NMT Case 4

Summary

In NMT Case 4, U.S.A. v. Pohl et al., Oswald Pohl and seventeen other officials of the SS Economic and Administrative Main Office (Wirtschafts und Verwaltungshauptant, WVHA) were charged with conspiracy to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and membership in a criminal organization. The crimes occurred in the concentration camps and labor camps of the SS in Germany and the occupied territories, which the WVHA managed from 1942 to 1945. According to the prosecution, approximately 10,000,000 persons were imprisoned in these camps. Specific charges included: imprisonment of civilians, nationals of foreign countries, and prisoners of war; exploitation of inmates as laborers; medical experiments conducted on prisoners; extermination of the Jews; sterilization; mistreatment of prisoners of war; euthanasia; and deportation of foreign nationals and plundering of their property. (These charges reflected two different forces in the SS system, which sometimes overlapped and sometimes competed against each other: The program of generating revenue for the SS by exploiting captive labor for profit, and the program of punishing and exterminating those considered enemies of the Nazi state.) Pohl was the chief of the WVHA, with August Frank and Georg Loerner as deputies. The other defendants were officials in the Amtsgruppen and Aemter (office groups and offices) responsible for specific aspects of the concentration camps and related operations of the SS. A few defendants were also charged with responsibility for crimes allegedly committed by their military units while they were on active military duty.

Persons Involved

Military Tribunal II

Robert M. Toms, presiding (Third Judicial Circuit, Detroit, Michigan)
Fitzroy D. Phillips (Superior Court, 13th District, North Carolina)
Michael A. Musmanno (Court of Common Pleas, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania)
John J. Speight, alternate (attorney, Alabama)

Prosecution

Telford Taylor, Chief of Counsel for War Crimes
James M. McHaney, chief, SS division
Jack W. Robbins, chief prosecutor for Case 4
Hans Froelich, prosecutor
Baucum Fulkerson, prosecutor
William I. Hart, prosecutor
James R. Higgins, prosecutor
Julius I. Rudolph, Jr., prosecutor
Daniel J. Shiller, deputy director, SS division
Peter W. Walton, prosecutor
Erik Ortmann, interrogator
Kurt Ponger, interrogator
Paul Siebenschein, research and analysis
Howell Webb, research and analysis
Larry Wolff, interrogator
Hans Wolffsohn, research and analysis
Frank Young, research and analysis

Defendants (WVHA Amtsgruppe = Office Group; Aemter = Offices)

Hans Hienrich Baier, executive officer of Amtsgruppe W, WVHA, SS Oberfuehrer. Verdict: Guilty on counts 2, 3, 4. Prison term: 10 years, commuted to time served (1951).
Dr. Hans Bobermin, Chief of Office 2 of Amtsgruppe W, WVHA, SS Obersturmbannfuehrer. Verdict: Guilty on counts 2, 3, 4. Prison term: 20 years, reduced to 15 years.
Franz Eirenschmalz, Chief of Office 6 of Amtsgruppe C, WVHA, SS Standartenfuehrer. Verdict: Guilty on counts 2, 3, 4. Death penalty; commuted to 9 years.
Heinz Karl Fanslau, Chief of Amtsgruppe A, WVHA, SS Brigadefuehrer, Waffen SS. Verdict: Guilty on counts 2, 3, 4. Prison term: 25 years, reduced to 20 years, commuted to 15 years.
August Frank, Deputy Chief of WVHA, Chief of Amtsgruppe A, WVHA, SS Obergruppen- fuehrer, Waffen SS. Verdict: Guilty on counts 2, 3, 4. Life in prison, commuted to 15 years.
Dr. Hans Hohberg, auditor for executive office of Amtsgruppe W, WVHA. Verdict: Guilty on counts 2 and 3. Prison term: 10 years, commuted to time served (1951).
Max Kiefer, Deputy chief of Amtsgruppe C, Chief of Office 2 of Amtsgruppe C, WVHA, SS Obersturmbannfuehrer. Verdict: Guilty on counts 2, 3, 4. Prison term: life in prison, reduced to 20 years, commuted to time served (1951).
Horst Klein, Chief of Office 8 of Amtsgruppe W, WVHA, SS Obersturmbannfuehrer. Verdict: Acquitted on counts 2, 3, 4.
Georg Loerner, Deputy Chief of WVHA, Chief of Amtsgruppe B, WVHA, SS Gruppenfuehrer, Waffen SS. Verdict: Guilty on counts 2, 3, 4. Death penalty, reduced to life in prison, commuted to 15 years.
Hans Loerner, Chief of Office 1 of Amtsgruppe A, WVHA, SS Oberfuehrer. Verdict: Guilty on counts 2, 3, 4. Prison term: 10 years, commuted to time served (1951).
Karl Mummenthey, Chief of Office 1 of Amtsgruppe W, WVHA, SS Obersturmbannfuehrer. Verdict: Guilty on counts 2, 3, 4. Life in prison, commuted to 20 years.
Oswald Pohl, Chief of WVHA and Amtsgruppe W, WVHA, SS Obergruppenfuehrer, Waffen SS. Verdict: Guilty on counts 2, 3, 4. Death penalty.
Dr. Hermann Pook, Office 3 (chief dentist) of Amtsgruppe D, WVHA, Waffen SS Obersturmbannfuehrer. Verdict: Guilty on counts 2, 3, 4. Prison term: 10 years, commuted to time served (1951).
Rudolf Scheide, Chief of Office 5 of Amtsgruppe B, WVHA, SS Standartenfuehrer. Verdict: Acquitted on counts 2, 3, 4.
Karl Sommer, Deputy Chief of Office 2 of Amtsgruppe D, WVHA, SS Sturmbannfuehrer. Verdict: Guilty on counts 2, 3, 4. Death penalty, commuted to life in prison, then reduced to 20 years.
Erwin Tschentscher, Deputy Chief of Amtsgruppe B, Chief of Office 1 of Amtsgruppe B, WVHA, SS Standartenfuehrer. Verdict: Guilty on counts 2, 3, 4. Prison term: 10 years, commuted to time served (1951).
Josef Vogt, Chief of Office 4 of Amtsgruppe A, WVHA, SS Standartenfuehrer. Verdict: Acquitted on counts 2, 3, 4.
Dr. Leo Volk, adviser to Pohl, head of legal section in executive office of Amtsgruppe W, WVHA, SS Hauptsturmfuehrer. Verdict: Guilty on counts 2 and 3; acquitted on count 4. Prison term: 10 years, commuted to 8 years.

