Josef Kramer

German SS officer, concentration camp commandant, and convicted war criminal (1906–1945)

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Lived 1906–1945, aged 39Germany

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Wikipedia
31 languages
Cross-language footprint
Era
1906–1945
Aged 39
Awards
1
recognised work

Summary

Updated 2026-08-18

Commandant of Auschwitz-Birkenau and Bergen-Belsen in the final year of the Second World War. Inmates called him the "Beast of Belsen". The British tried him for war crimes and hanged him seven months after liberation.

Biography

About

Josef Kramer was born 10 November 1906 and rose to Hauptsturmführer in the SS. He commanded Auschwitz-Birkenau from 8 May to 25 November 1944, then Bergen-Belsen from December 1944 until British forces liberated the camp on 15 April 1945. Directly responsible for the deaths of thousands, he was detained by the British Army, convicted of war crimes, and executed by hanging on 13 December 1945 at Hamelin prison. Albert Pierrepoint carried out the sentence.

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