Ernst Kaltenbrunner (October 4, 1903 – October 16, 1946) was a senior Nazi official during World War II. He was the highest ranking SS leader to face trial. He was executed for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Ernst Kaltenbrunner File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... is the 277th day of the year (278th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1900 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Friday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... Ried on the map of Austria Ried im Innkreis is a town in the province of Upper Austria (Oberösterreich) in Austria with a 2001 population of 11. ... is the 289th day of the year (290th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the city in Germany. ... Hanging is the suspension of a person by a ligature, usually a cord wrapped around the neck, causing death. ... Reinhard Heydrich - the first director of RSHA The RSHA, or Reichssicherheitshauptamt (Reich Security Main Office), was a subordinate organization of the SS created by Heinrich Himmler on September 22, 1939, through the merger of the Sicherheitsdienst (SD, or Security Agency), the Gestapo (Secret State Police) and the Kriminalpolizei (Criminal Police). ... is the 277th day of the year (278th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1900 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Friday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... is the 289th day of the year (290th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... National Socialism redirects here. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedias quality standards. ...

Early life

Born in Ried im Innkreis, Austria, Kaltenbrunner was the son of a lawyer, and was educated at the State Realgymnasium in Linz and Graz University. He obtained a law degree in 1926. He worked as a lawyer briefly in Linz and Salzburg and from 1928 in Linz. He was a huge man, standing just over 6'6 (201 cm) tall. He had deep scars on his face from dueling in his student days.^[1] However, according to some sources, these "duelling scars" were actually acquired in an alcohol-linked driving accident.^[2] Ried on the map of Austria Ried im Innkreis is a town in the province of Upper Austria (Oberösterreich) in Austria with a 2001 population of 11. ... The Poestlingberg church in Linz. ... Year 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This page is for the city of Salzburg. ... Year 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Kaltenbrunner joined the Nazi Party and the SS in Austria in 1932. He was the Gauredner (district speaker) and Rechtsberater (legal consultant) of the SS division VIII. In January 1934 Kaltenbrunner was briefly jailed by the Engelbert Dollfuss government with other National Socialists at the Kaisersteinbruch concentration camp. In 1934 he was jailed again on suspicion of High Treason in the assassination of Dollfuss. This accusation was dropped, but he was sentenced to six months for conspiracy. Also that year Kaltenbrunner married Elisabeth Eder; they had a son, Werner. The Nazi Party (German: , or NSDAP, English: National Socialist German Workers Party), was a far-right, racist political party in Germany between 1920 and 1945. ... Year 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1932 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Engelbert Dollfuss. ... It has been suggested that Internment be merged into this article or section. ...

Kaltenbrunner rises to a major Nazi figure

Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler, Franz Ziereis, and Ernst Kaltenbrunner in Mauthausen, 1941.

