Language:
German
Year of publication:
2015
Titel der Quelle:
Zeitgeschichte
Angaben zur Quelle:
42,2 (2015) 84-99
Keywords:
Ertl, Fritz
;
Auschwitz (Concentration camp)
;
Nazi concentration camps
;
Nazi concentration camp buildings Design and construction
Abstract:
Traces the role of Austrian-born architect Fritz Ertl (1908-1982) in the design, construction, and maintenance of Auschwitz. As deputy chief of the SS-Zentralbauleitung in the camp, Ertl was responsible for the first draft of the Auschwitz-Birkenau complex, conceived in October 1941. When plans were made in summer 1942 to expand the camp and turn it into a death camp, Ertl participated in its redesign and transformation. He was informed about the progress of the construction work and involved in all its stages, including the building of the gas chambers and crematoria, which were conceived by his colleague Walter Dejaco. In 1943 his assignment in Auschwitz ended; he was transferred to the front lines in Russia and Croatia, and was involved in the occupation of Hungary. After the war he attempted to hide his Nazi past, but was tried, along with Dejaco, in the Vienna Auschwitz trial in 1972. Both were acquitted, since the jury held that they had only been involved in the design and construction of the death camp, not in its maintenance.
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