled the same role at

Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp 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 ...

and from September 1943 at Vaivara concentration camp. At some point he also worked at

Neuengamme concentration camp Neuengamme was a network of Nazi concentration camps in Northern Germany that consisted of the main camp, Neuengamme, and more than 85 satellite camps. Established in 1938 near the village of Neuengamme in the Bergedorf district of Hamburg, th ...

although the exact dates are unknown. Eyewitnesses claimed that at Auschwitz von Bodmann killed inmates personally by injecting

Phenol Phenol (also called carbolic acid) is an aromatic organic compound with the molecular formula . It is a white crystalline solid that is volatile. The molecule consists of a phenyl group () bonded to a hydroxy group (). Mildly acidic, it ...

into their veins and also stated that he carried out similar procedures at other camps. Von Bodmann's departure from Auschwitz, where he had no superiors and as such acted largely as he pleased, was hastened when he contracted

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 exposure. ...

not long after arriving. He left the camps in September 1944 when he was sent to work for

SS-Wirtschafts-Verwaltungshauptamt The SS Main Economic and Administrative Office (german: SS-Wirtschafts- und Verwaltungshauptamt; SS-WVHA) was a Nazi organization responsible for managing the finances, supply systems and business projects of the (a main branch of the ; SS). It ...

and then to the Hauptamt Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle. His final assignment was as troop physician to the

5th SS Panzer Division Wiking The 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking (german: 5. SS-Panzerdivision Wiking) or SS Division Wiking was an infantry and later an armoured division among the thirty-eight Waffen-SS divisions of Nazi Germany. It was recruited from foreign volunteer ...

. He was taken as a prisoner of war and held in a military hospital at a British internment camp where he killed himself just after the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bodmann, Franz von 1908 births 1945 suicides People from Riedlingen People from the Kingdom of Württemberg Barons of Germany Nobility in the Nazi Party Physicians in the Nazi Party SS-Obersturmführer Auschwitz concentration camp medical personnel Majdanek concentration camp personnel Neuengamme concentration camp personnel Nazis who committed suicide in prison custody Nazis who committed suicide in Austria Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp personnel Nazi human subject research Waffen-SS personnel German military doctors