Horst Fischer

Horst Fischer
Fischer during his trial (March 1966)
Born
Horst Paul Silvester Fischer

(1912-12-31)31 December 1912
Died(1966-07-08)8 July 1966 (aged 53)
Cause of deathExecution by guillotine
OccupationPhysician
Political partyNazi Party
Criminal statusExecuted
Children4
MotiveNazism
Conviction(s)Crimes against humanity
Criminal penaltyDeath
Details
Victims70,000+
Span of crimes
November 1942 – 1945
CountryGerman-occupied Poland
Location(s)Auschwitz concentration camp
Date apprehended
11 June 1965
SS career
Allegiance Germany
Service / branch Waffen-SS
Years of service1933–1945
RankHauptsturmführer
Unit SS-Totenkopfverbände

Horst Paul Silvester Fischer (31 December 1912 – 8 July 1966) was a German medical doctor and member of the SS who participated in selections in Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp during World War II.[1] He selected at least 70,000 prisoners to be gassed, then supervised their gassings. Although he avoided immediate detection after the war, Fischer's crimes came to light in the late 1950s. After tracking him down, Fischer was arrested by East German secret police officials in 1965. In a high-profile public case tried directly by the Supreme Court of East Germany, Fischer, the highest-ranking concentration camp doctor to ever stand trial in front of a German court, was found guilty of crimes against humanity and condemned to death. He was executed by guillotine in 1966.

  1. ^ "Horst Fischer". Wollheim Memorial. Goethe University.

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