In 1942, he was appointed the commandant of Birkenau, the death camp in Auschwitz. He holds responsibility for hundreds of thousands of gassings. In 1944, he was transferred to Natzweiler concentration camp and appointed the commandant. He was subsequently transferred to Flossenbuerg, serving as commandant.
Hartjenstein's postwar fate consisted of many trials. First, he was arrested by the British and sentenced to life imprisonment on June 1, 1946 at Wuppertal for executing four resistance members. Then he was again tried by the British for hanging a POW who was a member of the Royal Air Force and sentenced to death by firing squad on June 5 of that year. He was then extradited to France, where he was tried for his crimes at Natzweiler and sentenced to death. He died of a heart attack while awaiting execution on October 20, 1954.
Friedrich "Fritz"Hartjenstein (July 3, 1905 - October 20, 1954) was an SS-Obersturmbannführer (lieutenant colonel).
Friedrich "Fritz"Hartjenstein (Peine, Germania, 3 luglio 1905 - Metz, Francia, 20 ottobre 1954) è stato un ufficiale nazionalsocialista - raggiunse il grado di SS-Obersturmbannführer equivalente a quello di tenente colonnello - comandante del centro di sterminio di Auschwitz II - Birkenau e del campo di concentramento di Natzweiler-Struthof."
Von einem britischen Militärgericht wurde Hartjenstein mit Urteil vom 5.
FritzHartjenstein: The Death Sentence (Commutted to Life Imprisonment)
The commandant of Natzweiler, FritzHartjenstein, and five others were tried by a British war crimes court at Wuppertal, from April 9, 1946 to h May 5, 1946.
All of the accused were found guilty; of these, three were sentenced to death and two hanged, one was later commutted.
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