Arthur Rödl
Encyclopedia
Arthur Rödl was a German
Standartenführer
(Colonel) in the Waffen-SS
and a Nazi concentration camp commandant.
Rödl was born into a devout Catholic
family, his father working as a messenger and his mother running a newsstand. The stand closed when Rödl was ten and he was told by his mother that it had shut down as she could not compete with a nearby stand ran by a Jew. The incident helped to instill a sense of anti-Semitism
in the young Rödl, who was involved in extreme nationalist groups from an early age. Rödl was apprenticed to a blacksmith
when World War I
broke out and he soon enlisted in the German Imperial Army by forging his age on his documents after initially being rejected for being only 16. He was injured seriously at least once during the war and was demobbed at the age of 20, eventually working for the post office.
Rödl also quickly return to far right
activism and joined the Bund Oberland in 1920. His activities brought him frequent reprimands at work, be it taking time off to travel with other Bund members to fight with Poles
in Upper Silesia
or using his window at the post office to hand out propaganda leaflets. When it became clear that he had participated in the Beer Hall putsch
he was dismiised by the post office.
By this time a member of the Nazi Party, Rödl sought employment at the party's Brown House
headquarters where he initially found a job as a mimeograph operator. He volunteered for the SS in 1928 and in 1934 was switched to a full-time member of the organisation. He served with the SS-Totenkopfverbände
, initially at Lichtenburg
along with the likes of Egon Zill
and then at Sachsenhausen
, although he initially found advancement difficult as he was seen by his SS superiors as naive and unsubtle. Rödl was noted for his brusque manner, a facet that was less than ideal for an SS man at Sachsenhausen because it was sometimes open to overseas dignitaries due to its proximity to Berlin
. For this reason Theodor Eicke
recommended Rödl's removal from his position in 1937.
Rödl finally began to rise through the ranks following a transfer to Buchenwald
, where he was deputy to commandant Karl-Otto Koch. In this role he was given a largely free hand to indulge his cruel side, with Koch placing no restrictions on his men's actions. An example of this occurred late on 1 January 1939 he lined up the inmates at Buchenwald, picked five at random and had them stripped, tied to posts and whipped until morning in tune with the prisoner orchestra. Eventually he was given command of the Gross-Rosen concentration camp
, although he was not suited to role and one of his evenutal successors Johannes Hassebroek
commented that he was a "cruel, corrupt and drunken man". He ultimately reached the rank of Obersturmbannführer
despite consistently testing for low intelligence. Wilhelm Gideon
replaced him as camp commandant on 16 September 1942.
He would end his service in Ukraine
as part of the occupation police before eventually committing suicide
with a hand grenade
when defeat for Nazi Germany
looked inevitable.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Standartenführer
Standartenführer
Standartenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was used in the so-called Nazi combat-organisations: SA, SS, NSKK and the NSFK...
(Colonel) in the Waffen-SS
Waffen-SS
The Waffen-SS was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. It constituted the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside...
and a Nazi concentration camp commandant.
Rödl was born into a devout Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
family, his father working as a messenger and his mother running a newsstand. The stand closed when Rödl was ten and he was told by his mother that it had shut down as she could not compete with a nearby stand ran by a Jew. The incident helped to instill a sense of anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
in the young Rödl, who was involved in extreme nationalist groups from an early age. Rödl was apprenticed to a blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
when World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
broke out and he soon enlisted in the German Imperial Army by forging his age on his documents after initially being rejected for being only 16. He was injured seriously at least once during the war and was demobbed at the age of 20, eventually working for the post office.
Rödl also quickly return to far right
Far right
Far-right, extreme right, hard right, radical right, and ultra-right are terms used to discuss the qualitative or quantitative position a group or person occupies within right-wing politics. Far-right politics may involve anti-immigration and anti-integration stances towards groups that are...
activism and joined the Bund Oberland in 1920. His activities brought him frequent reprimands at work, be it taking time off to travel with other Bund members to fight with Poles
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
in Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia. Since the 9th century, Upper Silesia has been part of Greater Moravia, the Duchy of Bohemia, the Piast Kingdom of Poland, again of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown and the Holy Roman Empire, as well as of...
or using his window at the post office to hand out propaganda leaflets. When it became clear that he had participated in the Beer Hall putsch
Beer Hall Putsch
The Beer Hall Putsch was a failed attempt at revolution that occurred between the evening of 8 November and the early afternoon of 9 November 1923, when Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler, Generalquartiermeister Erich Ludendorff, and other heads of the Kampfbund unsuccessfully tried to seize power...
he was dismiised by the post office.
