Egon Gustav Adolf Zill (28 March 1906 in

Plauen Plauen (; Czech: ''Plavno'') is, with around 65,000 inhabitants, the fifth-largest city of Saxony, Germany after Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Zwickau, the second-largest city of the Vogtland after Gera, as well as the largest city in the S ...

– 23 October 1974 in Dachau) was a German ''

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 ...

'' (SS) ''

Sturmbannführer __NOTOC__ ''Sturmbannführer'' (; ) was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank equivalent to major that was used in several Nazi organizations, such as the SA, SS, and the NSFK. The rank originated from German shock troop units of the First World War ...

'' 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. Zill was born in

. The son of a brewer from Plauen, Zill's father was severely injured in the

First World War 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 ...

and as such Zill was apprenticed to a baker at an early age in order to bring in much needed money to the family.

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. 138 As a 17-year-old Zill enlisted in both 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 ...

and the '' Sturmabteilung'' (SA), switching to the SS as soon as it came to his hometown (in fact Zill was the 535 member of the SS nationally). Zill would later work as a security guard in a curtain factory and it was not until 1934 that he became a full-time SS man, serving as a guard at a minor concentration camp at Chemnitz. From this low beginning Zill began to rise through the ranks at the camps. His first appointment at a major camp was at Lichtenburg where he, along with fellow future commandant Arthur Rödl, guarded the camp borders.Segev, ''Soldiers of Evil'', p. 139 He moved between camps, seeing service at Dachau, Ravensbrück and

Hinzert Hinzert was a concentration camp in Nazi Germany, in what is now Rhineland-Palatinate, from the border with Luxembourg. Between 1939 and 1945, 13,600 political prisoners between the ages of 13 and 80 were imprisoned at Hinzert. Many were in tr ...

in various capacities. His first commandant role was at Natzweiler-Struthof before taking charge at Flossenbürg. As a commandant Zill expected his guards to act with the discipline of soldiers whilst also supporting the idea that camp inmates who had been indoctrinated into

Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) i ...

should be allowed to fight for

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

in return for their freedom. His regime as a commandant was also marked by extreme cruelty and according to the testimonies of inmates Zill's crimes included tying prisoners to trees before allowing his dogs to savage their genitalia. Zill was replaced in April 1943 by

Max Koegel Otto Max Koegel (16 October 1895 – 27 June 1946) was a Nazi officer who served as a commander at Lichtenburg, Ravensbrück, Majdanek and Flossenbürg concentration camps. Life Max Koegel was born on 16 October 1895 in Füssen, in the Kingdo ...

after being judged ineffective as a commandant. The move followed letters of complaint to

Fritz Sauckel Ernst Friedrich Christoph "Fritz" Sauckel (27 October 1894 – 16 October 1946) was a German Nazi politician, ''Gauleiter'' of Gau Thuringia from 1927 and the General Plenipotentiary for Labour Deployment (''Arbeitseinsatz'') from March 1942 unti ...

from the villagers about the high standards of living enjoyed by camp guards and their wives in contrast to the impoverished standards in the village, as well as a culture of corruption amongst the guards.Alicia Nitecki, Jack Terry, ''Jakub's World: A Boy's Story of Loss and Survival in the Holocaust'', SUNY Press, 2005, p. 60 He was transferred to the Eastern Front in 1943. Nicknamed "Little Zill" because of his short stature he went underground after 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 ...

, but revealed himself when he put his real name on the birth certificate of an illegitimate child.Segev, ''Soldiers of Evil'', p. 140 Sentenced to life imprisonment by a

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

court the sentence was reduced on appeal to fifteen years in 1955. Following his release Zill settled in Dachau where he died in 1974.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zill, Egon 1906 births 1974 deaths People from Plauen Nazi Party politicians Dachau concentration camp personnel Flossenbürg concentration camp personnel Ravensbrück concentration camp personnel SS-Sturmbannführer Nazi concentration camp commandants People from the Kingdom of Saxony Hinzert concentration camp personnel Waffen-SS personnel Schutzhaftlagerführer Lichtenburg concentration camp personnel