Ernst Kaltenbrunner facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ernst Kaltenbrunner
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Kaltenbrunner during the Nuremberg trials (1945)
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| Born |
Ernst Kaltenbrunner
4 October 1903 Ried im Innkreis, Austria-Hungary
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| Died | 16 October 1946 (aged 43) |
| Nationality | Austrian |
| Alma mater | University of Graz |
| Known for |
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| Political party | Nazi Party (NSDAP) |
| Spouse(s) |
Elisabeth Eder
(m. 1934) |
| Partner(s) | Gisela Gräfin von Westarp |
| Children | 5 |
| Conviction(s) | Crimes against humanity |
| Criminal penalty | Execution by hanging |
| SS service | |
| Allegiance |  Nazi Germany |
| Service/ |
 Schutzstaffel |
| Years of service | 1931–1945 |
| Rank | Obergruppenführer |
Ernst Kaltenbrunner (4 October 1903 – 16 October 1946) was a high-ranking Austrian SS official during the Nazi era and a major perpetrator of the Holocaust.
Biography
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Kaltenbrunner was born in Ried im Innkreis, Austria, the son of a lawyer, spent his early years and primary education in Raab and later attended the Realgymnasium in Linz. Raised in a nationalist family, he was childhood friends with Adolf Eichmann, the infamous SS officer who played a key role in implementing the Nazis' "Final Solution" against Europe's Jews. After Gymnasium, Kaltenbrunner went on to obtain his PhD in law at Graz University in 1926.
Kaltenbrunner worked at a law firm in Salzburg for a year before opening his own law office in Linz. He had deep scars on his face reportedly from duelling in his student days, although some sources attribute them to a car accident.
On 14 January 1934, Kaltenbrunner married Elisabeth Eder (20 October 1908 – 20 May 2002), who was also a Nazi Party member; the couple had three children. In addition to the children from his marriage, Kaltenbrunner had twins, Ursula and Wolfgang (b. 1945) with his long-time mistress, Gisela Gräfin von Westarp (27 June 1920 – 2 June 1983). All the children survived the war.
After the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in 1942, and a brief period under Heinrich Himmler, Kaltenbrunner was the third Chief of the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA), which included the offices of Gestapo, Kripo and SD, from January 1943 until the end of World War II in Europe.
Kaltenbrunner joined the Nazi Party in 1930 and the SS in 1931, and by 1935 he was considered a leader of the Austrian SS. In 1938, he assisted in the Anschluss and was given command of the SS and police force in Austria. In January 1943, Kaltenbrunner was appointed chief of the RSHA, succeeding Reinhard Heydrich, who was assassinated in May 1942.
A committed anti-Semite, Kaltenbrunner played a pivotal role in orchestrating the Holocaust and Nazi genocide intensified under his leadership. He oversaw the coordination of security and law enforcement agencies involved in widespread extermination, the suppression of resistance movements in occupied territories, extensive arrests, deportations, and executions. He was the highest-ranking member of the SS to face trial (Himmler having committed suicide in May 1945) at the Nuremberg trials, where he was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Kaltenbrunner was sentenced to death, and executed by hanging on 16 October 1946.
Dates of rank
- SS-Mann – 31 August 1931
- SS-Truppführer – 1931
- SS-Sturmhauptführer – 25 September 1932
- SS-Standartenführer – 20 April 1936
- SS-Oberführer – 20 April 1937
- SS-Brigadeführer – 21 March 1938
- SS-Gruppenführer – 11 September 1938
- SS-Untersturmführer der Reserve der Waffen-SS – 1 July 1940
- Generalleutnant der Polizei – 1 April 1941
- SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Polizei – 21 June 1943
- General der Waffen-SS und Polizei – 1 December 1944
See also
In Spanish: Ernst Kaltenbrunner para niños
