The Mauthausen-Gusen camp trials were a set of trials of SS concentration camp personnel following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, heard by an American military government court at Dachau. Between March 29 and May 13, 1946, and then from August 6 to August 21, 1947, a total of 69 former camp personnel were tried. Among them were some of the former guards at the

Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp Mauthausen was a German Nazi concentration camp on a hill above the market town of Mauthausen, Upper Austria, Mauthausen (roughly east of Linz), Upper Austria. It was the main camp of a group with List of subcamps of Mauthausen, nearly 100 f ...

system and

August Eigruber August Eigruber (16 April 1907 – 28 May 1947) was an Austrian-born Nazi Gauleiter and ''Reichsstatthalter'' of Reichsgau Oberdonau (Upper Danube) and Landeshauptmann of Upper Austria. He was convicted of war crimes at Mauthausen-Gusen c ...

, a former

Gauleiter A ''Gauleiter'' () was a regional leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) who served as the head of a ''Administrative divisions of Nazi Germany, Gau'' or ''Reichsgau''. ''Gauleiter'' was the third-highest Ranks and insignia of the Nazi Party, rank in ...

Upper Austria Upper Austria ( ; ; ) is one of the nine States of Austria, states of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg (state), Salzbur ...

Origins

In 1942, overwhelming reports of German atrocities and large scale massacres against concentration camp inhabitants came to surface from exiled governments and Jewish organizations. With increased tension from the public and overwhelming evidence, the Allied powers being the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union had no choice but to intervene. The Allied powers issued a statement condemning the actions of those involved and promising to bring each and every SS personnel to justice with no chance of dismissal. The Allied nations' foreign ministers met in Russia a year later and were better known as ‘The Big Three’. Those who committed war crimes were broken up into two war crimes categories. These groups were divided by those with no particular geographic location who would be punished by the Allies, and those who committed crimes within a specific location who would be tried in courts within their jurisdiction. The United States involvement within the trials had difficulties ranging from a lack of international policy knowledge and being understaffed, which led to pure chaos. Those sent to investigate the war crimes lacked proper training which yielded reports with sub-par information. The U.S. encountered countless obstacles. Ultimately in 1945, the United States committed to two distinct war crimes trial programs, one under American military jurisdiction and one in collaboration with the Allied powers.

First Mauthausen camp trial

The first trial of personnel from Mauthausen-Gusen took place in the

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 ...

between March 29 and May 13, 1946. Among the accused were 60 former members of the camp's administration and

, a former

. Among the defendants were also Viktor Zoller (former commander of the SS-Totenkopfverbande guard battalion), and doctors

Friedrich Entress Friedrich Karl Hermann Entress (8 December 1914 – 28 May 1947) was a German camp doctor in various concentration and extermination camps during the Second World War. He conducted human medical experimentation at Auschwitz and introduced the proc ...

(an SS member and a medic who practiced medical experiments on hundreds of inmates; killing most of them with injections of

phenol Phenol (also known as carbolic acid, phenolic acid, or benzenol) is an aromatic organic compound with the molecular formula . It is a white crystalline solid that is volatile and can catch fire. The molecule consists of a phenyl group () ...

Eduard Krebsbach Eduard Krebsbach (8 August 1894 – 28 May 1947) was a former German physician and SS doctor in the Nazi concentration camp in Mauthausen from July 1941 to August 1943. He was executed for atrocities committed at the Mauthausen camp. Early li ...

and

Erich Wasicky Erich Wasicky (May 27, 1911, in Vienna – May 28, 1947, at Landsberg Prison, Landsberg am Lech, Allied-occupied Germany) was a pharmacist at the Mauthausen concentration camp in charge of gassing victims. Wasicky was a physician. He joined the ...

handed the Zyklon B to the person who was responsible for running camp's

gas chamber A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing humans or animals with gas, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is introduced. Poisonous agents used include hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide. History Donatie ...

s who was Dr. Eduard Krebsbach based on the deathbed confession of Commander Ziereis. The Mauthausen-Gusen commander,

Franz Ziereis Franz Xaver Ziereis (13 August 1905 – 24 May 1945) was the commandant of the Mauthausen concentration camp from 1939 until the camp was liberated by the American forces in 1945. Early life and SS career Ziereis was born on 13 August 1905 in Mu ...

