Heinrich Schwarze (14 June 1906 – 20 March 1947) was an '' SS-Hauptsturmführer'' (captain) and concentration camp officer who served as commandant of Auschwitz III-Monowitz in Nazi-occupied Poland and Natzweiler-Struthof in Alsace-Lorraine.

Early life

Schwarze was born in Munich on 14 June 1906 and originally worked as a book printer. He joined both the Nazi Party and the '' Schutzstaffel'' (SS) in November 1931. Following the outbreak of World War II, Schwarze served with the '' Waffen-SS'' on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

until October 1940, when he was transferred to the SS-Concentration Camps Inspectorate. He was stationed at both the Mauthausen and Sachsenhausen concentration camps during 1940-1941.

Auschwitz concentration camp

In September 1941 Schwarze was transferred to Poland and posted to the administrative office of the

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

. His initial duties included working as

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

to the camp's commandant, Rudolf Höß. Schwarze also served as director of the camp's Work Assignment Department (Abt. IIIa) and held the position of ''

Lagerführer ''Lagerführer'' (Camp Leader) was a paramilitary title of the SS, specific to the '' Totenkopfverbände'' (Concentration Camp Service). A ''Lagerführer'' was the head SS officer assigned to a particular concentration camp Internment is t ...

'' (camp leader) for Auschwitz's central administration area. In November 1943, Höß was appointed assistant director of Office Group D for the SS Economic and Administrative Main Office in Berlin. Following his departure, the

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

camp system was reorganized by the high command of the SS and divided into three semi-autonomous administrative units:

Auschwitz I Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

, Auschwitz II-Birkenau and the Auschwitz III-Monowitz labour camp. Under this new arrangement Schwarze was given command of Auschwitz III-Monowitz in December 1943. Central to the role Schwarze played as commandant was the provision of slave-labourers to the nearby

Buna Werke Buna Werke may refer to: * Buna Werke Schkopau, the first large-scale synthetic rubber plant in Schkopau, Germany * Monowitz Buna Werke Monowitz (also known as Monowitz-Buna, Buna and Auschwitz III) was a Nazi concentration camp and labor camp ...

, a

synthetic rubber A synthetic rubber is an artificial elastomer. They are polymers synthesized from petroleum byproducts. About 32-million metric tons of rubbers are produced annually in the United States, and of that amount two thirds are synthetic. Synthetic rubbe ...

factory owned by the German chemical company

IG Farben Interessengemeinschaft Farbenindustrie AG (), commonly known as IG Farben (German for 'IG Dyestuffs'), was a German chemical and pharmaceutical conglomerate (company), conglomerate. Formed in 1925 from a merger of six chemical companies—BASF, ...

. Other German corporations, such as

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...

and

Krupp The Krupp family (see pronunciation), a prominent 400-year-old German dynasty from Essen, is notable for its production of steel, artillery, ammunition and other armaments. The family business, known as Friedrich Krupp AG (Friedrich Krup ...

, also received slave labour from Monowitz. The brutal working conditions which prevailed at Monowitz during the period Schwarze served as commandant resulted in a large number of deaths among the inmate population, with estimates ranging between 10,000 and 35,000 prisoners who were believed to have died in the labour camp itself or in the gas chambers located at neighbouring

Auschwitz-Birkenau Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

. Following the evacuation of Auschwitz complex on 18 January 1945, Schwarze was initially slated to take over command of the Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp and the associated V-weapons production facility of Mittelwerk, but was passed over for this post in favour of

Richard Baer Richard Baer (9 September 1911 – 17 June 1963) was a German SS officer who, among other assignments, was the commandant of Auschwitz I concentration camp from May 1944 to January 1945, and right after, from February to April 1945, commanda ...

. Instead, Schwarze was appointed commandant of the concentration camp of Natzweiler-Struthof, serving there until the end of the war.

War crimes trial

After the German defeat, Schwarze was tried and convicted of war crimes and

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...

French occupation French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

authorities in Rastatt; in connection with atrocities committed during his brief tenure as commandant of Natzweiler-Struthof. He was sentenced to death and subsequently shot by a firing squad near Baden-Baden on 20 March 1947.Today's Best Military Writing: The Finest Articles on the Past, Present, and Future of the U.S. Military by Walter J. Boyne Publisher: Forge Books; 1st edition (26 August 2004) Language: English

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schwarz, Heinrich 1906 births 1947 deaths Executed German mass murderers Executed Nazi concentration camp commandants Executed people from Bavaria Holocaust perpetrators in Austria Holocaust perpetrators in France Holocaust perpetrators in Germany Holocaust perpetrators in Poland Auschwitz concentration camp personnel Mauthausen concentration camp personnel Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp personnel Sachsenhausen concentration camp personnel Military personnel from Munich Nazis executed by France by firing squad People executed by the French Fourth Republic People executed for crimes against humanity People from the Kingdom of Bavaria SS-Hauptsturmführer Waffen-SS personnel