Defense attorneys (in defendant order)

Baier: Dr. Stefan Fritsch and Dr. Georg Menzel; Menzel and Dr. Oskar von Jagwitz
Bobermin: Dr. Hans Gawlik and Dr. Gerhard Klinnert
Eirenschmalz: Dr. Bolko von Stein and Dr. Oskar von Jagwitz; Dr. Robert Servatius
Fanslau: Dr. Curt-Ferdinand von Stakelberg
Frank: Dr. Gerhard Rauschenbach and Johann Schaetzler
Hohberg: Dr. Willi Heim and Dr. Wilhelm Maas; Dr. Ernst Schulte
Kiefer: Dr. Erich Mayer and Dr. Ferdinand Leis
Klein: Dr. Friedrich Bergold and Dr. Oskar Ficht
G. Loerner: Dr. Carl Haensel and Dr. Heinz Mueller-Torgow
H. Loerner: Dr. Gerhard Rauschenbach and Johann Schaetzler; Dr. Wilhelm Schmidt
Mummenthey, Karl: Dr. Georg Froeschmann and Dr. Karl Pracht
Pohl: Dr. Alfred Seidl and Dr. Georg Gierl
Pook: Dr. Paul Ratz
Scheide: Dr. Karl Hoffmann
Sommer: Dr. Eduard Belzer and Dr. Joseph Mayer; Dr. Karl Hoffman
Tsentscher: Dr. Hans Pribilla and Helmut Eisenblaetter
Vogt: Dr. Wilhelm Schmidt
Volk: Dr. Hans Gawlik and Dr. Gerhard Klinnert

Chronology Overview

Indictments

• Count 1
  1. Conspiracy to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity, including: financing the SS; operation of concentration camps and labor camps, and the imprisonment, enslavement, torture, and murder of inmates; supply of inmate labor to German enterprises; use of inmates for medical experiments (epidemic jaundice, food, freezing, high altitude, malaria, phlegmon, poison gas, polygal, seawater, sterilization, sulfanilamide, typhus);
  2. participation in the extermination of the Jews;
  3. sterilization of targeted groups;
  4. mistreatment of prisoners of war;
  5. participation in the euthanasia program;
  6. deportation of citizens of occupied territories, plundering of their property, and exploitation of their labor.
• Count 2
  1. War crimes.
  2. Crimes against citizens of occupied territories and prisoners of war between Sep 1939 and Apr 1945, including: imprisonment in concentration and labor camps; excessive work and inadequate care in the camps; mistreatment in transports and marches; murder, torture, and ill-treatment of inmates; medical experiments on inmates; sterilization of inmates; plundering of property; deportation of civilians and resettlement of "Aryans" in occupied territories; mass executions of Jews, Poles, and Russians; and persecution of clergymen, intellectuals, and other elements of targeted nationalities.
• Count 3
  1. Crimes against humanity.
  2. Crimes against German civilians and nationals of other countries under German civil government between Sep 1939 and April 1945, including the acts specified in counts 1 and 2.
• Count 4
  1. Membership in a criminal organization. All of the defendants except Hohberg were charged with membership in the SS.

