NR Nazi ReportSeven Circles of Responsibility

III Circle III of VII

Designers of the machinery of destruction

Officials who designed and managed central systems of deportation, mass killing, concentration camps, forced labour and security policing.

This circle covers the institutional architecture that made persecution and murder systematic. Responsibility is assessed through office, competence, orders, coordination and oversight, without assigning every act of an institution to one official.

How the circles work. The seven circles classify a person’s documented place in the chain of decision, coordination, administration and execution. They do not rank suffering, notoriety or numbers of victims. Placement is based on function, formal authority, decision-making power, operational control and proven individual conduct. Roles sometimes overlapped, and a person’s position could change over time; each profile therefore explains the evidence and the limits of attribution.

36 profiles

Profiles are ordered alphabetically by surname. Placement reflects documented function and agency, never a ranking by numbers of victims.

Circle III of VII

Rudolf Brandt

Heinrich Himmler's personal administrative officer and a central SS official

Sentenced to death in the Doctors' Trial and executed on 2 June 1948.

Circle III of VII

Alois Brunner

Eichmann associate who organised deportations and commanded the Drancy transit camp

convicted in absentia but never extradited or imprisoned

Circle III of VII

Arthur Conrad

command staff member and SS guard

He was sentenced to death on 15 July 1948 and executed at Hamelin on 17 September 1948.

Circle III of VII

Theodor Dannecker

Eichmann specialist who coordinated deportations in France, Bulgaria, Italy and Hungary

died by suicide in American custody in 1945 before trial

Circle III of VII

Adolf Eichmann

head of the RSHA section for Jewish affairs and deportations

convicted in Israel and executed in 1962

Circle III of VII

Theodor Eicke

Inspector of Concentration Camps and commander of the SS Totenkopf Division

not tried; killed in 1943

Circle III of VII

August Frank

deputy chief of the WVHA and head of Amtsgruppe A

sentenced to life in the Pohl trial; sentence commuted to fifteen years

Circle III of VII

Albert Ganzenmüller

state secretary and deputy director-general of the German state railway

charged in West Germany, but proceedings were discontinued without judgment

Circle III of VII

Odilo Globocnik

SS and Police Leader in the Lublin district and head of Operation Reinhard

not tried; died by suicide in British custody in 1945

Circle III of VII

Richard Glücks

Inspector of Concentration Camps and head of WVHA Amtsgruppe D

not tried; reportedly died by suicide in 1945

Circle III of VII

Rolf Günther

Eichmann's permanent deputy in RSHA Section IV B4

reported to have died by suicide in American custody in 1945

Circle III of VII

Otto Harder

commandant of the Hannover-Ahlem satellite camp

Convicted of war crimes in 1947 and sentenced to 15 years in prison; released early in 1951.

Circle III of VII

Friedrich Hildebrandt

Gauleiter and Reich governor of Mecklenburg

Sentenced to death in an airmen-murder case; executed in 1948; evidence for a specific order is disputed.

Circle III of VII

Hermann Höfle

chief of staff for Operation Reinhard and coordinator of deportation logistics

died by suicide in Austrian custody in 1962 before trial

Circle III of VII

Rudolf Höss

commandant of Auschwitz and later deputy inspector of concentration camps

convicted in Poland and executed in 1947

Circle III of VII

Hermann Hoth

armoured-force commander on the eastern front

sentenced to fifteen years in the High Command Case

Circle III of VII

Ernst Kaltenbrunner

chief of the RSHA and former Higher SS and Police Leader in Austria

convicted at Nuremberg and executed in 1946

Circle III of VII

Gerhard Klopfer

senior Party Chancellery official and participant in the Wannsee Conference

investigation discontinued; only minor denazification sanctions

Circle III of VII

Georg Lörner

deputy head of the WVHA and chief of Office Group B, responsible for supplying the camp apparatus and supervising enterprises that used prisoners

death sentence ultimately commuted to 15 years; released in 1954

Circle III of VII

Gerhard Maurer

head of WVHA Office D II responsible for allocating concentration-camp prisoner labour

convicted in Poland and executed in 1953

Circle III of VII

Heinrich Müller

chief of the Gestapo and head of RSHA Amt IV

never tried; missing since May 1945

Circle III of VII

Franz Novak

transport specialist in Eichmann's department who scheduled deportation trains

received a final seven-year sentence in Austria and was released

Circle III of VII

Oswald Pohl

chief of the WVHA and central administrator of SS enterprises and concentration camps

convicted in the Pohl Trial and executed in 1951

Circle III of VII

Gustav Richter

German adviser on Jewish affairs in Romania

convicted in West Germany in 1982 and given a four-year sentence

Circle III of VII

Georg Schallermair

roll-call leader at the Mettenheim I subcamp

Sentenced to death on 23 September 1947; executed on 7 June 1951.

Circle III of VII

Michael Seifert

SS guard

Sentenced to life imprisonment in 2000, extradited to Italy in 2008, and died in custody on 6 November 2010.

Circle III of VII

Wolfram Sievers

managing director of the Ahnenerbe and administrator of criminal human experiments

convicted in the Doctors' Trial and executed in 1948

Circle III of VII

Hans Sommer

SD foreign-intelligence officer who supplied explosives for attacks on Paris synagogues

Sentenced on 20 April 1950 to 1 year's imprisonment or a fine of 6,000 francs; released on 1 July 1950.

Circle III of VII

Hans Spatzenegger

prisoner-detail leader in the Wiener Graben quarry

Sentenced to death; hanged at Landsberg on 27 May 1947.

Circle III of VII

Bruno Streckenbach

head of RSHA personnel administration and organiser of Einsatzgruppen staffing and training

convicted by a Soviet court; later prosecution in West Germany was suspended

Circle III of VII

Wilhelm Stuckart

state secretary, co-author of the Nuremberg Laws and participant in the Wannsee Conference

convicted in the Ministries Trial and released after time served

Circle III of VII

Georg von Küchler

commander of the 18th Army and Army Group North

sentenced to 20 years in the High Command Trial; released in 1953

Circle III of VII

Christian Wirth

commandant of Bełżec and inspector of the Operation Reinhard killing centres

not tried; killed in 1944

Circle III of VII

Dieter Wisliceny

Eichmann’s deputy and adviser who organised anti-Jewish policy and deportations

convicted in Czechoslovakia and executed in 1948

Circle III of VII

Otto Wöhler

chief of staff of the 11th Army and later commander of the 8th Army and Army Group South

Sentenced to eight years in the High Command Case and released in 1951.

Circle III of VII

Karl Wolff

Himmler’s personal chief of staff

In 1964 he was sentenced to 15 years for aiding the murder of at least 300000 people; the judgment was upheld in 1965, and he was released on health grounds in 1969.