Otto Hantke | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1907-01-21)21 January 1907 Kietrz, Upper Silesia,German Empire |
| Died | 1986 (aged 78–79) |
| Allegiance | Nazi Germany |
| Service | Schutzstaffel |
| Rank | Unterscharführer |
| Commands | |
Otto Hantke (21 January 1907 – 1986) was a GermanSS-Unterscharführer, convicted murderer, andwar criminal inGerman-occupied Poland duringthe Holocaust.[1] Hantke joined theNazi Party and the SS by 1933. Between at least 1942 and 1944, Hantke served as thecommandant of theBudzyń labor camp andPoniatowa concentration camp, both subcamps of theMajdanek concentration camp, and was an SS officer at theLipowa 7 concentration camp andStutthof concentration camp.[2]
In his role at Poniatowa, Hantke helped coordinate the deportation of Jews to the camp during the liquidation of theWarsaw Ghetto after theWarsaw Ghetto Uprising.[3]
For his participation during the Holocaust, Hantke was imprisoned in Germany from 1960 until 1967.[4] In 1974, at the age of 67, Hantke was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for crimes committed in 1942 and 1943, including shooting to death at least four people during the deportation of Jews fromKrasnik in November 1942.[5][6]
Otto Hantke was born on 21 January 1907, inKietrz,Upper Silesia.[3] He joined the SS of theNazi Party by 1933.[2]
Hantke was an SS officer at theLipowa 7 concentration camp inLublin. Based on Hantke's reputation as a "good organizer," theSS and Police Leader in LublinOdilo Globocnik personally ordered him to go toKrasnik.[7]
From September to December 1942, Hantke helped establish and served as the firstcommandant of theBudzyń labor camp, where the inmates wereslave laborers at aHeinkel aircraft factory.[3]
In his role at Budzyń, Hantke was responsible for the selection during the final liquidation of theKrasnik Ghetto in November 1942, in accordance with the orders fromChristian Wirth, the Inspector of theAktion Reinhard murder regime. Hantke chose about 150 men from Krasnik to be imprisoned at Budzyń, with the rest deported to the Belzec death camp. He later sent 50 prisoners from Budzyń to be expelled toZaklikow. He shot dead others, including teenager Baruch Krumholz.[6]
From May through the summer of 1943, Hantke replacedBirmes-Schulten as the second commandant of thePoniatowa concentration camp, another Majdanek subcamp. Hantke was inWarsaw during the liquidation of theWarsaw Ghetto after theWarsaw Ghetto Uprising in May 1943 in order to coordinate the deportation of Jews to Poniatowa.[3][4]
He was replaced as commandant at Poniatowa byGottlieb Hering, who had served as commandant of theBelzec death camp.[3] According to the testimony ofHolocaust survivors, Hantke brutally mistreated the prisoners at Poniatowa.[4]
In the summer of 1943, Hantke was sent toPulawy in order toestablish another subcamp of Majdanek in the local sawmill. Although the sawmill operated profitably, thanks to the exploitation of the prisoners' work, the prisoners there, as in other camps of the Majdanek complex, were shot on 3 November 1943, as part ofOperation Harvest Festival.[4]
At the end of 1944, Hantke was reassigned to theStutthof concentration camp.[2]
Hantke survived the war and settled in Germany. Hantke was convicted inHamburg in 1960, and was released in 1967.[4]
On 5 December 1973, 66-year old Hantke and co-defendantGeorg Michalsen were put on trial in Hamburg for the murder of thousands of Jews during the liquidation of the Warsaw Ghetto. They were also accused of sending 300,000 Jews to their deaths inTreblinka.[8] Hantke was convicted of killing four Jews between 1942 and 1943.[9] After Hantke's conviction, the court sentenced him to life imprisonment.[5]