Ernst Kaltenbrunner was an Austrian-born senior official of Nazi Germany during
World War II. An Obergruppenführer in the Schutzstaffel, between January 1943
and May 1945 he held the offices of Chief of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt
and President of the ICPC, later to become Interpol. He was the
highest-ranking member of the SS to face trial at the first Nuremberg Trials. He
was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity and executed.
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 obtained his doctorate degree in law at Graz
University in 1926. He had deep scars on his face from dueling in his student
days, although some sources attribute them to an automobile accident.
SS career On 18 October 1930, Kaltenbrunner joined
the Nazi Party and his NSDAP number was 300,179. In 1931, he was the
Bezirksredner for the Nazi Party in Oberosterreich. He went on to join the
SS on 31 August 1931 and his SS number was 13,039. He first became a
Rechtsberater for the party in 1929 and later held this same position for SS
Abschnitt VIII beginning in 1932. In January 1934, Kaltenbrunner was
briefly jailed at the Kaisersteinbruch detention camp with other National
Socialists for conspiracy by the Engelbert Dollfuss government. While
there he led a hunger strike which forced the government to release 490 of
the party members. In 1935, he was jailed again on suspicion of high
treason. This charge was dropped, but he was sentenced to six months imprisonment
for conspiracy and he lost his license to practice law.
From mid-1935 Kaltenbrunner was head of the illegal SS Abschnitt VIII in Linz
and was considered a leader of the Austrian SS. To provide Heinrich
Himmler, Reinhard Heydrich and Heinz Jost with new information, Kaltenbrunner
repeatedly made trips to Bavaria. Hiding on a train and on a ship that traveled
to Passau, he would return with money and Reichorders for Austrian comrades.
He assisted in the Anschluss with Germany and was promoted to
SS-Brigadeführer on 21 March 1938. He became a member of the Reichstag from 10
April 1938 until 8 May 1945. Then on 11 September 1938 Kaltenbrunner was
promoted to the rank of SS-Gruppenführer, equivalent to a
lieutenant general in the army while holding the position of Führer of
SS-Oberabschnitt Osterreich. Also in 1938, he was appointed High SS and
police leader for Donau, which was the primary SS command in Austria and he
held that post until 30 January 1943. World War II
In June 1940, he was further appointed Police President of Vienna and held that
additional post for a year. In July 1940, Kaltenbrunner was commissioned as
a SS-Untersturmführer in the Waffen-SS Reserve. Later in April 1941, he was
promoted to major general of the Police. On 30 January 1943 Kaltenbrunner was
appointed Chief of the RSHA, composed of the SiPo along with the SD. He replaced
Heydrich, who was assassinated in June 1942. Kaltenbrunner held this position
until the end of the war. He was promoted to SS-Obergruppenführer und
General der Polizei on 21 June 1943. He also replaced Heydrich as President of
the International Criminal Police Commission, the organization today known
as Interpol. During the summer of 1943, Kaltenbrunner made his second inspection
of the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp. While there, 15 prisoners were
selected to demonstrate for Kaltenbrunner three methods of killing;
by gunshot to the neck, hanging and gassing. After the killings' were
performed, Kaltenbrunner inspected the crematorium and later the quarry.
Toward the end of the war, Kaltenbrunner's power increased greatly,
especially after the attack on Hitler of 20 July 1944, upon which he gained
direct access to the Führer. He was also responsible for conducting "kangaroo
trials" and calling for the execution of all the people who were accused of
plotting against Hitler. It was often said that even Heinrich Himmler feared
him and he managed to be an intimidating figure with his 1.94 metres height,
facial scars and volatile temper. Kaltenbrunner was also long-time friends
with Otto Skorzeny and recommended him for many secret missions, allowing
Skorzeny to become one of Hitler's valued agents. Kaltenbrunner was also
responsible for heading Operation Long Jump, the attempt to assassinate Stalin,
Churchill, and Roosevelt. This mission was later thwarted by Soviet
intelligence agent Gevork Vartanian. 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. In December 1944, Kaltenbrunner was
granted the rank of General of the Waffen-SS. Other SS General Officers
were granted equivalent Waffen-SS ranks in 1944 as well, so that in the event
that they were captured by the Allies, they would have status as military
officers instead of police officials. For those who had held police rank prior
to 1944, the SS General's title could become rather lengthy. Kaltenbrunner was
listed on the SS rolls in 1945 as SS-Obergruppenführer und General der
Polizei und Waffen-SS. On 15 November 1944 he was awarded the Knights Cross of
the War Merit Cross with Swords. In addition, he was awarded the NSDAP
Golden Party Badge and the Blutorden. On 12 March 1945 a meeting took place in
the Vorarlberg between Kaltenbrunner and Carl Jacob Burckhardt, President of the
International Committee of the Red Cross. By this stage the Nazis were
willing to make some concessions to the wishes of the Red Cross.
