Ernst Kaltenbrunner
Ernst Kaltenbrunner (4 October 1903 in Ried im Innkreis, Austria - 16 October 1946 in Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany) was a high-ranking Austrian-German SS officer and Nazi official. He was found guilty at the Nuremberg Trials and executed for his participation in the Holocaust.
Early life
Ernst Kaltenbrunner was born on 4th October 1903 in Ried im Innkreis. He never volunteered military service in the Austro-Hungarian Army because he was too young. He joined the Nazi Party and the Schutzstaffel/SS in 1931. He also joined the Gestapo in the 1930s.
Nazi career
During the Nazi Era and World War II, Kaltenbrunner was a powerful Nazi Party official. He was the head of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (Reich Security Head Office) and Interpol. When Nazi officer Reinhard Heydrich was assassinated in 1942, Kaltenbrunner took his place. In June 1934 he was involved in the Night of the Long Knives to kill Ernst Röhm, the head of the SA. He was also involved in Kristallnacht (Night Of The Broken Glass) in 1938.
In 1942, after Reinhard Heydrich was assassinated, Kaltenbrunner took his place as head and Chief of the Gestapo of the German SS. He held this position until 1945, when he was captured by the Allies.
From 1942-1945, Kaltenbrunner was the Reich Protector of Bohemia and Morovia. He was also SS-Obergruppenführer from 1942-1945. He lost these positions in 1945, when the Allied forces liberated Czechoslovakia (freeing it from Nazi control).
Trial and execution
Kaltenbrunner was the highest-ranking senior SS and police officer charged at the Nuremberg Trials. He was found guilty of war crimes and was executed by hanging.
| SS Officers Rank Equivalent | German Army Officer rank Equivalent | Date and Year |
|---|---|---|
| SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer | Captain | 1932-1933 |
| SS-Standartenfuhrer und Oberfuhrer | Colonel | 1933-1934 |
| SS-Obergruppenfuhrer | General | 1935-1945 |
Ernst Kaltenbrunner Media
Kaltenbrunner's graduation record, 1926
- Bundesarchiv Bild 121-0492, Wien, Einweihung, Polizeikrankenhaus.jpg
Kaltenbrunner with Ordnungspolizei officials in Vienna in 1940 following the 1938 Anschluss
- Bundesarchiv Bild 183-45534-0005, Kz Mauthausen, Besuch Heinrich Himmler, Franz Ziereis.jpg
Kaltenbrunner, Heinrich Himmler and August Eigruber (in black) inspect Mauthausen concentration camp in 1941, in the company of camp commander Franz Ziereis (center left)
- Bundesarchiv Bild 192-029, KZ Mauthausen, Himmler, Kaltenbrunner, Ziereis.jpg
Kaltenbrunner with Himmler and Ziereis at Mauthausen in April 1941
- Bundesarchiv Bild 151-17-03, Volksgerichtshof, Dr. Ernst Kaltenbrunner.jpg
Kaltenbrunner (front row, second from left) as a spectator at a People's Court show trial following the failed 20 July plot in 1944
- War criminal, SS Lieutenant General Ernst Kaltenbrunner (2).jpg
Kaltenbrunner testifying as a witness on his own behalf at the International Military Tribunal.
- Ernst Kaltenbrunner.jpg
Kaltenbrunner wheeled into court during the Nuremberg trials after a brain hemorrhage during interrogation.
- Dead ernstkaltenbrunner.jpg
Kaltenbrunner's body after execution by hanging on 16 October 1946