Kurt Bolender

Heinz Kurt Bolender
Born(1912-05-21)21 May 1912
Duisburg, German Empire
Died10 October 1966(1966-10-10) (aged 54)
Hagen, West Germany
Cause of deathSuicide by hanging
Allegiance Nazi Germany
Service / branch Schutzstaffel
Years of service1930s–1945
RankOberscharführer
UnitSS-Totenkopfverbände
CommandsOperated gas chambers at Sobibór Camp III
AwardsIron Cross 2nd Class, War Merit Cross 2nd Class With Swords.
Kurt Bolender in SS uniform

Heinz Kurt Bolender[1] (21 May 1912 – 10 October 1966) was an SS sergeant during the Nazi era. In 1942, he operated the gas chambers at Sobibór extermination camp, perpetrating acts of genocide against Jews and Romani people during Operation Reinhard. After the war, Bolender was recognized in 1961 while working under a false identity as a doorman at a nightclub in West Germany, and subsequently accused in 1965 of personally murdering at least 360 Jewish inmates and assisting in the murder of 86,000 more at Sobibór. He died by suicide in prison two months prior to the end of the trial.


Developed by StudentB