Execution of Arthur Liebehenschel
- Nazi Commandant of Auschwitz Concentration Camp - World War 2

11 March 2022

Category: High Ranking Nazi Representatives

Auschwitz commandant Arthur Liebehenschel was born on 25 November, 1901 in Posen, then German Empire. He joined Nazi party in 1932 and the SS in 1934. From that point on, he held various positions in concentration camps. On 11 November 1943 he succeeded Rudolf Höss as commandant of Auschwitz concentration camp. Under Liebehenschel, the camp’s conditions seemed to improve a little. He removed the standing cells from the notorious Block 11 in which the space was so cramped that prisoners could only stand upright inside. Another change was that even the cruelest SS guards had to be a bit less brutal with the prisoners. However, the rest did not change much.

The mass killing in gas chambers continued as before and Liebehenschel also took part in the selections on the platform. Many of those two did not die in gas chambers, died every day from illnesses and starvation. In May 1944 he was moved to Majdanek concentration camp near Lublin. Because of the advancing Soviet Army, Liebehenschel moved to Triest, Italy where he was arrested by the US army shortly after the end of war. He was extradited back to Poland where he faced justice for his crimes. He was tried at the Auschwitz trial which began in November, 1947. One month later, on 22 December, 1947 Arthur Liebehenschel was sentenced to death by hanging together with 23 fellow staff of Auschwitz. He was 46 years old when he was hanged on 24 January, 1948. His last words were “long live Poland“.

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