Wolfgang Birkner (27 October 1913 – 24 March 1945) was a German SS functionary and a

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

perpetrator in

World War II 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 opposing ...

. Birkner served as the ''KdS Warschau'' (''Komandeur der Sicherheitspolizei'') in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

following the

German invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week afte ...

in 1939. After the

German attack on the Soviet Union Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...

in 1941, Birkner and his '' Einsatzkommando'' were deployed in the newly-formed

Bialystok District Bialystok District ( German: ''Bezirk Bialystok'') was an administrative unit of Nazi Germany created during the World War II invasion of the Soviet Union. It was to the south-east of East Prussia, in present-day northeastern Poland as well as in ...

in the

Army Group Centre Rear Area Army Group Centre Rear Area () was one of the three Army Group Rear Area Commands, established during the 1941 German invasion of the Soviet Union. Initially commanded by General Max von Schenckendorff, it was an area of military jurisdiction beh ...

. Birkner arrived in Białystok from the General Government on 30 June 1941, sent in by the SS Police commander

Eberhard Schöngarth Eberhard is an old Germanic name meaning the strength or courage of a wild boar. People First name *Eberhard of Friuli (815–866), Duke and key figure in the Carolingian Empire * Eberhard of Béthune (died 1212), Flemish grammarian *Eberhard I, D ...

on orders from the Reich Security Main Office. As veteran of ''Einsatzgruppe'' IV from the 1939 invasion of Poland, Birkner was a specialist in rear security operations.

''Kommando Bialystok''

Birkner was appointed chief of the ''Kommando Bialystok'' under

Arthur Nebe Arthur Nebe (; 13 November 1894 – 21 March 1945) was a German SS functionary who was key in the security and police apparatus of Nazi Germany and from 1941, a major perpetrator of the Holocaust. Nebe rose through the ranks of the Prussia ...

, commander of '' Einsatzgruppe B''. Birkner's death squad was made up of 29 SS men, as well as

Gestapo The (), 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 Prussia into one orga ...

functionaries. It was one of several units summoned at around the same time by Karl Eberhard Schöngarth stationing in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

. Birkner and his squad committed mass murder in and around Białystok. In the two initial months of operation, between 30 June and 28 August 1941, they had claimed the lives of 1,800 Jews. Birkner was promoted to the rank of SS-''

Hauptsturmführer __NOTOC__ (, ; short: ''Hstuf'') was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was used in several Nazi organizations such as the SS, NSKK and the NSFK. The rank of ''Hauptsturmführer'' was a mid-level commander and had equivalent seniority to a ...

Kriminalkommissar'' (the equivalent of a police captain) on 20 April 1943. He was killed in the

Pomorze Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

Province on 24 March 1945. Birkner was investigated by the West German prosecutors in 1960, prior to a court trial of the SS commander

Hermann Schaper Hermann Schaper (August 1911 – 2002), was a German SS functionary during the Nazi era. He was a Holocaust perpetrator responsible for atrocities committed by the ''Einsatzgruppen'' in German-occupied Poland and the Soviet Union and was convicted ...

, who had directed parallel mass murders by ''Kommando SS Zichenau- Schröttersburg'' in the same area.

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Birkner, Wolfgang 1913 births 1945 deaths Military personnel from Wrocław People from the Province of Silesia Nazi Party members SS-Hauptsturmführer Einsatzgruppen personnel Holocaust perpetrators in Poland Waffen-SS personnel killed in action