Jakob Weiseborn (22 March 1892 in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

– 20 January 1939 in Flossenbürg) was a German SS-''

Sturmbannführer __NOTOC__ ''Sturmbannführer'' (; ) was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank equivalent to Major (rank), major that was used in several Nazi organizations, such as the Sturmabteilung, SA, Schutzstaffel, SS, and the National Socialist Flyers Corps, NSFK ...

'' (major) and the first commandant of

Flossenbürg concentration camp Flossenbürg was a Nazi concentration camp built in May 1938 by the SS Main Economic and Administrative Office. Unlike other concentration camps, it was located in a remote area, in the Fichtel Mountains of Bavaria, adjacent to the town of Flos ...

Life

Jakob Weiseborn served in the navy for 18 years. 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 ...

(no. 753,119) and SS (no. 17,063). After the ''

Machtergreifung The rise to power of Adolf Hitler, dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919, when Hitler joined the '' Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Party). He quickly rose t ...

'', he was first employed in the guard unit at

Dachau concentration camp Dachau (, ; , ; ) was one of the first concentration camps built by Nazi Germany and the longest-running one, opening on 22 March 1933. The camp was initially intended to intern Hitler's political opponents, which consisted of communists, s ...

as of January 1935 and, following a disciplinary transfer, at

Esterwegen concentration camp The Esterwegen concentration camp near Esterwegen was an early Nazi concentration camp within a series of camps first established in the Emsland district of Germany. It was established in the summer of 1933 as a concentration camp for 2000 so-c ...

from the end of 1935.Holm Kirsten,

Wulf Kirsten Wulf Kirsten (21 June 1934 – 14 December 2022) was a German poet, novelist, and publisher. He is known for his nature poetry and his essays on the history and culture of Saxony. The son of a stonemason, Kirsten was born in Klipphausen, Meissen ...

: ''Stimmen aus Buchenwald. Ein Lesebuch.'', Göttingen 2002, p. 17 In April 1936, Weiseborn took over the post of ''

Schutzhaftlagerführer ''Schutzhaftlagerführer'', or head of the "preventive detention camp" - ', lit. protective custody, being a Nazi euphemism for preventive detention - was a paramilitary title of the SS, specific to the concentration and extermination camps ' ...

'' from Karl d'Angelo in Dachau. From late 1936 until July 1937, he served as ''Schutzhaftlagerführer'' in

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 ...

and then as second ''Schutzhaftlagerführer'' in

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 ...

. A Buchenwald survivor recalls that he "often punched inmates in the face or kicked them in the belly with his boot." At the prisoner barracks in Buchenwald the following sentence was written: "In his anger God created Hauptsturmführer Weiseborn."Cited from: Eugen Kogon: ''Der SS-Staat.'' München 1974, p. 57 Weiseborn, a chronic alcoholic, became the first commandant of

beginning in May 1938 and remained so until January 1939. On 20 January 1939 in Flossenbürg, Weiseborn committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

by drinking poison in his room, perhaps due to an investigation of his

embezzlement Embezzlement (from Anglo-Norman, from Old French ''besillier'' ("to torment, etc."), of unknown origin) is a type of financial crime, usually involving theft of money from a business or employer. It often involves a trusted individual taking ...

at Buchenwald.Ernst Klee: ''Das Personenlexikon zum Dritten Reich'', Frankfurt am Main 2007, p. 664.''This article contains a translation of the corresponding article in the

German Wikipedia The German Wikipedia () is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia. Founded on 16 March 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia edition (after the English Wikipedia). It has articles, ma ...

Bibliography

Tom Segev Tom Segev (; born March 1, 1945) is an Israeli historian, author and journalist. He is associated with Israel's New Historians, a group critical of many of the country's traditional narratives. Biography Segev was born on March 1, 1945 in Jeru ...

. ''Soldiers of Evil: The Commandants of the Nazi Concentration Camps''. 1988, *

Ernst Klee Ernst Klee (15 March 1942, Frankfurt – 18 May 2013, Frankfurt) was a German journalist and author. As a writer on Germany's history, he was best known for his exposure and documentation of medical crimes in Nazi Germany, much of which was conce ...

. ''Das Personenlexikon zum Dritten Reich''. Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main, 2005, * Holm Kirsten,

. ''Stimmen aus Buchenwald. Ein Lesebuch.'' Wallstein Verlag, Göttingen 2002,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weiseborn, Jakob 1892 births 1939 suicides 1939 deaths Military personnel from Frankfurt SS-Sturmbannführer Dachau concentration camp personnel German torturers Sachsenhausen concentration camp personnel Buchenwald concentration camp personnel Flossenbürg concentration camp personnel Nazi concentration camp commandants who died by suicide Nazis who died by suicide in Nazi Germany Suicides by poison Schutzhaftlagerführer