By this time a member of the Nazi Party, Rödl sought employment at the party's Brown House
Brown House, Munich, Germany
The Brown House was the national headquarters of the Nazi Party in Germany.A large impressive stone structure, it was located at 45 Brienner Straße in Munich, Bavaria...
headquarters where he initially found a job as a mimeograph operator. He volunteered for the SS in 1928 and in 1934 was switched to a full-time member of the organisation. He served with the SS-Totenkopfverbände
SS-Totenkopfverbände
SS-Totenkopfverbände , meaning "Death's-Head Units", was the SS organization responsible for administering the Nazi concentration camps for the Third Reich....
, initially at Lichtenburg
Lichtenburg (concentration camp)
Lichtenburg was a Nazi concentration camp, housed in a Renaissance castle in Prettin, near Wittenberg in eastern Germany. Along with Sachsenburg, it was among the first to be built by the Nazis, and was operated by the SS from 1933 to 1939. It held as many as 2000 male prisoners from 1933 to 1937...
along with the likes of Egon Zill
Egon Zill
Egon Zill was a German Schutzstaffel Sturmbannführer and concentration camp commandant....
and then at Sachsenhausen
Sachsenhausen concentration camp
Sachsenhausen or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used primarily for political prisoners from 1936 to the end of the Third Reich in May, 1945. After World War II, when Oranienburg was in the Soviet Occupation Zone, the structure was used as an NKVD...
, although he initially found advancement difficult as he was seen by his SS superiors as naive and unsubtle. Rödl was noted for his brusque manner, a facet that was less than ideal for an SS man at Sachsenhausen because it was sometimes open to overseas dignitaries due to its proximity to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. For this reason Theodor Eicke
Theodor Eicke
Theodor Eicke was a SS Obergruppenführer , commander of the SS-Division Totenkopf of the Waffen-SS and one of the key figures in the establishment of concentration camps in Nazi Germany. His Nazi Party number was 114,901 and his SS number was 2,921...
recommended Rödl's removal from his position in 1937.
Rödl finally began to rise through the ranks following a transfer to Buchenwald
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,...
, where he was deputy to commandant Karl-Otto Koch. In this role he was given a largely free hand to indulge his cruel side, with Koch placing no restrictions on his men's actions. An example of this occurred late on 1 January 1939 he lined up the inmates at Buchenwald, picked five at random and had them stripped, tied to posts and whipped until morning in tune with the prisoner orchestra. Eventually he was given command of the Gross-Rosen concentration camp
Gross-Rosen concentration camp
KL Gross-Rosen was a German concentration camp, located in Gross-Rosen, Lower Silesia . It was located directly on the rail line between Jauer and Striegau .-The camp:...
, although he was not suited to role and one of his evenutal successors Johannes Hassebroek
Johannes Hassebroek
Johannes Hassebroeck was a German Schutzstaffel officer and Nazi concentration camp commandant.-Early years:...
commented that he was a "cruel, corrupt and drunken man". He ultimately reached the rank of Obersturmbannführer
Obersturmbannführer
Obersturmbannführer was a paramilitary Nazi Party rank used by both the SA and the SS. It was created in May 1933 to fill the need for an additional field grade officer rank above Sturmbannführer as the SA expanded. It became an SS rank at the same time...
despite consistently testing for low intelligence. Wilhelm Gideon
Wilhelm Gideon
Wilhelm Gideon was a German Schutzstaffel officer and Nazi concentration camp commandant....
replaced him as camp commandant on 16 September 1942.
He would end his service in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
as part of the occupation police before eventually committing suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
with a hand grenade
Hand grenade
A hand grenade is any small bomb that can be thrown by hand. Hand grenades are classified into three categories, explosive grenades, chemical and gas grenades. Explosive grenades are the most commonly used in modern warfare, and are designed to detonate after impact or after a set amount of time...
when defeat for Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
looked inevitable.