Fritz Hartjenstein
Fritz Hartjenstein | |
|---|---|
Hartjenstein in 1946 | |
| Born | Friedrich Hartjenstein 3 July 1905 Peine, German Empire |
| Died | 20 October 1954 (aged 49) Paris, French Fourth Republic |
| Allegiance | Nazi Germany |
| Branch | Schutzstaffel |
| Service years | 1939–1945 |
| Rank | SS-Obersturmbannführer |
| Unit | SS-Totenkopfverbände |
| Conflicts | World War II |
Friedrich "Fritz" Hartjenstein (3 July 1905 – 20 October 1954) was a German SS officer and concentration camp commandant. During the Second World War, he served in the Nazi concentration camp system and was commandant of Auschwitz II-Birkenau from November 1943 to May 1944 and commandant of Natzweiler-Struthof from May 1944.[1][2][3]
After the war, Hartjenstein was tried by British and French military courts for crimes committed in the concentration camp system. He received multiple death sentences, but they were not carried out. He was released from French custody on 19 October 1954 because of terminal illness and died in Paris the following day from bladder cancer before the death sentences imposed on him were carried out.[4]
Early life and SS career
Hartjenstein was born in Peine in 1905. According to Jürgen Gückel, he had a military background before joining the SS in 1939 and subsequently entered the concentration camp system.[5] His career illustrates the personnel rotation between the Waffen-SS and the concentration camp inspectorate described in the scholarship on the concentration camp SS.[6]
Auschwitz
In September 1942, Hartjenstein was posted to Auschwitz. After the reorganisation of the Auschwitz camp complex in November 1943, Auschwitz II-Birkenau briefly became an administratively separate camp. Hartjenstein served as commandant of Birkenau from November 1943 until mid-May 1944.[7][8][9]
His tenure fell within the period when Birkenau functioned as the main killing centre of the Auschwitz complex. Hartjenstein was succeeded there by Josef Kramer.[10]
Natzweiler
In May 1944, Hartjenstein became commandant of Natzweiler-Struthof. During his tenure, the camp system expanded and, as the Allied advance forced the evacuation of the main camp in Alsace, the command structure was transferred east of the Rhine while the wider Natzweiler complex continued to operate through numerous subcamps.[11][12]
Gückel's biography and memorial-site research connect Hartjenstein with killings and executions carried out within the Natzweiler camp complex, which later formed the basis of post-war prosecutions.[13]
Post-war trials
After Germany's defeat, Hartjenstein was taken into Allied custody. In British military proceedings connected with Natzweiler, he was convicted in connection with the murder of four female agents of the Special Operations Executive.[14]
He was subsequently transferred to French custody and again prosecuted for crimes committed in the Natzweiler system. In all, he received three death sentences.[15]
References
- ^ Gückel, Jürgen (2021). Heimkehr eines Auschwitz-Kommandanten: Wie Fritz Hartjenstein drei Todesurteile überlebte. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. ISBN 978-3-525-31137-0.
- ^ "Administration of the Auschwitz Camp Complex". United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
- ^ "Commandants". Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
- ^ Gückel, Jürgen (2021). Heimkehr eines Auschwitz-Kommandanten: Wie Fritz Hartjenstein drei Todesurteile überlebte. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. ISBN 978-3-525-31137-0.
- ^ Gückel, Jürgen (2021). Heimkehr eines Auschwitz-Kommandanten: Wie Fritz Hartjenstein drei Todesurteile überlebte. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. ISBN 978-3-525-31137-0.
- ^ Orth, Karin (2004). Die Konzentrationslager-SS: Sozialstrukturelle Analysen und biographische Studien. Munich: dtv. ISBN 978-3-423-34085-4.
- ^ "Administration of the Auschwitz Camp Complex". United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
- ^ "Commandants". Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
- ^ Gückel, Jürgen (2021). Heimkehr eines Auschwitz-Kommandanten: Wie Fritz Hartjenstein drei Todesurteile überlebte. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. ISBN 978-3-525-31137-0.
- ^ "Administration of the Auschwitz Camp Complex". United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
- ^ Gückel, Jürgen (2021). Heimkehr eines Auschwitz-Kommandanten: Wie Fritz Hartjenstein drei Todesurteile überlebte. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. ISBN 978-3-525-31137-0.
- ^ "Relocation of the headquarters". KZ-Gedenkstätte Neckarelz. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
- ^ Gückel, Jürgen (2021). Heimkehr eines Auschwitz-Kommandanten: Wie Fritz Hartjenstein drei Todesurteile überlebte. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. ISBN 978-3-525-31137-0.
- ^ Gückel, Jürgen (2021). Heimkehr eines Auschwitz-Kommandanten: Wie Fritz Hartjenstein drei Todesurteile überlebte. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. ISBN 978-3-525-31137-0.
- ^ Gückel, Jürgen (2021). Heimkehr eines Auschwitz-Kommandanten: Wie Fritz Hartjenstein drei Todesurteile überlebte. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. ISBN 978-3-525-31137-0.
Sources
- Gückel, Jürgen (2021). Heimkehr eines Auschwitz-Kommandanten: Wie Fritz Hartjenstein drei Todesurteile überlebte. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. ISBN 978-3-525-31137-0.
- Orth, Karin (2004). Die Konzentrationslager-SS: Sozialstrukturelle Analysen und biographische Studien. Munich: dtv. ISBN 978-3-423-34085-4.