On 18 April 1945, Himmler named Kaltenbrunner Commander-in-Chief of
those remaining German forces in Southern Europe. Kaltenbrunner
reorganized his intelligence agencies as a stay-behind underground net. He
divided the subcommands between Otto Skorzeny, head of the sabotage units,
and Wilhelm Waneck, who kept in contact not only with Kaltenbrunner and other
centers in Germany, but also with stay-behind agents in the southern
European capitals. Nuremberg trials
At the Nuremberg Trials, Kaltenbrunner was charged with conspiracy to commit
crimes against peace, war-crimes and crimes against humanity. The most
notable witness in this trial was Rudolf Höss, the camp commander of the
Auschwitz concentration camp. Due to his tight control over the RSHA,
Kaltenbrunner was held directly responsible for the following crimes:
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 airmen who had been shot down over German-occupied territory
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 destruction/spoliation of
public and private property Murder of prisoners in SiPo and SD
prisons Persecution of Jews
Persecution of churches and religions Persecution of gypsies
During the initial stages of the Nuremberg trials, Kaltenbrunner was
absent because of two episodes of subarachnoid hemorrhage. His lawyer Kurt
Kaufmann requested that Kaltenbrunner be acquitted on grounds of health
complications as he was medically unfit for the trial. Kaltenbrunner's state of
health improved and the tribunal denied his request for pardon. When
Kaltenbrunner was released from a military hospital he pleaded not guilty
to the charges of the indictment served on his person. Kaltenbrunner stressed
during cross-examination that all decrees and legal documents which bore
his signature were "rubber-stamped" and filed by his adjutant(s).
During the trial, Kaltenbrunner argued in his defense that his position as RSHA
chief existed only in title and was only committed to matters of espionage and
intelligence. He maintained that Himmler, as his superior, was the person
actually culpable for the atrocities committed during his tenure as chief of
the RSHA. The International Military Tribunal noted that Kaltenbrunner was a
keen functionary in matters involving the sphere of the RSHA's intelligence
network, but the evidence also showed that Kaltenbrunner was an active
authority and participant in many instances of war crimes and crimes
against humanity. On 30 September 1946 the IMT found Kaltenbrunner not guilty
of crimes against peace. However, Kaltenbrunner was found guilty of war
crimes and crimes against humanity. On 1 October 1946 the IMT sentenced him to
death by hanging. Execution
Kaltenbrunner was executed by hanging at around 1:40 a.m. on 16 October 1946.
Kaltenbrunner's last words were: I have loved my German people and my
fatherland with a warm heart. I have done my duty by the laws of my people
and I am sorry this time my people were led by men who were not soldiers and
that crimes were committed of which I had no knowledge. Germany, good luck.
Marriage and family On 14 January 1934, Kaltenbrunner
married Elisabeth Eder who was from Linz and a Nazi Party member. They had three
children. In addition to the children from his marriage, Kaltenbrunner had
twins, Ursula and Wolfgang, with his long-time mistress Gisela Gräfin von
Westarp. All the children survived the war.
Recovered evidence In 2001, Ernst Kaltenbrunner's personal
Nazi security seal was found in an Alpine lake in Styria, Austria, 56 years
after he threw it away in an effort to hide his identity. The seal was
recovered by a Dutch citizen on vacation. The seal has the words "Chef
der Sicherheitspolizei und des SD" engraved on it. Experts have examined
the seal and believe it was discarded 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 as he was led away, and by chance occurrence, she called out
his name and rushed to hug him. On 12 May 1945, this action tipped off the
Allied troops, resulting in his capture, trial, and execution.
= The Altaussee Treasures= In late April 1945, Kaltenbrunner fled
his headquarters from Berlin to Altaussee, where he had often vacationed
and had strong ties. While there, he opposed and thwarted the efforts of
local governor August Eigruber to destroy the huge and irreplaceable
collection of art stolen by the Nazis from museums and private collections
across occupied Europe which had been intended for Hitler's planned
Führermuseum in Linz. Ernst Kaltenbrunner's nephew, Michl
Kaltenbrunner, revealed that a hoard of Nazi treasure was buried in Lake
Toplitz, confirming suspicions held by investigators for decades. It was also
the first time any related family member of Ernst Kaltenbrunner gave any
information in regards to their relative and the dumping of Nazi property. Ernst
Kaltenbrunner's role was also discussed of his acting in defiance of Hitler's
orders and the helping to save artworks from the Altaussee salt mines near Lake
Toplitz from being destroyed. Kaltenbrunner's nephew substantiated
claims made by Austrian journalist Konrad Kramar in his book "Mission
Michelangelo" that Ernst Kaltenbrunner allowed Austrian miners in charge of the
area to remove the paintings as well as remove bombs that were planted to blow
them up. These were stored in a nearby extensive
complex of salt mines. Eigruber was determined to carry out what he had
determined was Hitler's true desire – to prevent the collection from falling into
the hands of "Bolsheviks and Jews" by destroying it with explosives set off in
the mine. Working with Dr. Emmerin Pöchmüller, the mine overseer,
Kaltenbrunner countermanded the order and had the explosives removed. Thus,
such world treasures as Michelangelo's Madonna of Bruges stolen from the Church
of Our Lady in Bruges, and Jan van Eyck's Ghent Altarpiece stolen from
Saint Bavo Cathedral in Ghent; Vermeer's The Astronomer and The Art of Painting
were not destroyed. This allegation by Kaltenbrunner's
relative is not depicted in George Clooney's "The Monuments Men" film, in
which Kaltenbrunner's character does not appear.