, was shot several weeks after the liberation of the Mauthausen-Gusen camps and died in former Camp Gusen I on May 24, 1945. The defendants were charged with "violations of the laws and usages of war," a charge which encompassed among other things murder, torture, beating and starving the inmates.Tomaz Jardim, The Mauthausen Trial - American Military Justice in Germany (Harvard, 2012) After six weeks all 61 defendants were found guilty. 58 were sentenced to death by hanging (9 had their sentences changed to life imprisonment and were later paroled), while three others were sentenced to life imprisonment. All but one of the death sentences were carried out on May 27 and May 28 of 1947 at

Landsberg Prison Landsberg Prison is a prison in the town of Landsberg am Lech in the southwest of the German state of Bavaria, about west-southwest of Munich and south of Augsburg. It is best known as the prison where Adolf Hitler was held in 1924, after the ...

. The sole exception was Otto Striegel, who won a last-minute stay of execution. Striegel was hanged on June 20, 1947.

Defendants

The defendants of the first Mauthausen camp trial (''US v. Hans Altfuldisch, et al.''), and their sentences, are as follows: #

– death by hanging # Viktor Zoller – death by hanging #

– death by hanging #

Johann Altfuldisch Johann Altfuldisch (born November 11, 1911, Brückenau, Germany — died May 28, 1947, Landsberg am Lech, Bavaria, Germany) was SS-Obersturmführer and a guard at Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp where temporarily he was vice-chief of its c ...

– death by hanging #

Josef Riegler Josef Riegler (born 1 November 1938) is an Austrian former politician and teacher who served as Vice-Chancellor of Austria and Chair of the People's Party from 1989 to 1991. Early life and education Josef Rigler was born on 1 November 1938 to ...

– death by hanging #

Willy Brünning Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname * Willie Allen (basketball) (born 1949), American basketball player and d ...

(Gusen) – death by hanging #

Emil Müller Emil Muller or Emil Müller may refer to: * Emil Müller (mathematician) (1861–1927), Austrian mathematician * Emil Müller (German officer), an officer in the World War I Imperial German Army charged with war crimes at the Leipzig War Crimes Tri ...

– death by hanging # Kurt Keilwtz – death by hanging # Franz Kautny – death by hanging # Johannes Grimm (DEST-Wienergraben) – death by hanging # Adolf Zutter – death by hanging #

– death by hanging # Heinrich Häger – death by hanging # Hans Spatzenneger – death by hanging # Otto Striegel – death by hanging # Werner Grahn – death by hanging # Wilhelm Jobst – death by hanging # Georg Gössl – death by hanging # Hans Diehl – death by hanging # Paul Kaiser (Gusen) – death by hanging # Waldemar Wolter – death by hanging # Gustav Kreindl – death by hanging # Willy Eckert – death by hanging # Hermann Pribyll – death by hanging # Josef Leeb – death by hanging # Wilhelm Henkel – death by hanging #

Kapo A kapo was a type of prisoner functionary () at a Nazi concentration or extermination camp. They were, whether voluntary or coerced, collaborators who worked under the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) to carry out administrative tasks or supervise th ...

Willy Frey – death by hanging # Leopold Trauner (DEST-Gusen) – death by hanging #

Wilhelm Müller Johann Ludwig Wilhelm Müller (7 October 1794 – 30 September 1827) was a German lyric poet, best known as the author of ''Die schöne Müllerin'' (1821) and ''Winterreise'' (1823). These would later be the source of inspiration for two song cy ...

– death by hanging #

Heinrich Eisenhöfer Heinrich may refer to: People * Heinrich (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Heinrich (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Hetty (given name), a given name (including a list of peo ...

– death by hanging #

Andreas Trumm Andreas () is a name derived from the Greek noun ἀνήρ ''anēr'', with genitive ἀνδρός ''andros'', which means "man". See the article on Andrew for more information. The Scandinavian name is earliest attested as antreos in a runestone ...

– death by hanging # Rudolf Mynzak – death by hanging # Erich Meissner – death by hanging #

Rudolf Fiegl (Gusen) – death by hanging # Josef Niedermayer – death by hanging #

Julius Ludolf Julius Ludolf (26 March 1893 – 28 May 1947) was an SS-Obersturmführer, a member of the Waffen-SS and commander of various satellite camps of Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp in Upper Austria. Concentration camp career Julius Ludolf worked at ...

– death by hanging # Hans Hegenscheidt – death by hanging #

Franz Huber Franz Huber was an Austrian luger who competed during the 1980s. A natural track luger, he won two medals in the men's doubles event at the FIL World Luge Natural Track Championships with a silver in 1982 and a bronze in 1984 Even ...

– death by hanging #

– death by hanging # Theophil Priebel – death by hanging #

Kaspar Klimowitsch Kaspar is a given name and surname which may refer to: Given name: * Kaspar, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken (1459 – c. 1527) * Kaspar Albrecht (1889–1970), Austrian architect and sculptor * Kaspar Amort (1612–1675), German painter * Cas ...

