English source-aligned edition
Adolf Winkelmann
Adolf Winkelmann served as camp physician at Ravensbrück; participant in selections of women prisoners. The profile reconstructs the person’s function in Ravensbrück · Germany through documented office, decisions, supervision or operational conduct. It does not assign every crime committed by an institution or region to one individual.
Confirmed findings
- Adolf Winkelmann was born on 26 March 1887 at Salzkotten. He became a camp physician at Ravensbrück in late February 1945. (Source: Technische Universität Berlin / Silke Schäfer dissertation, Printed pp. 153–156, biographical entry and Ravensbrück-trial discussion)
- He admitted taking part in selections of women prisoners; witnesses identified him as selecting women to be killed. (Source: Lund University Library — Alvin, PDF p. 2, lines 56–76, testimony of Gustawa Winkowska; Source: Technische Universität Berlin / Silke Schäfer dissertation, Printed pp. 153–156, biographical entry and Ravensbrück-trial discussion)
- A British court found him guilty in the Ravensbrück trial, but he died on 1 February 1947 before a sentence was imposed. (Source: Technische Universität Berlin / Silke Schäfer dissertation, Printed pp. 153–156, biographical entry and Ravensbrück-trial discussion)
Place in the chain of responsibility
Winkelmann’s documented responsibility concerns medical selection in the final phase of Ravensbrück. His admission confirms participation, while numerical estimates in witness testimony must remain explicitly attributed. (Source: Lund University Library — Alvin, PDF p. 2, lines 56–76, testimony of Gustawa Winkowska; Source: Technische Universität Berlin / Silke Schäfer dissertation, Printed pp. 153–156, biographical entry and Ravensbrück-trial discussion)
Key events and mechanisms
- late February 1945 – arrived at Ravensbrück as a camp physician (Source: Technische Universität Berlin / Silke Schäfer dissertation, Printed pp. 153–156, biographical entry and Ravensbrück-trial discussion)
- 1945 – participated in selections of women prisoners (Source: Lund University Library — Alvin, PDF p. 2, lines 56–76, testimony of Gustawa Winkowska; Source: Technische Universität Berlin / Silke Schäfer dissertation, Printed pp. 153–156, biographical entry and Ravensbrück-trial discussion)
- 1 February 1947 – died after the guilty finding but before sentence (Source: Technische Universität Berlin / Silke Schäfer dissertation, Printed pp. 153–156, biographical entry and Ravensbrück-trial discussion)
The circle records authority, function and agency. Several profiles may describe different parts of the same persecution chain, so profile-level totals must not be added together.
Postwar accountability
The first British Ravensbrück trial found Winkelmann guilty. He died in custody on 1 February 1947, so the court did not impose a sentence. (Source: Technische Universität Berlin / Silke Schäfer dissertation, Printed pp. 153–156, biographical entry and Ravensbrück-trial discussion)
Limits of the evidence
The statement that 4,500 women were selected comes from Gustawa Winkowska’s testimony and is not an adjudicated personal victim total. Other testimony cited in the study gives 1,500–2,000; the profile preserves this discrepancy. (Source: Lund University Library — Alvin, PDF p. 2, lines 56–76, testimony of Gustawa Winkowska; Source: Technische Universität Berlin / Silke Schäfer dissertation, Printed pp. 153–156, biographical entry and Ravensbrück-trial discussion)
Sources
The source set combines institutional, archival, trial or scholarly material from at least two independent publishers.