Niethammer - PMO Dzial III SS neg nr-1907

Günther Theodor Niethammer (28 September 1908 Waldheim – 14 January 1974,

Kottenforst The Kottenforst is a large forest, about 40 km² in area, to the south, west and north of the city of Bonn in Germany. It is part of the Rhineland Nature Park (1,045 km²) and forms its eastern side. Geography The Kottenforst is the s ...

) was a German ornithologist who served during the Second World War with the Nazi

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...

at various places including the Auschwitz concentration camp where he conducted studies on birds.

Life and work

Niethammer was born in Waldheim, the eighth son of Konrad Niethammer, a paper manufacturer (owner of Kübler & Niethammer paper mills) and politician. After studying zoology at Tübingen in 1927 he moved to Leipzig in 1929 and then worked on the anatomy of the avian crop under J. Meisenheimer. Through Hans Kummerlöwe, also in Leipzig, he met

Erwin Stresemann Erwin Friedrich Theodor Stresemann (22 November 1889, in Dresden – 20 November 1972, in East Berlin) was a German naturalist and ornithologist. Stresemann was an ornithologist of extensive breadth who compiled one of the first and most compr ...

who gave him the task of compiling the ''Handbuch der Deutschen Vogelkunde''. The publication of the first volume led to a position as a curator at the

Museum Koenig The Alexander Koenig Zoological Research Museum (German: ''Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig'', abbreviated ZFMK) is a natural history museum and zoological research institution in Bonn, Germany. The museum is named after Alexander ...

in Bonn from 1937 and he continued to work on the remaining two volumes, the last published in 1942. In 1937, Niethammer joined the Nazi party (Number 5613683) and in early 1940 he volunteered with the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

as he had a flying license. Due to his age, he was rejected and he then tried to join the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

which also refused to admit him. He then joined the armed unit, Waffen-SS, in May 1940. He was posted to

Oranienburg Oranienburg () is a town in Brandenburg, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Oberhavel. Geography Oranienburg is a town located on the banks of the Havel river, 35 km north of the centre of Berlin. Division of the town Oranienburg ...

and shortly after to Auschwitz concentration camp where he was posted at gate G as a part of the security team. Opposite gate G was a gravel pit where prisoners were routinely killed. He made a request to the camp commander

Rudolf Höss Rudolf Franz Ferdinand Höss (also Höß, Hoeß, or Hoess; 25 November 1901 – 16 April 1947) was a German SS officer during the Nazi era who, after the defeat of Nazi Germany, was convicted for war crimes. Höss was the longest-serving comm ...

for alternate duty and towards March 1941 he was given "special ornithological duty" nearby and Niethammer published on the birdlife of the Auschwitz area. There were many fishponds around the area which had dykes that were made of ash from burned prisoners. Niethammer hunted ducks nearby which were shared with Höss and son Klaus. A prisoner named Grembocki helped in preparation of specimens. From the end of 1941 he was appointed as a zoologist with the Wehrmacht Department of Science at the recommendation of Fritz von Wettstein. He took part in the

Ahnenerbe The Ahnenerbe (, ''ancestral heritage'') operated as a think tank in Nazi Germany between 1935 and 1945. Heinrich Himmler, the ''Reichsführer-SS'' from 1929 onwards, established it in July 1935 as an SS appendage devoted to the task of promot ...

to support Nazi racial theory research. In 1942 he was transferred to unit K led by

Sturmbannführer __NOTOC__ ''Sturmbannführer'' (; ) was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank equivalent to major that was used in several Nazi organizations, such as the SA, SS, and the NSFK. The rank originated from German shock troop units of the First World War ...

Ernst Schäfer Ernst Schäfer (14 March 1910 – 21 July 1992) was a German explorer, hunter and zoologist in the 1930s, specializing in ornithology. His zoological explorations in Tibet served as a cover for his role in the German secret service. He was also ...

. By 1 May 1944 he was promoted to

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 ...

and from 22 April to 8 May 1945 he served in combat operations with the 269th Infantry Division. When the Allied Forces took over the region, he fled in civilian clothes on a bicycle belonging to Richard Heyder (1884-1984). In early February 1946 he reported to the British 320th Field Security Section in Bonn and was arrested. Niethammer was sentenced to eight years of imprisonment but it was reviewed and reduced to three years. He was placed in

Mokotów Prison Mokotów Prison ( pl, Więzienie mokotowskie, also known as ''Rakowiecka Prison'') is a prison in Warsaw's borough of Mokotów, Poland, located at 37 Rakowiecka Street. It was built by the Russians in the final years of the foreign Partitions of ...

in Warsaw and released in November 1949. Niethammer became head of the ornithology department at the Museum Koenig in 1950 and became a professor in 1951 and retired in 1973 to Bonn. From 1962 to 1972 he served as editor for the ''Journal fur Ornithologie''. He died of a heart failure while hunting on 14 January 1974. Niethammer's Nazi record was suppressed during his time in West Germany although known from his publications. Arno Surminski based his 2008 novel ''Die Vogelwelt von Auschwitz'' upon Niethammer's ornithological studies around Auschwitz. Niethammer was married to Ruth née Filtzer and one of their four sons, Jochen became a mammalogist of repute. Several subspecies of birds have been named after him including: *''Carpodacus rubicilla niethammeri'' Keve, 1943 *''Pogoniulus pusillus niethammeri'' Clancey, 1952 *''Carduelis cannabina guentheri'' Wolters, 1952 *''Calandrella rufescens niethammeri'' Kumerloeve, 1963 *''Garrulus glandarius hansguentheri'' Keve, 1967 (after

Hans Kumerloeve Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjab ...

and Niethammer) *''Nothoprocta pentlandi niethammeri'' Koepcke, 1968 *''Mirafra angolensis niethammeri'' Da Rosa Pinto, 1968 *''Amandava subflava niethammeri'' Wolters, 1969 A genus of pyralid moth is named after him as '' Niethammeriodes''.

References

External links

Commemorative Issue of ''Bonner zoologische Beiträge'' (in German, with portrait)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Niethammer, Gunther 1908 births 1974 deaths German ornithologists 20th-century German zoologists Journal of Ornithology editors Auschwitz concentration camp personnel