(Gusen II) – death by hanging # Heinrich Fitschok (Gusen II) – death by hanging #

Anton Kaufmann Anton may refer to: People *Anton (given name), a list of people with the given name *Anton (surname), a list of people with the surname Places *Anton Municipality, Bulgaria **Anton, Sofia Province, a village *Antón District, Panama **Antón, ...

(DEST-Gusen) – death by hanging # Stefan Barczey – death by hanging # Karl Struller – death by hanging # August Blei – death by hanging # Otto Drabeck – death by hanging # Vincenz Nohel – death by hanging # Thomas Sigmund (Gusen) – death by hanging #

Heinrich Giese Heinrich may refer to: People * Heinrich (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Heinrich (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Hetty (given name), a given name (including a list of peo ...

(Gusen) – death by hanging (changed to life imprisonment) #

Walter Höhler Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–19 ...

– death by hanging (changed to life imprisonment) # Adolf Rutka (Gusen) – death by hanging (changed to life imprisonment) #

Ludwig Dörr Ludwig may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ludwig (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Ludwig (surname), including a list of people * Ludwig von Koopa, a character in Mario (the game) Arts and entertai ...

(Gusen II) – death by hanging (changed to life imprisonment) #

Viktor Korger The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

(Gusen II) – death by hanging (changed to life imprisonment) #

Karl Billman Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl of Austria, last Austrian Emperor * Karl (footballer) (born 1993), Karl Cachoe ...

(Gusen II) – death by hanging (changed to life imprisonment) # Herbert Grzybowski (Gusen) – death by hanging (changed to life imprisonment) # Wilhelm Mack (Gusen) – death by hanging (changed to life imprisonment) # Ferdinand Lappert (Gusen) – death by hanging (changed to life imprisonment) # Michael Cserny – life imprisonment # Paul Gützlaff (Gusen) – life imprisonment # Josef Mayer – life imprisonment

Second Mauthausen camp trial

The second Mauthausen camp trial started on August 6, 1947. Altogether 8 former members of the camp's administration were accused of the same set of crimes as in the former trial. On August 21 the verdict was reached. Four Nazis were sentenced to death by hanging, one for life imprisonment, two for short-term sentences and one was acquitted of all the charges. Three of the death sentences were carried out on November 19, 1948. The death sentence against Michael Heller was reduced to life in prison in 1949.

Defendants

The defendants of the second Mauthausen camp trial (''US v. Franz Kofler, et al. ''), and their sentences, are as follows: # Franz Kofler – death by hanging (executed on November 19, 1948) # Gustav Petrat – death by hanging (executed on November 19, 1948) #

Quirin Flaucher – death by hanging (executed on November 19, 1948) # Michael Heller – death by hanging (changed to life imprisonment) # Emil Thielmann – life imprisonment # Hermann Franz Bütgen – 3 years in prison # Arno Albert Reuter – 2 years in prison # Stefan Lennart – acquitted

Additional trials

An additional 56 trials took place between March and November 1947 within the framework of the Mauthausen cases of individuals or small groups.

References

* * Robert Sigel: ''Im Interesse der Gerechtigkeit. Die Dachauer Kriegsverbrecherprozesse 1945–48.'' Campus, Frankfurt am Main 1992, . * Ute Stiepani: ''Die Dachauer Prozesse und ihre Bedeutung im Rahmen der alliierten Strafverfolgung von NS-Verbrechen.'' In: Gerd R. Ueberschär: ''Die alliierten Prozesse gegen Kriegsverbrecher und Soldaten 1943–1952.'' Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 1999, . * Review and Recommendations of the Deputy Judge Advocate for War Crimes: United States of America v. Hans Altfuldisch et al. – Case No. 000.50.
Originaldokument Mauthausen-Hauptprozess
30. April 1947 (englisch, PDF-Datei) * Florian Freund: ''Der Dachauer Mauthausenprozess.'' In: ''Dokumentationsarchiv des österreichischen Widerstandes. Jahrbuch 2001.'' Wien 2001, S. 35–66. * Bertrand Perz: ''Prozesse zum KZ Mauthausen.'' In: Ludwig Eiber, Robert Sigl (Hrsg.): ''Dachauer Prozesse – NS-Verbrechen vor amerikanischen Militärgerichten in Dachau 1945–1948.'' Wallstein, Göttingen 2007, . {{Authority control 1946 in Germany 1947 in Germany 1940s trials Holocaust trials