WVHA Organization and Officials

The SS Wirtschafts und Verwaltungshauptamt (WVHA; Economic and Administrative Main Office) was established in March 1942, with Pohl as its chief. It took the place of several previous offices, including the Administrative Department (Verwaltungsamt) of the SS Central Office (SS Hauptamt), the Department of Budget and Buildings (Hauptamt Haushalt und Bauten), and the Inspector of Concentration Camps (Inspekteur der Konzentrationslager). The WVHA had five Amtsgruppen (office groups), each divided into Aemter (offices). Amtsgruppe A, headed first by Frank and later by Fanslau, was responsible for finance and administration of the WVHA and other elements of the SS. Amtsgruppe B, headed by Georg Loerner, was responsible for food, supplies, raw materials, and equipment for the SS and concentration camps. Amtsgruppe C, headed by SS Gen. Hans Kammler, was responsible for buildings, grounds, and construction, including those in concentration camps. Amtsgruppe D, headed by SS Gen. Richard Gluecks, was responsible for the administration of the concentration camps. Amtsgruppe W, headed by Pohl and Georg Loerner, was responsible for the business enterprises of the SS.

WVHA organizational chart and outline

                                     Chief of WVHA
                                     Oswald Pohl
                                     deputies:
                                     A. Frank (until 1943)
                                     G. Loerner (1943-45)


Amtsgr. A          Amtsgr. B          Amtsgr. C          Amtsgr. D          Amtsgr. W
Administration     Supplies           Construction       Conc. camps        Econ. enterprises
A. Frank (-1944)   G. Loerner         Kammler            Gluecks            Pohl
Fanslau (1944-45)  dep. Tsentscher    dep. Schleiff,     dep. Liebehenschel dep. G. Loerner
                   asst. Manzen-      Kiefer             dep. Maurer        staff W: Hohberg,
                   berger                                asst. Harbaum      Baier, Volk

Amt. A-1           Amt. B-1           Amt. C-1           Amt. D-1           Amt. W-1
Budgets            Food               General            Central office     Minerals-Reich
H. Loerner         Tsentscher         Sesemann           Liebehenschel      Mummenthey
                                      Rall               R. Hoess 43-45

Amt. A-2           Amt. B-2           Amt. C-2           Amt. D-2           Amt. W-2
Finance/payroll    Clothing           Special            Inmate labor       Minerals-East
Kukatsch (1942)    Lechler            Kiefer             Maurer             Bobermin
H. Loerner (43-45)                                       dep. Sommer

Amt. A-3           Amt. B-3           Amt. C-3           Amt. D-3           Amt. W-3
Legal              Housing            Technical          Medical            Food
Salpeter (1942)    Koberlein          Floto              Lolling            Rabineck (1942)
Frank                                 Wirtz              dental: Pook       Moeckel

Amt. A-4           Amt. B-4           Amt. C-4           Amt. D-4           Amt. W-4
Audits             Raw materials      Art projects       Camp admin.        Timber
Vogt               Weggel             Schneider          Burger (1942)      May
                                      Blaschek           Kaindl             Opperbeck

Amt. A-5           Amt. B-5           Amt. C-5           Legal Dept.        Amt. W-5
Personnel          Transport          Inspectorate       Wiener             Agric./forest/fish.
Fanslau            Scheide            Noell                                 Vogel
                                      Lenzer

                                      Amt. C-6                              Amt. W-6
                                      Maintenance                           Textiles/leather
                                      Eirenschmalz                          Lechler

                                                                            Amt. W-7
                                                                            Books/pictures
                                                                            Mischke

                                                                            Amt. W-8
                                                                            Special projects
                                                                            Salpeter
                                                                            Klein

Defendants associated with WVHA and its Office Groups

• WVHA: Pohl (chief), Frank (deputy), G. Loerner (deputy).
• Amtsgruppe A (SS administration/finance): Frank (chief), Fanslau (chief), H. Loerner, Vogt.
• Amtsgruppe B (SS supplies): G. Loerner (chief), Tschentscher (deputy), Scheide.
• Amtsgruppe C (SS construction): Kiefer, Eirenschmalz.
• Amtsgruppe D (concentration camp administration): Sommer, Pook.
• Amtsgruppe W (SS businesses): Pohl (chief), G. Loerner (deputy), Hohberg (auditor), Baier (exec. asst.), Volk (legal dept.), Mummenthey, Bobermin, Klein.

