Ernst Kaltenbrunner

Ernst Kaltenbrunner
Kaltenbrunner during the Nuremberg trials (1945)
Born	Ernst Kaltenbrunner (1903-10-04)4 October 1903 Ried im Innkreis, Austria-Hungary
Died	16 October 1946(1946-10-16) (aged 43) Nuremberg Prison, Nuremberg, Allied-occupied Germany
Nationality	Austrian
Alma mater	University of Graz
Known for	Chief of the Reich Security Main Office (1943–1945) Higher SS and Police Leader (1938–1943) President of Interpol (1943–1945)
Political party	Nazi Party (NSDAP)
Spouse	Elisabeth Eder ​ (m. 1934)​
Partner	Gisela Gräfin von Westarp
Children	5
Conviction(s)	Crimes against humanity
Criminal penalty	Execution by hanging
Excerpt from Ernst Kaltenbrunner's closing statement at the Nuremberg Trials Kaltenbrunner's closing statement at the Nuremberg Trials Recorded 31 August 1946
SS service
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Schutzstaffel
Years of service	1931–1945
Rank	Obergruppenführer

Ernst Kaltenbrunner (4 October 1903 – 16 October 1946) was a high-ranking Austrian SS official during the Nazi era and a major perpetrator of the Holocaust. After the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in 1942, and a brief period under Heinrich Himmler, Kaltenbrunner was the third Chief of the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA), which included the offices of Gestapo, Kripo and SD, from January 1943 until the end of World War II in Europe.

Kaltenbrunner joined the Nazi Party in 1930 and the SS in 1931, and by 1935 he was considered a leader of the Austrian SS. In 1938, he assisted in the Anschluss and was given command of the SS and police force in Austria. In January 1943, Kaltenbrunner was appointed chief of the RSHA, succeeding Reinhard Heydrich, who was assassinated in May 1942.

A committed anti-Semite, Kaltenbrunner played a pivotal role in orchestrating the Holocaust and Nazi genocide intensified under his leadership. He oversaw the coordination of security and law enforcement agencies involved in widespread extermination, the suppression of resistance movements in occupied territories, extensive arrests, deportations, and executions. He was the highest-ranking member of the SS to face trial (Himmler having committed suicide in May 1945) at the Nuremberg trials, where he was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Kaltenbrunner was sentenced to death, and executed by hanging on 16 October 1946.