Adolf Ludwig Winkelmann (born 26 March 1887 in Salzkotten, died 1 February 1947 in Hamburg) was an SS

Hauptsturmführer __NOTOC__ (, ; short: ''Hstuf'') was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was used in several Nazi organizations such as the SS, NSKK and the NSFK. The rank of ''Hauptsturmführer'' was a mid-level commander and had equivalent seniority to a ...

and was employed as a doctor in several

Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as concen ...

including the

Ravensbrück concentration camp Ravensbrück () was a German concentration camp exclusively for women from 1939 to 1945, located in northern Germany, north of Berlin at a site near the village of Ravensbrück (part of Fürstenberg/Havel). The camp memorial's estimated figure o ...

Life

Winkelmann passed the state examination in 1913 at the

University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in ...

, and on 26 September 1914 he received his licence to practise as a

doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

. He received his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

from Walter Stoeckel, worked at various hospitals and was employed as a doctor in the

Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Wilhel ...

during the First World War. After the war he was in 1918 a member of a volunteer corps,

Ernst Klee Ernst Klee (15 March 1942, Frankfurt – 18 May 2013, Frankfurt) was a German journalist and author. As a writer on Germany's history, he was best known for his exposure and documentation of medical crimes in Nazi Germany, much of which was concer ...

: Das Personenlexikon zum Dritten Reich. Wer war was vor und nach 1945. Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, Zweite aktualisierte Auflage, Frankfurt am Main 2005, , S. 679. before settling as a practising

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

Lippstadt Lippstadt () is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest town within the district of Soest. Lippstadt is situated about 60 kilometres east of Dortmund, 40 kilometres south of Bielefeld and 30 kilometres west of Paderborn. Ge ...

. On 1 May 1933 he joined the

NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

(membership No. 3.101.530), and on 18 June 1933 he joined the

Schutzstaffel The ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS; also stylized as ''ᛋᛋ'' with Armanen runes; ; "Protection Squadron") was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe d ...

(SS No. 109.112). Winkelmann was promoted to SS

Untersturmführer (, ; short: ''Ustuf'') was a paramilitary rank of the German ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) first created in July 1934. The rank can trace its origins to the older SA rank of ''Sturmführer'' which had existed since the founding of the SA in 1921. ...

on 15 September 1935, to SS

Obersturmführer __NOTOC__ (, ; short: ''Ostuf'') was a Nazi Germany paramilitary rank that was used in several Nazi organisations, such as the SA, SS, NSKK and the NSFK. The rank of ''Obersturmführer'' was first created in 1932 as the result of an expa ...

on 9 November 1936 and to SS

on 30 January 1939. From January to October 1940 he was employed as a regimental doctor with the rank of SS Hauptsturmführer in the 8th SS regiment of the

Waffen SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with volunteers and conscripts from both occupied and unoccupied lands. The grew from th ...

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

. Until 1 December 1944, he worked as a medical officer in

Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ; german: Tschenstochau, Czenstochau; la, Czanstochova) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta River with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship (admin ...

. After brief assignments at the Groß-Rosen and

Sachsenhausen Sachsenhausen () or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a German Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used from 1936 until April 1945, shortly before the defeat of Nazi Germany in May later that year. It mainly held political prisoners ...

concentration camps, he was transferred to the

at the end of February 1945.

Ravensbrück

Winkelmann admitted that together with Richard Trommer he had selected prisoners who were unable to work, but the purpose of the selection remained hidden: "I knew that some transports came to the Uckermark concentration camp, but I did not know for what purpose." He had only been there a few times. This was contrasted by the statements of all witnesses who unanimously confirmed his participation in the selections there. During his service in Ravensbrück, he and Trommer "selected around 1,500 to 2,000 prisoners for removal”. Winkelmann described these selections in court:

The searches took place on one of the camp streets or in a barrack, but very rarely. The inmates marched in a row to Dr Trommer and past me. Of course, we could only do a very superficial examination, and the people who were obviously sick, unable to work, or unable to march were searched. The inmates had bare their legs so that we could see if they were capable of walking.

Winkelmann said that he had not known that the selection could mean death for the prisoners. Nor did he know that there was a gas chamber in the camp. He only acted on the orders of Trommer, who told him that there was a choice for evacuating the camp. He was horrified to have participated in such a crime. He had never heard of gassings in Germany until then and had only known about Auschwitz-Birkenau. Since Percival Treite and

Franz Lucas Franz Bernhard Lucas (September 15, 1911, in Osnabrück – December 7, 1994, in Elmshorn) was a German concentration camp doctor. Early life and education Franz Lucas was the son of a butcher.Ernst Klee: ''Auschwitz. Täter, Gehilfen und Opfer ...

were busy with the selection for the gas chamber in Ravensbrück, he was the third doctor responsible for the area. To relieve him, a witness testified that Winkelmann refused to abort her because she violated his medical ethos. According to his own information, he saw no ill-treatment of prisoners in the area and did not do any. Winkelmann died on 1 February 1947 of the consequences of a heart attack during the first of the seven Ravensbrück trials in Hamburg. Despite some doubts, the court found him guilty, but no death sentence was passed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winkelmann, Adolf 1887 births 1947 deaths Holocaust perpetrators in Germany Nazi concentration camp personnel Physicians in the Nazi Party People from Salzkotten University of Kiel alumni People convicted in the Hamburg Ravensbrück trials Prisoners who died in British military detention Nazis who died in prison custody