Amon Göth

Amon Leopold Göth was an Austrian SS functionary and a war criminal. During World War II, he served as the commandant of the Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp. This camp was located in Płaszów in German-occupied Poland. Göth held total authority over the people held there. He was responsible for the imprisonment, torture, and extermination of many individuals and groups. After the war, he was tried by the Supreme National Tribunal of Poland in Kraków. He was the first person convicted at a war crimes trial for personally killing and maiming people.

Göth was born on December 11, 1908, in Vienna, Austria. At that time, Vienna was the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. His family worked in the book publishing industry. He joined a Nazi youth group when he was 17 years old. By September 1930, he became a member of the Nazi Party. He also joined the Austrian branch of the SS, which is a paramilitary organization. He worked in various roles in Vienna, such as a political leader and a platoon leader. In 1933, he fled to Germany because he was a wanted man for illegal activities. He later returned to political life after the Anschluss in 1938.

During the war, Göth's career involved managing Nazi efforts to isolate and kill Jewish populations. In 1941, he served as an action leader and financial officer in East Upper Silesia. He was later transferred to Lublin in the summer of 1942. There, he joined the staff of SS leader Odilo Globočnik. He worked as part of Operation Reinhard. This was the code name for the establishment of three extermination camps: Bełżec, Sobibór, and Treblinka. While specific details of his work there are secret, trial transcripts suggest he helped transport victims to these camps to be murdered.

In February 1943, Göth was assigned to oversee the construction of the Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp. The camp was built on the grounds of two old Jewish cemeteries. It took only one month to construct using slave labor. The camp was originally a labor camp, but in early 1944, it became an official concentration camp. This change meant it was under the direct authority of the SS Economics and Administration Office. At its peak in 1944, the camp had 636 guards. These guards oversaw 25,000 permanent inmates. An additional 150,000 people passed through the camp as it served as a transit site.

Life under Göth's command was defined by extreme brutality. He lived in a comfortable villa near the camp. He often watched prisoners from his office window. He would shoot people if they moved too slowly or rested in the yard. He also used two dogs, a Great Dane and an Alsatian mix, to attack inmates. Göth practiced collective punishment. If one person escaped or broke a rule, he would punish the whole group. He once ordered the shooting of every second member of a work team. He also personally shot between 30 and 90 women and children during the liquidation of the Tarnów ghetto.

A major site of violence at the camp was a large hill called Hujowa Górka. This location was used for mass killings and murders. Witnesses at his trial testified that between 8,000 and 12,000 people were murdered at Płaszów. Göth was also involved in the liquidation of other sites, such as the Szebnie concentration camp and the Tarnów ghetto. In the Tarnów ghetto, which held 25,000 Jews, he was the officer in charge of the final roundup. Most victims were sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp.

In September 1944, Göth was relieved of his position. The SS charged him with several crimes. These included the theft of Jewish property and failing to provide enough food for prisoners. He also violated regulations regarding the treatment of inmates. However, he did not face these charges immediately because of the progress of World War II. After the war, the Supreme National Tribunal of Poland found him guilty of many crimes. He was executed by hanging on September 13, 1946, near the site of the former Płaszów camp. His life is remembered through historical records and the 1993 film Schindler's List.