Ernst Kaltenbrunner (4 Oct. 1903 - 16 Oct. 1946)
Kaltenbrunner served as the leader of the Austrian SS and a member of the Reichstag in the run up and early part of the war. In 1940 he became Untersturmfuhrer in the Waffen SS reserve, followed by his promotion to Generalleutnant of the Police in April of 1941 and appointment as Chief of the RSHA in 1943, replacing the assassinated Heydrich.
As the war progressed Kaltenbrunner gained increasing power, which increased following the July 1944 attack on Hitler. He was feared by even his superiors for his access to Hitler, was responsible for many executions and assassination attempts (including those attempts on Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin).
In late 1944 Kaltenbrunner was promoted to General of the Waffen SS. He then became Commander in Chief of German forces in Southern Europe in April of 1945. At the end of the war he was responsible for saving the cache of treasures in Altaussee, which had been accumulated by the Nazis throughout the war, from destruction by other Nazi figures. He was captured by U.S. forces in May.
For more information on Ernst Kaltenbrunner:
Wistrich, Robert S. Who’s Who in Nazi Germany (London: Routledge), 2002.
“The Last Days of Ernst Kaltenbrunner”, on https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/kent-csi/vol4no2/html/v04i2a07p_0001.htm [last accessed 15/04/2012].
As the war progressed Kaltenbrunner gained increasing power, which increased following the July 1944 attack on Hitler. He was feared by even his superiors for his access to Hitler, was responsible for many executions and assassination attempts (including those attempts on Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin).
In late 1944 Kaltenbrunner was promoted to General of the Waffen SS. He then became Commander in Chief of German forces in Southern Europe in April of 1945. At the end of the war he was responsible for saving the cache of treasures in Altaussee, which had been accumulated by the Nazis throughout the war, from destruction by other Nazi figures. He was captured by U.S. forces in May.
For more information on Ernst Kaltenbrunner:
Wistrich, Robert S. Who’s Who in Nazi Germany (London: Routledge), 2002.
“The Last Days of Ernst Kaltenbrunner”, on https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/kent-csi/vol4no2/html/v04i2a07p_0001.htm [last accessed 15/04/2012].