Concentration Camps

Central administration: See Amtsgruppe D in WVHA chart (above). All of the camps except Herzogenbusch were within the wartime expanded Reich borders. Information drawn from L. L. Snyder, Encyclopedia of the Third Reich (1976) and C. Zentner and F. Beduerftig, Encyclopedia of the Third Reich (1997). The SS also maintained over 150 labor camps during the war. Most of the concentration camps employed forced labor for construction work, armaments work, manufacturing, and agriculture, including some work-to-death regimes (notably in the quarry operations); many of the camps were the site of medical experiments and euthanasia operations. The large camps had many satellite sub-camps for work projects. The Polish camps were extermination camps, but selective executions (including the killing of Jews, Poles, Russians, and disabled persons) were also conducted at camps within Germany. The commandants and other senior officers of the camps were generally prosecuted at local war crimes trials, notably the trial of Rudolf Hoess and his subordinates at Auschwitz.

• Auschwitz, Poland; labor and extermination camp, est 1940. Commandant: Rudolf Hoess, Arthur Liebehenschel, Josef Kramer, Heinrich Schwarz, Fritz Hartjenstein, Richard Baer. Sub-camps: Auschwitz 1: political prisoners. Auschwitz 2: Birkenau (extermination). Auschwitz 3: Monowitz (labor camp "Buna" for I. G. Farben). The 3 camps were administratively separated in 1943. 1.1 - 1.5 million killed.
• Belzec, Poland; extermination camp, 1941-1943. Commandants: Christian Wirth, Gottfried Hering. 600,000 killed. Bergen-Belsen, 1943-45. Commandants: Rudolf Haas, Josef Kramer. Primarily a holding camp for Jews awaiting transfer or exchange; at end of war received inmates evacuated from other camps.
• Buchenwald, near Weimar, est 1937. Commandants: Karl Koch, Hermann Pister. Chief admin. officer: Barnewald. Camp doctor: W. Hoven. Labor camp; medical experiments; selective executions.
• Chelmno (or Kulmhof), Poland; extermination camp, 1941-1944. Commandants: Herbert Lange, Hans Bothmann. 150,000 killed.
• Dachau, near Munich; est Mar 1933. Commandants: Hilmar Waeckerle, Theodor Eicke. 150 branches in southern Germany and Austria. Primarily for political prisoners. Training center for SS and concentration camp officials. Medical experiments. 32,000 killed.
• Flossenburg, near Weiden; est 1938. Commandants: Jakob Weiseborn, Egon Zill, Max Koenig, Karl Kuenster. Labor camp, including work-to-death quarry operation.
• Gross-Rosen, near Striegau. Commandants: Johannes Hassebroek, Arthur Roedl, Wilhelm Gideon. Labor camp, primarily in munitions industry.
• Herzogenbusch, the Netherlands, 1943-44. Sub-camp for women: Vught. Camp for Dutch prisoners and hostages; transit camp for Jews shipped to extermination camps.
• Maidanek or Majdanek (Lublin), Poland, 1941-44; extermination camp. Commandants: Karl Koch, Hermann Florstedt, Martin Weiss, Max Koegel. More than 200,000 killed.
• Mauthausen, Austria, 1938-45. Commandants: Albert Sauer, Franz Ziereis, 1944-45. Work camp. More than 71,000 killed.
• Natzweiler, near Strasbourg, 1941-44. Work camp; medical experiments. Commandants: Egon Zill, Fritz Hartjenstein, Hans Huettig, Heinrich Schwarz. More than 5,000 killed.
• Neuengamme near Hamburg, 1938-45. Commandants: Martin Weiss, Max Pauly. Labor camp for armaments. 56,000 killed.
• Papenburg or Emsland camps, near the Netherlands, 1934-45. Camp for criminals and later political prisoners. Managed by the Justice Ministry rather than the concentration camp administration.
• Ravensbrueck, near Fuerstenberg, 1939-45. Camp for women, with a small sub-camp for men. Commandants: Max Koegel, Fritz Suhren. Work camp; medical experiments; selective executions.
• Sachsenhausen, including Oranienburg, near Berlin; est 1936. Commandants: Hermann Baranowski, Hans Loritz, Walter Eisfeld, Anton Kaindl. Work camp; selective executions; medical experiments.
• Sobibor, Poland, 1942-43. Commandants: Richard Thomalla, Franz Stangl, Franz Reichleitner. Extermination camp. More than 150,000 killed.
• Stutthof, Poland, 1942-45. Commandants: Max Pauly, Paul Hoppe. Labor and extermination camp.
• Theresienstadt (or Terezin), Czechoslovakia. 1941-45. Commandants: Siegfried Seidl, Anton Burger, Karl Rahm. Created as a model or "show" camp; became transit camp for extermination of Jews.
• Treblinka, Poland. extermination camp, 1941-1943. Commandants: Irmfried Eberl, Franz Stangl, Kurt Franz. 750,000 - 900,000 killed.

Detailed Chronology