Franz Böttger

Franz Böttger (11 July 1888 - 29 May 1946, Landsberg am Lech) was a German SS-Oberscharführer, employed as a supervising officer in the Dachau concentration camp.

Franz Böttger
Born(1888-07-11)11 July 1888
München
Died29 May 1946(1946-05-29) (aged 57)
Dachau Trials execution
Allegiance Nazi Germany
Service/branch Schutzstaffel
Years of serviceuntil 1945
Rank SS-Oberscharführer

Personal life

Böttger, married and childless, was a sales representative for a firm trading in jewelry and gems in München when he was called into military service in 1940; he entered the Dachua concentration camp guards' company in June 1940. By November he had left the company with an hitherto unknown destination, but he returned in May 1941 as a logistics officer, transferring to the camp administration's postal service in September 1941. He retained this post until December 1943, being responsible for censoring outgoing communications.

From the 1st of December 1943 onwards, he was employed as "Arbeits- und Rapportführer" (work and duty call supervisor) in the camp's Schutzhaftlager ('protective custody' camp; containing mostly extra- or para-legally rounded-up political opponents and Jews), falling under command of Michaël Redwitz and Wilhelm Ruppert. As such, he was responsible for setting up Arbeitskommandos, duty calls and transports of camp inmates as well as partaking in executions in the crematoria of the camp.

On the 26th of April 1945, Böttger was on the guarding escort of an evacuation transport of 8000 camp inmates towards Tirol, actively guarding a detachment of German prisoners. After the escorting SS guards detached themselves and transferred guard duty to Wehrmacht soldiers, Böttger went to his house in München, fleeing by bicycle shortly before the United States Army occupied the city on the 30th of April 1945. He was apprehended after being sought out and recognized by former Dachau inmates, and transferred to his former workplace, which was now in use as a facility to contain (presumed) Nazi criminals and/or facilitators. During his stay there, he was beat up by former inmates. He was transferred into US Army custody and interned.[1]

On the 15th of November 1945, Böttger was indicted for committing war crimes before the US Army military court presiding over the Dachau trials, and was found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging on December, 13th, 1945, along with 35 other defendants. As specific grounds for his sentence were mentioned the partaking in executions (although without actual killing by Böttger himself), the abuse of camp inmates and the extralegal summary execution of a camp inmate.[2] To his defense, Böttger brought up he had never beaten a camp inmate 'to a pulp.' Böttger was hanged on the 29th of May, 1946, in the Landsberg Prison.

Literature
  • Case No. 000-50-2 (US vs. Martin Gottfried Weiss et al.) Tried 13 Dec. 45 (pdf file; 40,9 MB)
  • Holger Lessing: Der erste Dachauer Prozess (1945/46). Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft, Baden-Baden 1993, ISBN 3-7890-2933-5

References
  1. Klaus-Dietmar Henke: Die amerikanische Besetzung Deutschlands, 1995, S. 927f.
  2. Holger Lessing: Der erste Dachauer Prozess (1945/46)., Baden-Baden 1993, S. 318
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