English source-aligned edition
Alexander Piorkowski
Alexander Piorkowski served as commandant of Dachau concentration camp from February 1940 to September 1942. The profile reconstructs the person’s function in Dachau · 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
- Alexander Piorkowski was born on 11 October 1904 at Bremen. He commanded Dachau concentration camp from February 1940 to September 1942. (Source: KZ-Gedenkstätte Dachau, Three paragraphs under “Biografie: Alexander Piorkowski”)
- The trial record and historical study link him to selecting prisoners for transports, routinely approving corporal punishment and tolerating medical experiments during his command. (Source: German National Library / Martin Gruner dissertation, pp. 112–120, especially pp. 113–114 and 117–120; Source: US Army review, Dachau case 000-50-2-23, Review and Recommendations, Case 000-50-2-23, 12 pp.; findings and sentence)
- A US military court sentenced him to death; after review of the judgment he was executed at Landsberg on 22 October 1948. (Source: KZ-Gedenkstätte Dachau, Three paragraphs under “Biografie: Alexander Piorkowski”; Source: US Army review, Dachau case 000-50-2-23, Review and Recommendations, Case 000-50-2-23, 12 pp.; findings and sentence)
Place in the chain of responsibility
Piorkowski’s responsibility includes both his own command decisions and control of the camp’s machinery of violence. The profile separates those findings from acts of subordinates that were not proved as his personal conduct in every instance. (Source: German National Library / Martin Gruner dissertation, pp. 112–120, especially pp. 113–114 and 117–120; Source: US Army review, Dachau case 000-50-2-23, Review and Recommendations, Case 000-50-2-23, 12 pp.; findings and sentence)
Key events and mechanisms
- February 1940 – assumed command of Dachau (Source: KZ-Gedenkstätte Dachau, Three paragraphs under “Biografie: Alexander Piorkowski”)
- 1940–1942 – approved punishments, transport selections and supervised the camp system (Source: German National Library / Martin Gruner dissertation, pp. 112–120, especially pp. 113–114 and 117–120; Source: US Army review, Dachau case 000-50-2-23, Review and Recommendations, Case 000-50-2-23, 12 pp.; findings and sentence)
- 22 October 1948 – execution at Landsberg (Source: KZ-Gedenkstätte Dachau, Three paragraphs under “Biografie: Alexander Piorkowski”; Source: US Army review, Dachau case 000-50-2-23, Review and Recommendations, Case 000-50-2-23, 12 pp.; findings and sentence)
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
In a separate trial before a US military court at Dachau, Piorkowski was sentenced to death. The review upheld the sentence, which was carried out on 22 October 1948. (Source: KZ-Gedenkstätte Dachau, Three paragraphs under “Biografie: Alexander Piorkowski”; Source: US Army review, Dachau case 000-50-2-23, Review and Recommendations, Case 000-50-2-23, 12 pp.; findings and sentence)
Limits of the evidence
Command responsibility does not mean personally carrying out every punishment or experiment. The profile lists only acts and omissions individualised in the trial record and historical analysis. (Source: German National Library / Martin Gruner dissertation, pp. 112–120, especially pp. 113–114 and 117–120; Source: US Army review, Dachau case 000-50-2-23, Review and Recommendations, Case 000-50-2-23, 12 pp.; findings and sentence)
Sources
The source set combines institutional, archival, trial or scholarly material from at least two independent publishers.