English source-aligned edition
August Richard Ruhnke
August Richard Ruhnke served as deputy camp leader of the Dachau subcamp at Riederloh. The profile reconstructs the person’s function in Riederloh · Kaufbeuren 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
- August Richard Ruhnke was born on 9 September 1890 at Grunsberg in the Konitz district of West Prussia and entered the NSDAP on 1 May 1937. (Source: Kaufbeuren City Archive, volume 14, PDF pp. 321–322, lines 10687–10722 and note 268; identity, Riederloh role, testimony, judgment and execution)
- In 1944–1945 he was deputy camp leader of the Dachau subcamp at Riederloh and ranked second in its hierarchy; the municipal volume cites survivor testimony describing exceptional brutality. (Source: Kaufbeuren City Archive, volume 14, PDF pp. 321–322, lines 10687–10722 and note 268; identity, Riederloh role, testimony, judgment and execution)
- On 18 April 1947 a U.S. military court convicted him of the proven murder of at least 19 Jewish prisoners; the death sentence was carried out at Landsberg on 14 November 1947. (Source: Kaufbeuren City Archive, volume 14, PDF pp. 321–322, lines 10687–10722 and note 268; identity, Riederloh role, testimony, judgment and execution)
Place in the chain of responsibility
Ruhnke’s responsibility encompasses his leadership role in the subcamp and the individual killings and violence established in the military proceedings. The figure of at least 19 is the minimum covered by the judgment, not a complete toll for the subcamp. (Source: NARA trial-record index, PDF p. 31, lines 857–864, Case 000-50-2-75; case identifiers and précis of charges and evidence)
Key events and mechanisms
- 1944 – served as deputy camp leader at Riederloh and ranked second in the camp hierarchy (Source: Kaufbeuren City Archive, volume 14, PDF pp. 321–322, lines 10687–10722 and note 268; identity, Riederloh role, testimony, judgment and execution)
- 18 April 1947 – sentenced to death by a U.S. military court for the proven murder of at least 19 Jewish prisoners (Source: Kaufbeuren City Archive, volume 14, PDF pp. 321–322, lines 10687–10722 and note 268; identity, Riederloh role, testimony, judgment and execution)
- 14 November 1947 – executed by hanging at Landsberg (Source: Kaufbeuren City Archive, volume 14, PDF pp. 321–322, lines 10687–10722 and note 268; identity, Riederloh role, testimony, judgment and execution)
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
On 18 April 1947 a U.S. military court sentenced Ruhnke to death for the proven murder of at least 19 Jewish prisoners. He was hanged at Landsberg on 14 November 1947. (Source: Kaufbeuren City Archive, volume 14, PDF pp. 321–322, lines 10687–10722 and note 268; identity, Riederloh role, testimony, judgment and execution)
Limits of the evidence
The case index gives a précis, while the municipal volume synthesizes the judgment and testimony. Without a complete personnel card, no detailed SS rank is assigned. The archival photograph mentioned in a note has neither a public URL nor a verified reuse licence, so no portrait is used. (Source: NARA trial-record index, PDF p. 31, lines 857–864, Case 000-50-2-75; case identifiers and précis of charges and evidence)
Sources
The source set combines institutional, archival, trial or scholarly material from at least two independent publishers.