Walter Eisfeld

Walter Eisfeld (born 11 July 1905 in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt – died 3 April 1940 in Dachau) was a German SS functionary and concentration camp commandant during the Nazi era. Eisfeld had been a member of the Artamanen-Gesellschaft, a völkisch back-to-the-land movement, before becoming involved with the Nazi Party and its organisations.^[1]

Whilst Schutzhaftlagerführer at Sachsenhausen in January 1940 he was sent to Silesia to examine the possibility of establishing new camps. Against Eisfeld's advice, a site at Auschwitz was chosen.^[2]

Having risen to the rank of Sturmbannführer, Eisfeld succeeded Hermann Baranowski as commandant at Sachsenhausen concentration camp before being replaced by Hans Loritz.^[3] Heinrich Himmler visited Sachsenhausen in early 1940 and, seeing disciplinary problems amongst the guards, ordered Eisfeld to be replaced as camp commandant.^[4] He was sent to command the new Neuengamme concentration camp, at the time a sub-camp of Sachsenhausen.^[5]

Eisfeld died of pneumonia at Dachau while attending a ceremony in which he was to be awarded a Nazi Party Badge.^[6]

References

^ Tom Segev, Soldiers of Evil, Berkley Books, 1991, p. 200
^ Yisrael Gutman, Michael Berenbaum, Anatomy of the Auschwitz Death Camp, Indiana University Press, 1998, p. 292
^ Robert Melvin Spector, World Without Civilization: Mass Murder and the Holocaust, History and Analysis, Volume 1, University Press of America, 2005, p. 363
^ Segev, Soldiers of Evil, p. 164
^ The SS guards
^ Karin Orth, Die Konzentrationslager-SS, Wallstein, 2000, p. 164