Adolf Ludwig Winkelmann (born 26 March 1887 in Salzkotten, died 1 February 1947 in Hamburg) was an 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 ...

and was employed as a doctor in several

Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps (), including subcamp (SS), subcamps on its own territory and in parts of German-occupied Europe. The first camps were established in March 1933 immediately af ...

including the

Ravensbrück concentration camp Ravensbrück () was a Nazi concentration camp exclusively for women from 1939 to 1945, located in northern Germany, north of Berlin at a site near the village of Ravensbrück (part of Fürstenberg/Havel). The camp memorial's estimated figure of 1 ...

Life

Winkelmann passed the state examination in 1913 at the

University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian Albrecht University of Kiel, (, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a public research university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the ''Academia Holsator ...

, and on 26 September 1914 he received his licence to practise as a

doctor Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

. He received his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

from Walter Stoeckel, worked at various hospitals and was employed as a doctor in the

Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the ''Kaiserliche Marine'' (Imperial Navy) was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for ...

during the First World War. After the war he was in 1918 a member of a volunteer corps, before settling as a practising

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

Lippstadt Lippstadt () is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest town within the district of Soest. Lippstadt is situated about 60 kilometres east of Dortmund, 40 kilometres south of Bielefeld and 30 kilometres west of Paderborn. Geo ...

. On 1 May 1933 he joined the

NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor, the German Workers ...

(membership No. 3.101.530), and on 18 June 1933 he joined the

Schutzstaffel The ''Schutzstaffel'' (; ; SS; also stylised with SS runes as ''ᛋᛋ'') was a major paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe during World War II. It beg ...

(SS No. 109.112). Winkelmann was promoted to SS

Untersturmführer (, ; short: ''Ustuf'') was a paramilitary rank of the German ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) first created in July 1934. The rank can trace its origins to the older SA rank of '' Sturmführer'', which had existed since the founding of the SA in 192 ...

on 15 September 1935, to SS

Obersturmführer __NOTOC__ (, ; short: ''Ostuf'') was a Nazi Germany paramilitary ranks, Nazi Germany paramilitary rank that was used in several Nazi organisations, such as the Sturmabteilung, SA, Schutzstaffel, SS, National Socialist Motor Corps, NSKK and the ...

on 9 November 1936 and to SS

on 30 January 1939. From January to October 1940 he was employed as a regimental doctor with the rank of SS Hauptsturmführer in the 8th SS regiment of the

Waffen SS The (; ) was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with volunteers and conscripts from both German-occupied Europe and unoccupied lands. ...

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

. Until 1 December 1944, he worked as a medical officer in

Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship. However, Częstochowa is historically part of Lesser Poland, not Si ...

. After brief assignments at the

Groß-Rosen Gross-Rosen was a network of Nazi concentration camps built and operated by Nazi Germany during World War II. The main camp was located in the German village of Gross-Rosen, now the modern-day Rogoźnica in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland, di ...

and Sachsenhausen concentration camps, he was transferred to the

at the end of February 1945.

Ravensbrück

Winkelmann admitted that together with Richard Trommer he had selected prisoners who were unable to work, but the purpose of the selection remained hidden: "I knew that some transports came to the Uckermark concentration camp, but I did not know for what purpose." He had only been there a few times. This was contrasted by the statements of all witnesses who unanimously confirmed his participation in the selections there. During his service in Ravensbrück, he and Trommer "selected around 1,500 to 2,000 prisoners for removal”. Winkelmann described these selections in court:

The searches took place on one of the camp streets or in a barrack, but very rarely. The inmates marched in a row to Dr Trommer and past me. Of course, we could only do a very superficial examination, and the people who were obviously sick, unable to work, or unable to march were searched. The inmates had bare their legs so that we could see if they were capable of walking.

Winkelmann said that he had not known that the selection could mean death for the prisoners. Nor did he know that there was a gas chamber in the camp. He only acted on the orders of Trommer, who told him that there was a choice for evacuating the camp. He was horrified to have participated in such a crime. He had never heard of gassings in Germany until then and had only known about Auschwitz-Birkenau. Since Percival Treite and Franz Lucas were busy with the selection for the gas chamber in Ravensbrück, he was the third doctor responsible for the area. To relieve him, a witness testified that Winkelmann refused to abort her because she violated his medical ethos. According to his own information, he saw no ill-treatment of prisoners in the area and did not do any. Winkelmann died on 1 February 1947 of the consequences of a heart attack during the first of the seven Ravensbrück trials in Hamburg. Despite some doubts, the court found him guilty, but no death sentence was passed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winkelmann, Adolf 1887 births 1947 deaths People from Salzkotten University of Kiel alumni Physicians in the Nazi Party Holocaust perpetrators in Germany Gross-Rosen concentration camp personnel Ravensbrück concentration camp personnel Sachsenhausen concentration camp personnel People convicted in the Hamburg Ravensbrück trials Prisoners who died in British military detention Nazis who died in prison custody