VII Nazi ReportSeven Circles of Responsibility

English source-aligned edition

Richard Glücks

not tried; reportedly died by suicide in 1945 1889–1945

Richard Glücks served as Inspector of Concentration Camps and head of WVHA Amtsgruppe D. The profile reconstructs the person’s function in central administration of the SS concentration-camp system through documented office, decisions, supervision or operational conduct. It does not assign every crime committed by an institution or region to one individual.

War crimesCrimes against humanityHolocaustOther genocidesForced labour

Confirmed findings

  • Glücks became Inspector of Concentration Camps on 15 November 1939 after serving as Theodor Eicke's chief of staff.
  • In February 1940 he proposed the former barracks at Oświęcim for a new camp and transmitted the order to establish Auschwitz under Rudolf Höss.
  • From 1942 he headed WVHA Amtsgruppe D, issuing instructions to camp commandants on forced labour, selections, crematoria and access to prisoners for experiments.

Place in the chain of responsibility

Glücks was the central supervisory link between WVHA policy and individual camp commandants. His office did not replace the agency of Pohl, camp commanders, medical staff or employers.

Key events and mechanisms

  • appointment as Inspector of Concentration Camps, 15 November 1939
  • selection and establishment of the Auschwitz site, 1940
  • incorporation of the inspectorate into WVHA as Amtsgruppe D, 1942
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

Glücks never faced trial. Most accounts state that he died by cyanide poisoning at Flensburg-Mürwik on 10 May 1945; his superior Oswald Pohl and camp commandants including Rudolf Höss were later prosecuted.

Limits of the evidence

The reported circumstances of Glücks's death are less firmly documented than his wartime office. The profile does not attribute all crimes of all concentration camps to a personal directive from him.

Sources

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