Josef Kollmer

Josef Kollmer
Born(1901-02-26)26 February 1901
Händlern, Bavaria, Germany
Died24 January 1948(1948-01-24) (aged 46)
Cause of deathExecution by hanging
OccupationSS functionary
Known forMass murder at Auschwitz
Political partyNazi Party
Criminal statusExecuted
Conviction(s)Crimes against humanity
TrialAuschwitz Trial
Criminal penaltyDeath

Josef Kollmer (26 February 1901 – 24 January 1948) was a German SS functionary during the Nazi era who committed mass murder at Auschwitz.[1] He was prosecuted at the Auschwitz Trial.[2]

Born in Händlern, Bavaria, Kollmer was a farmer by trade. He became a member of the SS on 1 January 1935 after having previously spent several years in the German police force. He joined the Nazi party in May 1937. In October 1941 he was drafted into the Waffen-SS and was assigned to Auschwitz, where he commanded various guard companies until October 1943. He then temporarily transferred to Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp, but returned to Auschwitz in May 1944. Initially he commanded the guard company at Auschwitz main camp, then later the one at Monowitz concentration camp from August to October 1944.[3] During his time at Auschwitz, Kollmer participated in the mass murder of Jews in the Birkenau gas chambers, and carried out executions against the shooting wall between blocks 10 and 11 and at the Buna factory.

Kollmer was tried by the Supreme National Tribunal at the Auschwitz Trial in Kraków and was sentenced to death. His sentence was carried out by hanging in Montelupich Prison, Kraków.

  1. ^ Langbein, Hermann (2005-12-15). People in Auschwitz. Univ of North Carolina Press. ISBN 9780807863633.
  2. ^ In Search of the Origins of Nazi Monstrosity: From Persecution to Annihilation. Dorrance Publishing. ISBN 9781434958648.
  3. ^ Frei, Norbert (2000). Commander's and Headquarter's Orders in the Concentration Camp Auschwitz 1940--1945 (in German). K. G. Saur Verlag GmbH. ISBN 9783598240300.