Erich Zoddel (9 August 1913 – 30 November 1945) was a prisoner functionary at the

Bergen-Belsen concentration camp Bergen-Belsen (), or Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp in what is today Lower Saxony in Northern Germany, northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen, Lower Saxony, Bergen near Celle. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, ...

. In 1941, Zoddel was sentenced to a year in prison for theft before being transferred to

Sachsenhausen concentration camp Sachsenhausen () or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a German Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used from 1936 until April 1945, shortly before the defeat of Nazi Germany in May later that year. It mainly held political prisoners t ...

in 1942. He worked as a forced laborer in the

Heinkel Heinkel Flugzeugwerke () was a German aircraft manufacturing company founded by and named after Ernst Heinkel. It is noted for producing bomber aircraft for the Luftwaffe in World War II and for important contributions to high-speed flight, wit ...

factory in

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

until October 1943. In November 1943, after a brief stay at

Buchenwald concentration camp Buchenwald (; 'beech forest') was a German Nazi concentration camp established on Ettersberg hill near Weimar, Nazi Germany, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within the Altreich (pre-1938 ...

, he was taken to

Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp Mittelbau-Dora (also Dora-Mittelbau and Nordhausen-Dora) was a Nazi concentration camp located near Nordhausen in Thuringia, Germany. It was established in late summer 1943 as a subcamp of Buchenwald concentration camp, supplying slave labour f ...

. On 27 March 1944, Zoddel and 1,000 other prisoners from Mittelbau-Dora arrived at Bergen-Belsen. By January 1945, Zoddel had risen in the ranks to a camp division. On 18 April 1945, after the liberation of Bergen-Belsen by the British army, Zoddel shot a female detainee named Maria Konatkwicz. During questioning, Zoddel described Konatkwicz as his girlfriend. However, another inmate said Zoddel had threatened to kill Konatkwicz for rejecting his romantic advances. Konatkwicz had said she would not date Zoddel since he was German and she was Polish. During his murder trial, Zoddel's lawyer tried to refute the testimony of witnesses against him. He also argued that even if Zoddel had hypothetically killed Konatkwicz, he may have just wanted to frighten her, so he should only be found guilty of manslaughter. These defenses were rejected, and Zoddel was found guilty of murder. He was sentenced to death by a military court in

Celle Celle () is a town and capital of the district of Celle (district), Celle in Lower Saxony, in north-central Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the river Aller (Germany), Aller, a tributary of the Weser, and has a population of about ...

on 31 August 1945. On 17 November 1945, Zoddel was sentenced to life imprisonment in a second trial for his actions at Bergen-Belsen. A court said he had violently abused his fellow prisoners there, often badly beating them with sticks. His death sentence for murdering Konatkwicz was carried out later that month in

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel (district), Wolfenbüttel Distri ...

by guillotine. He was not hanged since his murder conviction was under German civilian code.

Bibliography

United Nations War Crimes Commission The United Nations War Crimes Commission (UNWCC), initially the United Nations Commission for the Investigation of War Crimes, was a United Nations body that aided the prosecution of war crimes committed by Nazi Germany and other Axis powers duri ...

(Hrsg.): ''Law reports of trials of war criminals, selected and prepared by the United Nations War Crimes Commission.'' 3 Bände, William S. Hein Publishing, Buffalo (New York) 1997, (Reprint der Originalausgabe von 1947 bis 1949) * Arne Moi: ''Das Lager – ein Norweger in Bergen-Belsen.'' Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2002,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zoddel, Erich 1913 births 1945 deaths German people convicted of torture German people executed for murder Sachsenhausen concentration camp personnel German prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment People convicted of theft People convicted of murder by the British military People executed by Allied occupation forces People convicted in the Belsen trial People executed by the British military by decapitation Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by the British military Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp personnel Kapos (concentration camp)