English source-aligned edition

Hans Theodor Schmidt

sentenced to death in 1947 and executed on 7 June 1951 1899–1951

Hans Theodor Schmidt served as adjutant to the commandant of Buchenwald concentration camp. The profile reconstructs the person’s function in Buchenwald · Thuringia through documented office, decisions, supervision or operational conduct. It does not assign every crime committed by an institution or region to one individual.

Concentration campsCamp terrorExecutions

Confirmed findings

Hans Theodor Schmidt was born on 25 December 1899 in Höxter; from 1942 to 1945 he served as adjutant to the commandant of Buchenwald concentration camp. (Source: Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust, collection 2009.98; United States v. Josias Prince zu Waldeck et al., review and recommendations, 15 November 1947; Source: Kaufering Memorial, section on the Landsberg executions; Hans Schmidt and the 7 June 1951 execution; Source: Le Monde archives, 8 June 1951 report on the seven Landsberg executions)
In the main Buchenwald trial he was prosecuted with other defendants for participation in the camp system of abuse and killing. (Source: Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust, collection 2009.98; United States v. Josias Prince zu Waldeck et al., review and recommendations, 15 November 1947; Source: Kaufering Memorial, section on the Landsberg executions; Hans Schmidt and the 7 June 1951 execution; Source: Le Monde archives, 8 June 1951 report on the seven Landsberg executions)
The US military tribunal sentenced him to death; the sentence was carried out at Landsberg on 7 June 1951. (Source: Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust, collection 2009.98; United States v. Josias Prince zu Waldeck et al., review and recommendations, 15 November 1947; Source: Kaufering Memorial, section on the Landsberg executions; Hans Schmidt and the 7 June 1951 execution; Source: Le Monde archives, 8 June 1951 report on the seven Landsberg executions)

Place in the chain of responsibility

Schmidt’s responsibility rests on his command-staff function and individual judgment, not on automatic attribution of every act committed by the camp staff. (Source: Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust, collection 2009.98; United States v. Josias Prince zu Waldeck et al., review and recommendations, 15 November 1947; Source: Kaufering Memorial, section on the Landsberg executions; Hans Schmidt and the 7 June 1951 execution; Source: Le Monde archives, 8 June 1951 report on the seven Landsberg executions)

Key events and mechanisms

No victim-count ranking

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 US military tribunal sentenced Schmidt to death in the main Buchenwald trial. He was executed at Landsberg on 7 June 1951. (Source: Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust, collection 2009.98; United States v. Josias Prince zu Waldeck et al., review and recommendations, 15 November 1947; Source: Kaufering Memorial, section on the Landsberg executions; Hans Schmidt and the 7 June 1951 execution; Source: Le Monde archives, 8 June 1951 report on the seven Landsberg executions)

Limits of the evidence

The sources establish his position, trial and outcome. They do not by themselves attribute every execution at Buchenwald to Schmidt. (Source: Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust, collection 2009.98; United States v. Josias Prince zu Waldeck et al., review and recommendations, 15 November 1947; Source: Kaufering Memorial, section on the Landsberg executions; Hans Schmidt and the 7 June 1951 execution; Source: Le Monde archives, 8 June 1951 report on the seven Landsberg executions)

Sources

The source set combines institutional, archival, trial or scholarly material from at least two independent publishers.