English source-aligned edition
Martin Sommer
Martin Sommer served as arrest-block supervisor and direct perpetrator of murders. The profile reconstructs the person’s function in Buchenwald 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
- Walter Gerhard Martin Sommer was born on 8 February 1915 in Schkölen and died on 7 June 1988 at the Stephanusheim in Rummelsberg. (Source: cited record; Source: cited record)
- As an SS-Hauptscharführer he belonged to the permanent staff of Buchenwald concentration camp and was responsible for the camp arrest block. (Source: cited record; Source: cited record)
- The court found that from spring 1940 to the end of 1942 he killed at least 25 unidentified prisoners by intravenous injections of Evipan, phenol or air. (Source: cited record; Source: cited record)
- On 3 July 1958 the Bayreuth Regional Court sentenced him to life imprisonment for 25 murders; on 5 May 1959 the Federal Court of Justice dismissed his appeal. (Source: cited record; Source: cited record)
Place in the chain of responsibility
The profile attributes to Sommer the murders established by the final judgment and his documented role as arrest-block supervisor, not every reported camp crime. (Source: cited record; Source: cited record)
Key events and mechanisms
- From spring 1940 to the end of 1942 he murdered at least 25 prisoners by injection. (Source: cited record; Source: cited record)
- On 3 July 1958 he was sentenced to life imprisonment, and on 5 May 1959 the judgment became final when his appeal was dismissed. (Source: cited record; Source: cited record)
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 1971 enforcement was interrupted for medical treatment, and in 1973 he was moved to a care home. Later parole requests were rejected; he died on 7 June 1988 while the sentence remained in force. (Source: cited record)
Limits of the evidence
The judgment covered 25 murders and itself noted that this represented only part of the alleged crimes. The profile assigns no complete victim total and does not repeat unverified stories. No portrait with clearly documented publication rights was found. (Source: cited record; Source: cited record)
Sources
The source set combines institutional, archival, trial or scholarly material from at least two independent publishers.