Popular culture representations = Dramas=
Kaltenbrunner has been portrayed by the following actors in film, television and
theater productions. Edward Underdown in the 1958 British
film The Two-Headed Spy. Branko Pleša in the 1971 Yugoslavian
television production Nirnberški epilog. Alain Nobis in the 1972 French
television production La Tragédie de Vérone.
Mikhail Zharkovsky in the 1973 Russian T.V. mini-series Semnadtsat mgnoveniy
vesny. Hans Meyer in the 1978 United States
T.V. miniseries Holocaust. John Moffatt in the 1981 British
television series Private Schulz. Hans Meyer in the 1982 United States
television production Inside the Third Reich.
Christopher Heyerdahl in the 2000 Canadian/U.S. T.V. production Nuremberg
= Comedy= Shaun Micallef in 2014 season of Danger
5. He is played as a maniacal buffoon alongside Hitler.
= Books= Ernst Kaltenbrunner: Ideological Soldier
of The Third Reich is a biographical work about Kaltenbrunner by Peter R.
Black. Nuremberg Diary is an account of the
Defendants at Nuremberg by G. M. Gilbert.
The Nuremberg Interviews is a descriptive, yet autobiographical
account of the Defendants at Nuremberg by Leon Goldensohn. Kaltenbrunner has
his own section, in his own words in this book.
Freemasonry: Ideology, Organization, and Policy is a book about Freemasonry
published with a foreword by Kaltenbrunner.
Hitler's Elite is a book by Louis L. Snyder compiling all of Hitler's top
henchmen and has a section on Kaltenbrunner.
Gestapo: Instrument of Tyranny is a book by Edward Crankshaw that investigates
the atmosphere within the Gestapo hierarchy and includes some information
about Kaltenbrunner. Colonization: Down to Earth, a fictional
account of historic events merged with an alternate history, Harry Turtledove
creates a scenario where Kaltenbrunner is the successor of Himmler as the third
Führer and Reich Chancellor of the Greater German Reich and triggers a war
between Nazi Germany and alien settlers, a war that results in the destruction of
the Reich and the death of Kaltenbrunner himself.
The Canaris Fragments is a novel by Walter Winward which involves a
fictional plot to rescue Kaltenbrunner from Nurnberg court by a small group of
British Free Corps agents led by an SS major.
Summary of his SS career = Dates of rank=
SS-Mann – 31 August 1931 SS-Truppführer - 1931
SS-Sturmhauptführer – 25 September 1932 SS-Standartenführer – 20 April 1936
SS-Oberführer – 20 April 1937 SS-Brigadeführer – 21 March 1938
SS-Gruppenführer – 11 September 1938 SS-Untersturmführer d.R. der Waffen-SS –
1 July 1940 Generalleutnant der Polizei – 1 April
1941 SS-Obergruppenführer und General der
Polizei – 21 June 1943 General der Waffen-SS und Polizei – 1
December 1944 = Nazi awards and decorations=
Honour Chevron for the Old Guard SS Zivilabzeichen Nr. 160,180
SS Julleuchter SS Honour Ring
Sword of honour of the Reichsführer-SS Anschluss Medal
Sudetenland Medal with Prague Castle Bar Golden Party Badge
SS Long Service Award For 4, 8, and 12 Years Service
Nazi Party Long Service Award in Bronze and Silver
Blood Order War Merit Cross, Second and First
Classes with Swords German Cross in Silver
Ehrenring der Stadt Wien Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross
with Swords See also
Allgemeine SS Glossary of Nazi Germany
List of SS personnel References
Sources Lumsden, Robin. A Collector's Guide To:
The Allgemeine — SS. Ian Allan Publishing, Inc. ISBN 0-7110-2905-9.
Miller, Michael. Leaders of the SS and German Police, Vol. 2. San Jose, CA: R.
James Bender. ISBN 978-19-329-7025-8. External links
Video of a Parade with Kaltenbrunner in January 1939
Audio recording of Kaltenbrunner at Nuremberg Trial
Kaltenbrunner defense broadcast during Nuremberg Trial
Testimony of Rudolf Hoess in the Nuremberg Trial
Kaltenbrunner's seal found in Alpine lake
Nuremberg film Seventeen Moments of Spring film
Holocaust miniseries "Ernest Kaltenbrunner" at Find-A-Grave