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Waldemar Hoven | |
|---|---|
 Hoven in U.S. custody | |
| Born | 10 February 1903 |
| Died | 2 June 1948(1948-06-02) (aged 45) |
| Cause of death | Execution by hanging |
| Occupation | Physician |
| Political party | Nazi Party |
| Criminal status | Executed |
| Motive | Nazism |
| Convictions | War crimes Crimes against humanity Membership in a criminal organization |
| Trial | Doctors' Trial |
| Criminal penalty | Death |
| Details | |
| Victims | Thousands |
Span of crimes | 1940 – 12 September 1943 |
| Country | Nazi Germany |
| Location | Buchenwald concentration camp |
Waldemar Hoven (10 February 1903 – 2 June 1948) was aNazi physician atBuchenwald concentration camp,[1] and convicted war criminal for conductinghuman experiments regardingtyphus which led to the deaths of many concentration camp prisoners, and as one of the organizers of theeuthanasia programAktion T4; this Nazi initiative resulted in the systematic murder of 275,000 to 300,000 disabled people. He was sentenced to death andhanged on 2 June 1948.
Hoven was born inFreiburg,Baden,Germany. Between 1919 and 1921, Hoven visitedDenmark andSweden to study agriculture. In the 1920s, he visited theUnited States, where he worked as a movie extra inHollywood. In the 1930s, Hoven went toParis, where he had an affair with an American woman who gave him an extremely valuable gold cigarette case. Hoven finally returned home to Freiburg in 1933, where he completed his high school studies. He then attended the Universities of Freiburg and Munich. In 1934, he joined theSS. In 1939, he concluded his medical studies and became a physician for the SS. Hoven rose to the rank ofHauptsturmführer (Captain) in theWaffen SS.[2][3]
After completing his basic training in the Waffen SS, he became assistant medical officer in the Buchenwald concentration camp and held this position until 1941; in January 1941 he became the second camp doctor of Buchenwald, and became chief camp physician at least as early as June 1942.[4]
Hoven was involved in the administration of medical experiments regarding typhus and the tolerance of serum containingphenol, and which led to the deaths of many inmates. He was also involved in theAktion T4 programs, during which people withdisabilities were killed, along withJewish people who were considered unfit for work.[5] According to other prisoners, Hoven was murdering 90 to 100 prisoners every week, for a year and a half, with phenol injections.[6]
He was arrested by the Nazis on 12 September 1943, accused of giving a lethal injection of phenol toHauptscharführer Rudolf Köhler, an SS officer who was a potential witness in an investigation againstIlse Koch, with whom Hoven was rumoured to be having an affair.[7] Hoven was charged with murder, but the case was delayed. He was released on 15 March 1945 due to the shortage of doctors.[8]
Hoven was arrested at the end ofWorld War II by theAllies and put on trial as a defendant at theDoctors' Trial, one of theNuremberg Trials. He was found guilty of war crimes,crimes against humanity and membership in a criminal organization (theSS).[2] He was sentenced to death and hanged on 2 June 1948 atLandsberg Prison inBavaria.
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