Erwin Dold (16 November 1919, in Wagensteig, part of the community of Buchenbach – 11 September 2012, in Buchenbach) was a fighter pilot in the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

, despite the fact that he was not a

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

member, then sergeant-major in the Luftwaffe ground staff,

Commandant Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...

of the

Concentration Camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

Dautmergen Dautmergen is a municipality in the Zollernalbkreis district of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. History Dautmergen was a possession of the County of Hohenberg until 1381, when it became part of the Duchy of Austria's territory in Swabia. The town ...

, and director of the lumber company Dold Holzwerke in Buchenbach.

Early life

Dold was born in

Wagensteig Buchenbach is a municipality in the south west of the Black Forest in Germany. It is located in the district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald in Baden-Württemberg. It is made up of four communities, the main town of Buchenbach and the villages of Fa ...

in the

Black Forest The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...

region of southern Germany in 1919 and was connected to his family's lumber mill from his earliest years.Obituary "Ein Leben für die Gemeinschaft" in Badische Zeitung retrieved 2015.05.07
/ref> The outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

prevented him from officially joining the company and instead he was trained as a fighter pilot in the German air force, seeing action in France, Romania and Russia before being shot down over

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

. He was seriously wounded and transferred to the ground staff in Freiburg im Breisgau after his recovery. Soon after this he was transferred as commander to the

concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

Haslach in the Kinzigtal and after its closure in the autumn of 1944 to the concentration camp in

, one of the sub-camps of the Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp. Its main purpose was the mining of oil shale, gained under grossly inhumane conditions.

Commandant at Dautmergen

The catastrophic situation of the inmates appalled the 24-year-old officer; the barracks stood on a swampy field and had no floor. The mortality rate, primarily from

Typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. ...

and Paratyphus stood at up to 50 dead per day. At Dold's request a sanitary inspection commission was called in to examine the hygienic and medical facilities, resulting in the transfer of the commandant. On 7 March 1945 Dold himself became the camp commandant. He distinguished himself through his humane conduct, saw to it that prisoners received clothing and food and improved the hygiene conditions. In adventurous sorties he managed to procure food with the help of a small groups of prisoners he had organised to help him, and with the financial assistance of his father, who ran the family firm. When ordered by the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one orga ...

to organise a firing squad for the execution of 23 Soviet officers between 5 and 7 April 1945, he refused to do so. That same month the camp was evacuated, few remaining prisoners were liberated by the French army. Dold gave himself up voluntarily to the French occupation army and was interned with 24 other defendants accused of crimes against humanity. On 1 February 1947, on the basis of witness testimony by prisoners, he was acquitted as the sole concentration camp commandant on the grounds of "proven innocence."

Post-war years

After the war, he joined his father's company, which he later took over. For over 40 years he remained silent about the events of the war until in 1990, he spoke to Dr Thomas Seiterich. A year later a documentary movie was made for German television by Manfred Bannenberg. On 8 November 2002 Erwin Dold was made citizen of honour of Buchenbach. In preparation for the film "Himmel und Erde" by Christian Schumacher with the French actor Gérard Depardieu situated in Schömberg he was able give sound advice for the film script. He is played in the film by

Matthias Schweighöfer Matthias Schweighöfer (; born 11 March 1981) is a German actor, voice actor, film director, and producer. Early life Born in Anklam, Western Pomerania, Schweighöfer attended Berlin's renowned acting school Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Art ...

. On 11 September 2012 he died in his home town at the age of 92.

Literature

* Yveline Pendaries, ''Les Procès de Rastatt (1946-1954). Le jugement des crimes de guerre en zone française d'occupation en Allemagne'', Peter Lang, 1995, p. 189. * Thomas Seiterich-Kreuzkamp: ''Der Fall Erwin Dold.'' In:

Michael Kißener Michael Kißener (born 3 December 1960, in Bonn) is a German historian and Professor at the University of Mainz. His research is focused on the history of the national socialist regime (the Third Reich) and the opposition against it. He earned his ...

(Ed.): ''Widerstand gegen die Judenverfolgung.'' Universitätsverlag Konstanz, Konstanz 1996, , S. 261–283. * Edwin Ernst Weber: ''Opfer des Unrechts: Stigmatisierung, Verfolgung und Vernichtung von Gegnern durch die NS-Gewaltherrschaft an Fallbeispielen aus Oberschwaben''. Thorbecke 2009, .

Film

* Manfred Bannenberg: ''Der KZ-Kommandant. Die ungewöhnliche Geschichte des Erwin Dold'', Dokumentarfilm, Deutschland 1991. * Christian Schumacher: ''Himmel und Erde'', Deutschland 2012, mit Matthias Schweighöfer, Anna-Maria Mühe und Gérard DepardieuHimmel und Erde (2012/13)
Bundesverband Regie

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dold, Erwin Nazi concentration camp commandants Businesspeople from Baden-Württemberg German Air Force personnel 1919 births 2012 deaths People from Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald