Ernst Kaltenbrunner | |
|---|---|
(cropped)(c).jpg) Kaltenbrunner in 1943 | |
| Director of the Reich Security Main Office | |
| In office 30 January 1943 – 8 May 1945 | |
| Appointed by | Adolf Hitler |
| Preceded by | Reinhard Heydrich / Heinrich Himmler (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Director of the Sicherheitsdienst (SD) | |
| In office 30 January 1943 – 8 May 1945 | |
| Preceded by | Reinhard Heydrich / Heinrich Himmler (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| President of Interpol | |
| In office 30 January 1943 – 12 May 1945 | |
| Leader | Oskar Dressler as Secretary-general |
| Preceded by | Arthur Nebe |
| Succeeded by | Florent Louwage |
| Higher SS and Police Leader of Austria | |
| In office 13 March 1938 – 30 January 1943 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Rudolf Querner |
| Additional positions | |
| April–May 1945 | Commander-in-chief of Southern Germany |
| 1943–1945 | Commander of the Einsatzgruppen |
| 1938–1945 | Member of the Greater German Reichstag |
| March 1938 | State Secretary of Public Security of Austria |
| 1931–1933 | District Speaker of the Nazi Party in Upper Austria |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ernst Kaltenbrunner 4 October 1903 Ried im Innkreis, Archduchy of Austria above the Enns, Austria-Hungary |
| Died | 16 October 1946 (aged 43) Nuremberg Prison, Nuremberg, Allied-occupied Germany |
| Cause of death | Execution by hanging |
| Political party | Nazi Party |
| Spouse |
Elisabeth Eder (m. 1934) |
| Domestic partner | Gisela Gräfin von Westarp |
| Children | 5 |
| Alma mater | University of Graz |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Cabinet | Seyss-Inquart government |
| Signature |  |
| SS service | |
| Allegiance | Nazi Germany |
| Service | Schutzstaffel |
| Years of service | 1931–1945 |
| Rank | Obergruppenführer |
| Criminal conviction | |
| Criminal status | Executed |
| Conviction(s) | War crimes Crimes against humanity |
| Trial | Nuremberg trials |
| Criminal penalty | Death |
Ernst Kaltenbrunner (4 October 1903 – 16 October 1946) was a high-ranking Austrian SS official during the Nazi era and a major perpetrator of the Holocaust. After the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in 1942, and a brief period under Heinrich Himmler, Kaltenbrunner was the third Chief of the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA), which included the offices of Gestapo, Kripo and SD, from January 1943 until the end of World War II in Europe.
Kaltenbrunner joined the Nazi Party in 1930 and the SS in 1931, and by 1935 he was considered a leader of the Austrian SS. In 1938, he assisted in the Anschluss and was given command of the SS and police force in Austria. In January 1943, Kaltenbrunner was appointed chief of the RSHA, succeeding Reinhard Heydrich, who was assassinated in May 1942.
A committed antisemite, Kaltenbrunner played a pivotal role in orchestrating the Holocaust and Nazi genocide intensified under his leadership. He oversaw the coordination of security and law enforcement agencies involved in widespread extermination, the suppression of resistance movements in occupied territories, extensive arrests, deportations, and executions. He was the highest-ranking member of the SS to face trial (Himmler having died of suicide in May 1945) at the Nuremberg trials, where he was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Kaltenbrunner was sentenced to death, and was executed by hanging on 16 October 1946.