Eduard Weiter (18 July 1889 – 2 May 1945) was a German bureaucrat who became a

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 duri ...

Obersturmbannführer __NOTOC__ ''Obersturmbannführer'' (Senior Assault-unit Leader; ; short: ''Ostubaf'') was a paramilitary rank in the German Nazi Party (NSDAP) which was used by the SA ('' Sturmabteilung'') and the SS (''Schutzstaffel''). The rank of ''Oberstu ...

and

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 ...

commandant during

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 ...

Early life

The son of a horsewhip maker, Weiter worked as a book salesman whilst studying part-time until he joined the

German Imperial Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (german: Deutsches Heer), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the ...

at the age of 20. He served as a soldier for ten years, seeing action on the

Eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

and Balkan fronts during the course of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Tom Segev Tom Segev ( he, תום שגב; born March 1, 1945) is an Israeli historian, author and journalist. He is associated with Israel's New Historians, a group challenging many of the country's traditional narratives. Biography Segev was born in Jeru ...

, ''Soldiers of Evil'', Berkley Books, 1991, p. 133 He served as divisional and then regimental paymaster and following the reductions in the German military that followed the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...

he took up a similar position in the

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

n police.

SS career

Weiter continued as an anonymous bureaucrat until in 1936 he retired from his paymaster role, the Bavarian police having been incorporated as a unit into the

Ordnungspolizei The ''Ordnungspolizei'' (), abbreviated ''Orpo'', meaning "Order Police", were the uniformed police force in Nazi Germany from 1936 to 1945. The Orpo organisation was absorbed into the Nazi monopoly on power after regional police jurisdiction w ...

. He then took a role with the SS, although once again as a paymaster and even at this point Weiter wrote that he had no particular political beliefs or identity. Indeed, he did not join the

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 ...

until 1937. Weiter did win the favour of Oswald Pohl but his ambivalence to politics slowed down his advancement and even when, during the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

, he was put in charge of administering Dachau concentration camp it was still a bureaucratic role away from the actual camp.Segev, ''Soldiers of Evil'', p. 134 Despite this Weiter succeeded

Martin Weiss Martin Weiss may refer to: * Martin Weiss (diplomat) (born 1962), Austrian diplomat and Ambassador of Austria to the United States * Martin Weiss (Nazi official) (1903–1984), commander of Vilna Ghetto and the ''Ypatingasis būrys'' mass murder k ...

as camp commandant on 30 September 1943. Inmate accounts suggest that Weiter's regime was characterised by the same anonymity that had defined his career as he was rarely seen around the camp. Conditions did decline however, notably due to overcrowding as other more easterly camps were closed but Weiter made little attempt to expand Dachau to cope with this influx. It is also likely that Weiter personally killed the dissident Georg Elser, whose death was officially announced by Weiter as having been caused by an air raid. After the war a letter to Weiter from Heinrich Müller was discovered in which the order was given that Elser was to be killed and that the death was to be blamed on a bombing raid. Inmate leaders would later testify that Weiter had spoken to them shortly before leaving Dachau in an attempt to get them to testify to his lack of direct cruelty at any subsequent trial.

Death

Weiter did not face trial as he fled Dachau immediately before its liberation and made it to castle Schloss Itter in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, where he died under mysterious circumstances. According to

Paul Reynaud Paul Reynaud (; 15 October 1878 – 21 September 1966) was a French politician and lawyer prominent in the interwar period, noted for his stances on economic liberalism and militant opposition to Germany. Reynaud opposed the Munich Agreement of ...

, on Wednesday May 2, 1945, after drunkenly bragging about the recent executions he had ordered at Dachau, Weiter shot and killed himself. He was unceremoniously buried outside the walls of the castle in an unmarked grave.Paul Reynaud, ''In the Thick of the Fight 1930-1945'', Simon & Schuster, 1955, p. 653 However, historian

states that he may have been killed by a fellow SS member angry at his lack of ideological conviction.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weiter, Eduard 1889 births 1945 suicides People from Eschwege Nazi Party politicians Holocaust perpetrators in Germany German Army personnel of World War I Dachau concentration camp personnel SS-Obersturmbannführer Nazi concentration camp commandants People from Hesse-Nassau Waffen-SS personnel Nazis who committed suicide in Austria Suicides by firearm in Austria