From mid-1935 Kaltenbrunner was the leader of the Austrian SS. He assisted in the Anschluss and Hitler promoted him to SS Brigadeführer on the day the Anschluss was completed. On September 11, 1938 he was promoted to the rank of SS Gruppenführer (see Video of Kaltenbrunner in Vienna January 1939). He was also a member of the Reichstag from 1938. In April 1941 was promoted to Major General of the Police. On January 30, 1943 Kaltenbrunner was appointed Chief of the RSHA, comprising both the Security Police (Sicherheitspolizei, or Sipo) and the SD, replacing Reinhard Heydrich, who had been assassinated in June 1942. Kaltenbrunner held this position until the end of the war. Image File history File links Himmler_ziereis_kaltenbrunner_1941. ... Image File history File links Himmler_ziereis_kaltenbrunner_1941. ... Heinrich Luitpold Himmler ( ; 7 October 1900–23 May 1945) was the commander of the Schutzstaffel (SS) and one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany by being second in power to Adolf Hitler in the Nazi hierarchy. ... Franz Ziereis was the commandant of the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp at the time it was liberated. ... German troops march into Austria on 12 March 1938. ... Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945, standard German pronunciation in the IPA) was the Führer (leader) of the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi Party) and of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. ... Brigadeführer was an SS rank that was used in Nazi Germany between the years of 1932 and 1945. ... is the 254th day of the year (255th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... SS-Gruppenführer collar patch SA-Gruppenführer rank insignia Volkssturm Gruppenführer insignia Gruppenführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party, first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA. Translated as “Group Leader”, a Gruppenführer was typically in charge of large numbers... The Reichstag (German for Imperial Diet) was the parliament of the Holy Roman Empire, the North German Confederation, and of Germany until 1945. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film). ... is the 30th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Reinhard Heydrich - the first director of RSHA The RSHA, or Reichssicherheitshauptamt (Reich Security Main Office), was a subordinate organization of the SS created by Heinrich Himmler on September 22, 1939, through the merger of the Sicherheitsdienst (SD, or Security Agency), the Gestapo (Secret State Police) and the Kriminalpolizei (Criminal Police). ... The Sicherheitspolizei (security police) was a term used in Nazi Germany to described the combined forces of the Gestapo and Sicherheitsdienst (the SD) between 1934 and 1939. ... Sicherheitsdienst (SD) sleeve insignia. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Reinhard Heydrich, the target of Operation Anthropoid. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Toward the end of the war, Kaltenbrunner's power increased greatly, especially after the attack on Hitler of July 20, 1944, upon which he gained direct access to the Fuhrer. It was said^{[weasel words]} that even Heinrich Himmler feared him, and it was rumoured^{[weasel words]} that he was responsible for Adolf Eichmann's failure to attain the rank of SS-Colonel. is the 201st day of the year (202nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Heinrich Luitpold Himmler ( ; 7 October 1900–23 May 1945) was the commander of the Schutzstaffel (SS) and one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany by being second in power to Adolf Hitler in the Nazi hierarchy. ... Otto Adolf Eichmann (known as Adolf Eichmann; March 19, 1906 – June 1, 1962) was a high-ranking Nazi and SS Obersturmbannführer (equivalent to Lieutenant Colonel). ...

Following Himmler's appointment as Minister of the Interior in August 1943, Kaltenbrunner sent him a letter wherein he argued that Himmler's new powers must be used to reverse the party cadre organisation's annexation of the civil service and the government apparatus. However he soon changed course and assiduously courted Martin Bormann much to Himmler's resentment. His closeness to Bormann further strengthened his position vis-a-vis Himmler and indeed the rest of the SS. Martin Bormann Martin Bormann (June 17, 1900 - c. ...

On December 9, 1944 he was awarded the Knight's Cross. By then his full title was SS Obergruppenführer and General of the Police Dr. Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Chief of the Security Police and the SD. In addition he held the Golden Insignia of Honor and the Blutorden. is the 343rd day of the year (344th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... The Iron Cross (German: Eisernes Kreuz) is a military decoration of Germany which was established by King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia and first awarded on 10 March 1813. ... SS-Obergruppenführer Erich von dem Bach-Zalewski SS-Obergruppenführer patch SA-Obergruppenführer insignia Obergruppenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the SA. Translated as Senior Group Leader, the rank of SA-Obergruppenführer was held by... The Blood Order medal The Blood Order, or as it was officially known, the decoration (of the Munich putsch) of 9 November 1923, was one of the most prestigious decorations in the Nazi Party. ...

Nuremberg Trials

SS-Ernst Kaltenbrunner at Nuremberg Trials being wheeled into court after an illness

At the Nuremberg Trials he was charged with conspiracy to commit crimes against peace, war-crimes and crimes against humanity. The most notable witness in this trial was Rudolf Hoess, the camp commander of the Auschwitz concentration camp. Image File history File links 72-843. ... Image File history File links 72-843. ... For the 1947 Soviet film about the trials, see Nuremberg Trials (film). ... Rudolf Hoess Rudolf Franz Ferdinand Höß (in English commonly Hoess or Höss; November 25, 1900 – April 16, 1947) was a senior Nazi official, member of the SS and Waffen-SS (with the rank of SS-Obersturmbannführer) and commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp where he was responsible for... Auschwitz (Konzentrationslager Auschwitz) was the largest of the Nazi German concentration camps. ...

His close control over the RSHA meant that direct knowledge of and responsibility for the following crimes was ascribed to him: Reinhard Heydrich - the first director of RSHA The RSHA, or Reichssicherheitshauptamt (Reich Security Main Office), was a subordinate organization of the SS created by Heinrich Himmler on September 22, 1939, through the merger of the Sicherheitsdienst (SD, or Security Agency), the Gestapo (Secret State Police) and the Kriminalpolizei (Criminal Police). ...

