Ernst Kaltenbrunner

Ernst Kaltenbrunner
Kaltenbrunner in 1943
Director of the Reich Security Main Office
In office 30 January 1943 – 8 May 1945
Appointed by	Adolf Hitler
Preceded by	Reinhard Heydrich / Heinrich Himmler (acting)
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Director of the Sicherheitsdienst (SD)
In office 30 January 1943 – 8 May 1945
Preceded by	Reinhard Heydrich / Heinrich Himmler (acting)
Succeeded by	Office abolished
President of Interpol
In office 30 January 1943 – 12 May 1945
Leader	Oskar Dressler as Secretary-general
Preceded by	Arthur Nebe
Succeeded by	Florent Louwage
Higher SS and Police Leader of Austria
In office 13 March 1938 – 30 January 1943
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Rudolf Querner
Additional positions
April–May 1945	Commander-in-chief of Southern Germany
1943–1945	Commander of the Einsatzgruppen
1938–1945	Member of the Greater German Reichstag
March 1938	State Secretary of Public Security of Austria
1931–1933	District Speaker of the Nazi Party in Upper Austria
Personal details
Born	Ernst Kaltenbrunner (1903-10-04)4 October 1903 Ried im Innkreis, Archduchy of Austria above the Enns, Austria-Hungary
Died	16 October 1946(1946-10-16) (aged 43) Nuremberg Prison, Nuremberg, Allied-occupied Germany
Cause of death	Execution by hanging
Political party	Nazi Party
Spouse	Elisabeth Eder ​ (m. 1934)​
Domestic partner	Gisela Gräfin von Westarp
Children	5
Alma mater	University of Graz
Profession	Lawyer
Cabinet	Seyss-Inquart government
Signature
SS service
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service / branch	Schutzstaffel
Years of service	1931–1945
Rank	Obergruppenführer
Criminal conviction
Criminal status	Executed
Conviction(s)	War crimes Crimes against humanity
Trial	Nuremberg trials
Criminal penalty	Death
Excerpt from Ernst Kaltenbrunner's closing statement at the Nuremberg trials Kaltenbrunner's closing statement at the Nuremberg trials Recorded 31 August 1946

Ernst Kaltenbrunner (4 October 1903 – 16 October 1946) was a high-ranking Austrian SS official during the Nazi era and a major perpetrator of the Holocaust. After the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in 1942, and a brief period under Heinrich Himmler, Kaltenbrunner was the third Chief of the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA), which included the offices of Gestapo, Kripo and SD, from January 1943 until the end of World War II in Europe.

Kaltenbrunner joined the Nazi Party in 1930 and the SS in 1931, and by 1935 he was considered a leader of the Austrian SS. In 1938, he assisted in the Anschluss and was given command of the SS and police force in Austria. In January 1943, Kaltenbrunner was appointed chief of the RSHA, succeeding Reinhard Heydrich, who was assassinated in May 1942.

A committed antisemite, Kaltenbrunner played a pivotal role in orchestrating the Holocaust and Nazi genocide intensified under his leadership. He oversaw the coordination of security and law enforcement agencies involved in widespread extermination, the suppression of resistance movements in occupied territories, extensive arrests, deportations, and executions. He was the highest-ranking member of the SS to face trial (Himmler having died of suicide in May 1945) at the Nuremberg trials, where he was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Kaltenbrunner was sentenced to death, and was executed by hanging on 16 October 1946.