Adolf Theuer
Encyclopedia
Adolf Theuer (born on 20 September 1920 in Henneborg-Bolatitz
, today borough of Borová, Bolatice
, Opava District
, died on 23 April 1947 in Opava
) was an SS
-Unterscharführer
at Auschwitz concentration camp
. He was executed after the war as a war criminal
.
. On the 1 August 1941 he was promoted to SS-Unterscharführer. 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 squad), the unit of SS medics involved in the mass gassing of prisoners. One of Theuer's responsibilities was inserting the Zyklon B
into the gas chamber
, a task shared by other SS orderlies such as SS-Unterscharführer Hans Koch
and SS-Oberscharführer
Josef Klehr
. During the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials
, 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 countryman, was reluctant to insert the gas. Kaduk stated that:
Theuer remained at the camp until its evacuation in January 1945, when he was subsequently deployed in Ohrdruf concentration camp, a subcamp of Buchenwald concentration camp
.
; both were sentenced to death. Theuer was hanged
on 23 April 1947.
Bolatice
Bolatice is a village in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It is part of micro-region Hlučínsko. It has around 4,200 inhabitants.Village Borová is administrative part of Bolatice.- Natives :...
, today borough of Borová, Bolatice
Bolatice
Bolatice is a village in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It is part of micro-region Hlučínsko. It has around 4,200 inhabitants.Village Borová is administrative part of Bolatice.- Natives :...
, Opava District
Opava District
Opava District is a district within Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is Opava.- Complete list of municipalities :Bělá -Bohuslavice -Bolatice -Branka u Opavy -Bratříkovice -Brumovice -Březová -...
, died on 23 April 1947 in Opava
Opava
Opava is a city in the northern Czech Republic on the river Opava, located to the north-west of Ostrava. The historical capital of Czech Silesia, Opava is now in the Moravian-Silesian Region and has a population of 59,843 as of January 1, 2005....
) was an SS
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
-Unterscharführer
Unterscharführer
Unterscharführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party used by the Schutzstaffel between 1934 and 1945. The SS rank was created after the Night of the Long Knives...
at Auschwitz concentration camp
Auschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
. He was executed after the war as a war criminal
War crime
War crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...
.
Life
Previously a bricklayer by trade, Theuer's SS career began when he was deployed to Auschwitz in 1940 at the rank of SS-RottenführerRottenführer
Rottenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in the year 1932. The rank of Rottenführer was used by several Nazi paramilitary groups, among them the Sturmabteilung , the Schutzstaffel and was senior to the paramilitary rank of Sturmmann.The insignia for Rottenführer...
. On the 1 August 1941 he was promoted to SS-Unterscharführer. He served as an SDG or Sanitätsdienstgefreiter; a medical orderly as part of the Sanitätswesen
Sanitätswesen
The Sanitätswesen was one of the five divisions of a Nazi concentration and extermination camp organization during the Third Reich...
, one of the five concentration camp departments involved in running such a facility. He was also a member of the Desinfektionskommando (disinfection squad), the unit of SS medics involved in the mass gassing of prisoners. One of Theuer's responsibilities was inserting the Zyklon B
Zyklon B
Zyklon B was the trade name of a cyanide-based pesticide infamous for its use by Nazi Germany to kill human beings in gas chambers of extermination camps during the Holocaust. The "B" designation indicates one of two types of Zyklon...
into the gas chamber
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. The most commonly used poisonous agent is hydrogen cyanide; carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide have also been used...
, a task shared by other SS orderlies such as SS-Unterscharführer Hans Koch
Hans Koch (SS man)
Hans Koch was an SS-Unterscharführer and member of staff at Auschwitz concentration camp. He was prosecuted at the Auschwitz Trial....
and SS-Oberscharführer
Oberscharführer
Oberscharführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that existed between the years of 1932 and 1945. Translated as “Senior Squad Leader”, Oberscharführer was first used as a rank of the Sturmabteilung and was created due to an expansion of the enlisted positions required by growing SA membership...
Josef Klehr
Josef Klehr
Josef Klehr was an SS-Oberscharführer, supervisor in several Nazi concentration camps and head of the SS disinfection commando at Auschwitz concentration camp.- Life :...
. During the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials
Frankfurt Auschwitz trials
The Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials, known in German as der Auschwitz-Prozess or der zweite Auschwitz-Prozess, was a series of trials running from December 20, 1963 to August 10, 1965, charging 22 defendants under German penal law for their roles in the Holocaust as mid- to lower-level officials in the...
, 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
Oswald Kaduk
Oswald Kaduk was a German SS-Unterscharführer and Rapportführer at Auschwitz concentration camp.-Biography:...
recalled an incident when Theuer, his fellow countryman, was reluctant to insert the gas. Kaduk stated that:
Theuer remained at the camp until its evacuation in January 1945, when he was subsequently deployed in Ohrdruf concentration camp, a subcamp of Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp was a German Nazi concentration camp established on the Ettersberg near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937, one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps on German soil.Camp prisoners from all over Europe and Russia—Jews, non-Jewish Poles and Slovenes,...
.
Post-war
Although Theuer did not torture prisoners, he was still known in the camp as a butcher. After the war he was put on trial along with SS overseer Sophie Hanel in PraguePrague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
; both were sentenced to death. Theuer was hanged
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
on 23 April 1947.