Josias Kumpf
Encyclopedia
Josias Kumpf was a Nazi
concentration camp guard.
in 1942 at the age of 17 and served there for about a year before transferring to Trawniki concentration camp
. Kumpf was accused of having taken part in the Holocaust
; including a murderous November 1943 Nazi operation that went by the code name “Aktion Erntefest” (Harvest festival) in which, over two days, 42,000 Jewish men, women and children were murdered at three Nazi camps in eastern Poland. He was active in the murder of 8,000 Jews on November 3, 1943 in Trawniki concentration camp
, where it was his task to stand guard over a pit where prisoners were being gunned down and "finish off" the wounded, although he claimed to have never discharged his weapon.
, he emigrated to the United States
in 1956 and settled in Illinois
, becoming a naturalized United States citizen in 1964. He worked as a sausage maker in the United States before retiring. He moved to Wisconsin after his wife died in 2000. In 2003, the United States sued to strip him of his U.S. nationality. He was deported to Austria
in March 2009. However, Austria was unable to prosecute him because the statute of limitations had expired. On September 17, 2009, Spain charged Kumpf and asked for his extradition. Before the extradition request could be processed, however, Kumpf died that October 15 in Wilhelminenspital in Vienna
.
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
concentration camp guard.
WWII-Era
Josias Kumpf, born in the former Yugoslavia, served under the SS guard forces at SachsenhausenSachsenhausen 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...
in 1942 at the age of 17 and served there for about a year before transferring to Trawniki concentration camp
Trawniki concentration camp
Trawniki concentration camp, in the village of Trawniki about 40 km southeast of Lublin in Poland, was an SS labour camp which provided forced labourers for a nearby industrial plant to work in appalling conditions with little food...
. Kumpf was accused of having taken part in the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
; including a murderous November 1943 Nazi operation that went by the code name “Aktion Erntefest” (Harvest festival) in which, over two days, 42,000 Jewish men, women and children were murdered at three Nazi camps in eastern Poland. He was active in the murder of 8,000 Jews on November 3, 1943 in Trawniki concentration camp
Trawniki concentration camp
Trawniki concentration camp, in the village of Trawniki about 40 km southeast of Lublin in Poland, was an SS labour camp which provided forced labourers for a nearby industrial plant to work in appalling conditions with little food...
, where it was his task to stand guard over a pit where prisoners were being gunned down and "finish off" the wounded, although he claimed to have never discharged his weapon.
Post-war
After World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he emigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1956 and settled in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, becoming a naturalized United States citizen in 1964. He worked as a sausage maker in the United States before retiring. He moved to Wisconsin after his wife died in 2000. In 2003, the United States sued to strip him of his U.S. nationality. He was deported to Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
in March 2009. However, Austria was unable to prosecute him because the statute of limitations had expired. On September 17, 2009, Spain charged Kumpf and asked for his extradition. Before the extradition request could be processed, however, Kumpf died that October 15 in Wilhelminenspital in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
.