Adolf Theuer (sometimes given as Teuer; ) was a

Sudeten German German Bohemians ( ; ), later known as Sudeten Germans ( ; ), were ethnic Germans living in the Czech lands of the Bohemian Crown, which later became an integral part of Czechoslovakia. Before 1945, over three million German Bohemians constitu ...

SS-''

Unterscharführer ''Unterscharführer'' (, ) was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party used by the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) between 1934 and 1945. The SS rank was created after the Night of the Long Knives. That event caused an SS reorganisation and the creati ...

'' and gas chamber mass murderer at

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...

during

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. He was executed after the war as a

war criminal A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...

Life

Previously a bricklayer by trade, Theuer's SS career began when he enlisted in the ''

Waffen-SS The (; ) was the military branch, combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscr ...

'' in 1938 after the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia. He was deployed to Auschwitz in 1940 at the rank of SS-'' Rottenführer''. On 1 August 1941 he was promoted to SS-''Unterscharführer''.Frei (2000), p. 61 He served as an SDG or ''Sanitätsdienstgefreiter''; a medical orderly as part of the Sanitätswesen, one of the five concentration camp departments involved in running such a facility. He was also a member of the ''Desinfektionskommando'' (disinfection command), the unit of SS medics involved in the mass gassing of prisoners. One of Theuer's responsibilities was inserting the

Zyklon B Zyklon B (; translated Cyclone B) was the trade name of a cyanide-based pesticide invented in Germany in the early 1920s. It consists of hydrogen cyanide (prussic acid), as well as a cautionary eye irritant and one of several adsorbents such ...

into the

gas chamber A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing humans or animals with gas, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is introduced. Poisonous agents used include hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide. History Donatie ...

, a task shared by other SS orderlies such as SS-''Unterscharführer'' Hans Koch and SS-''

Oberscharführer __NOTOC__ ''Oberscharführer'' (, ) was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that existed between 1932 and 1945. ''Oberscharführer'' was first used as a rank of the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA) and was created due to an expansion of the enlisted positions ...

'' Josef Klehr. During the

Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials The Frankfurt Auschwitz trials, known in German language, German as , was a series of three trials running from 20 December 1963 to 14 June 1968, charging 25 defendants under German criminal law for their roles in the Holocaust as mid- to lower- ...

, Klehr, the chief of the ''Desinfektionskommando'', testified that Theuer explained to him that he would insert the gas when ordered to do so by the accompanying SS doctor.Langbein (1995), p. 569 SS-''Unterscharführer'' Oswald Kaduk recalled an incident when Theuer, his fellow Upper Silesian countryman, was reluctant to insert the gas. Kaduk stated that: During the

Frankfurt Auschwitz trials The Frankfurt Auschwitz trials, known in German language, German as , was a series of three trials running from 20 December 1963 to 14 June 1968, charging 25 defendants under German criminal law for their roles in the Holocaust as mid- to lower- ...

in the 1960s, Edward Pys, a survivor of Auschwitz, also recounted a gassing done by Theuer: Theuer remained at the camp until its evacuation in January 1945, when he was subsequently deployed in

Ohrdruf concentration camp Ohrdruf was a German forced labor and concentration camp located near Ohrdruf, south of Gotha, in Thuringia, Germany. It was part of the Buchenwald concentration camp network. Operation Created in November 1944 near the town of Ohrdruf, so ...

, a subcamp of

Buchenwald concentration camp Buchenwald (; 'beech forest') was a German Nazi concentration camp established on Ettersberg hill near Weimar, Nazi Germany, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within the Altreich (pre-1938 ...

. He was tasked with murdering sick prisoners.Andrea Rudorff (Bearb.): ''Die Verfolgung und Ermordung der europäischen Juden durch das nationalsozialistische Deutschland 1933–1945'' (Quellensammlung) Band 16: ''Das KZ Auschwitz 1942–1945 und die Zeit der Todesmärsche 1944/45''. Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-3-11-036503-0, S. 475 Fn. 24.

Post-war

Although Theuer did not torture prisoners, he was still known in the camp as a butcher.Piper ''et al'' (1996), pg. 52 After the war he was put on trial along with Sofie Hanel (SS-Hilfsaufseherin, SS-Aufseherin, SS-Blockfuhrer) in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

; both were sentenced to death.Piper ''et al'' (1996), pg. 311 Theuer was

hanged Hanging is killing a person by suspending them from the neck with a noose or ligature strangulation, ligature. Hanging has been a standard method of capital punishment since the Middle Ages, and has been the primary execution method in numerou ...

in Opava (Czechoslovakia) on 23 April 1947. Hanel was hanged on 12 January 1948.Hanel (married Nitsche), Sofie-Birthplace: Freiwaldau, Sudetenland (Jeseník, Olomouc Region, Czech Republic) Camp Service: Ravensbrück, Auschwitz-Birkenau, Unknown SS Positions: SS-Hilfsaufseherin, SS-Aufseherin, SS-Blockfuhrer Notes: The name 'HANEL, Sofie,' appeared as an 'SS woman Overseer,' in a file of the United Nations War Crimes Commission (UNWCC) dated March 20, 1947, 'Personnel of the Concentration Camp in Oswiecim-Auschwitz;' she was tried by a Czech court for war crimes at an unknown sub-camp, as well as on a death march at the closing of the war, and sentenced during the 'Prague Wardens' trial to death for murder and maltreatment of camp prisoners on October 7, 1948; she was hanged on January 12, 1948 in the Pankrac Prison in Prague.

References

Bibliography

*Dębski, Jerzy (1995). ''Death books from Auschwitz: remnants''. Volume 1.

Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum () is a museum on the site of the Nazi German Auschwitz concentration camp in Oświęcim, Poland. The site includes the main concentration camp at Auschwitz I and the remains of the concentration and e ...

*Frei, Norbert (2000). ''Darstellungen und Quellen zur Geschichte von Auschwitz''. Volume 1. K. G. Saur Verlag. * Langbein, Hermann (1995). ''Der Auschwitz-Prozess: eine Dokumentation''. Volume 2. Verlag Neue Kritik. *Piper, Franciszek; Świebocka, Teresa; Czech, Danuta (1996). ''Auschwitz: Nazi death camp''. Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum. {{DEFAULTSORT:Theuer, Adolf 1920 births 1947 deaths Holocaust perpetrators in Poland Romani genocide perpetrators Auschwitz concentration camp personnel Executed Nazi concentration camp personnel Nazis executed by Czechoslovakia by hanging SS non-commissioned officers Buchenwald concentration camp personnel Silesian-German people People from Opava District Waffen-SS personnel