• Mass murders of civilians of occupied countries by Einsatzgruppen.
• Screening of prisoner of war camps and executing racial and political undesirables.
• The taking of recaptured prisoners of war to concentration camps, where in some cases they were executed.
• Establishing concentration camps and committing racial and political undesirables to concentration and annihilation camps for slave labor and mass murder.
• Deportation of citizens of occupied countries for forced labor and disciplining of forced labor.
• The execution of captured commandos and paratroopers and protection of civilians who lynched Allied fliers.
• The taking of civilians of occupied countries to Germany for secret trial and punishment.
• Punishment of citizens of occupied territories under special criminal procedure and by summary methods.
• The execution and confinement of people in concentration camps for crimes allegedly committed by their relatives.
• Seizure and spoliation of public and private property.
• Murder of prisoners in SIPO and SD prisons.
• Persecution of Jews.
• Persecution of the churches.

During the trial his lawyer attempted to bring out the worst in direct examination but only served to make things worse for him. He told his guards to relay to the prosecution that thanks were in order "for bringing him such a stupid attorney." He also denied his signed name so many times that his own attorneys referred to him as Der Mann ohne Unterschrift - "the man without a signature." A member of Einsatzgruppe D is just about to shoot a Jewish man kneeling before a filled mass grave in Vinnitsa, Ukraine, in 1942. ... A secret trial is a trial that is not open to the public, nor reported in the news. ...

He was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity and sentenced to death. He was executed by hanging at around 1:40 a.m. on October 16, 1946; his last words were: is the 289th day of the year (290th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Personal life

In 1934 Kaltenbrunner married Elisabeth Eder (b. 1908) and they had three children. In addition, he had twins (b. 1945) with his long-time mistress Gisela Gräfin von Westarp (née Wolf). All of his children survived the war.

Further evidence

In 2001, Ernst Kaltenbrunner's personal Nazi security seal was found in an Alpine lake, nearly 50 years after he threw it away in an effort to hide his identity. The seal was recovered by a Dutch holidaymaker. The seal has the words "The Head of the Security Police and the SD" engraved on it. Experts have examined the seal and believe it was thrown in the final days of the war in May 1945. It was one of Kaltenbrunner's last acts as a free man. Kaltenbrunner gave himself up claiming to be a doctor and offering a false name. However, his mistress spotted him, and by chance occurrence, she called out his name and rushed to hug him. This is what tipped off troops and what got him captured, leading to his trial at Nuremberg and his eventual execution.

Miscellaneous

• In the twelve-episode Russian television series, Seventeen Moments of Spring, Ernst Kaltenbrunner plays an important role and he is portrayed by Mikhail Zharkovsky.
• He is represented in the TNT movie "Nuremberg" and is portrayed by Christopher Heyerdahl.
• He is represented in the landmark NBC docu-drama mini-series, Holocaust.
• In the book Colonization: Down to Earth, Harry Turtledove creates an alternative history where Kaltenbrunner is the successor of Himmler as the third Fuhrer and Reich Chancellor of the Greater German Reich and triggers a war between Nazi Germany and aliens, a war that results in the destruction of the Reich and the death of Kaltenbrunner himself.
• A character in the movie The Return of the Living Dead is named "Ernie Kaltenbrunner".

Seventeen Moments of Spring (1973) (Семнадцать мгновений весны in Russian), also Seventeen Instants of Spring is a Soviet TV miniseries. ... Christopher Heyerdahl is an actor, who plays Halling on Stargate Atlantis. ... Holocaust was an Emmy Award-winning television miniseries broadcast in four parts in 1978 on the NBC television network. ... Harry Norman Turtledove (born June 14, 1949) is an American historian and prolific novelist who has written historical fiction, fantasy, and science fiction works. ... The German head of government has been known as the Chancellor (German: Kanzler) ever since the creation of the post. ... The Return of the Living Dead is a zombie horror film that was released in 1985 and was followed by several sequels. ...

Notes

1. ^ Ernst Kaltenbrunner
2. ^ [1]

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Ernst Kaltenbrunner

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Ernst Kaltenbrunner

• Video of a Parade with Kaltenbrunner in January 1939
• Testimony of Rudolf Hoess in the Nuremberg Trial
• Kaltenbrunner's seal found in Alpine lake
• Nuremberg film
• Seventeen Moments of Spring film
• The Return of the Living Dead
• Holocaust miniseries
• Colonization: Down to Earth