Rudolf Mildner

Rudolf Mildner was an Austrian-German SS-Standartenführer. He served as the chief of the Gestapo at Katowice and was the head of the political department at Auschwitz concentration camp, conducting "third degree" methods of interrogation from March 1941 until September 1943. As such, he frequently sent prisoners to Auschwitz for incarceration or execution. He visited Auschwitz on several occasions. He was the commander of the SiPo and SD in occupied Denmark but failed to prevent the escape of Danish Jews and was relieved of his command. In December 1944, he was appointed local commander of the SiPo and SD in Vienna. After the war, Mildner testified at the Nuremberg Trials and remained in custody until 1949. He was released and disappeared to escape prosecution. Unconfirmed reports indicated that he escaped to South America, and he was legally declared dead.