Rudolf Hoess Trial Was the First Auschwitz Trial

The most interesting thing about Rudolf Hoess – the first and the most notorious Auschwitz – is the false testimony that he (allegedly under threat of torture or harm to his family) gave at the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg.

He testified that the death toll at Auschwitz was around 3 million while it was subsequently proven that it was no more than 1.1 million. In his essay on the Final Solution in Auschwitz, which Hoess wrote in Krak;w, he revised the previously given death toll to a realistic 1,130,000… but the damage has already been done.

Done, because, according to universally accepted principles of criminal justice, just one such false statement accepted by the court is sufficient to invalidate all other witnesses’ statements… and thus essentially the whole trial.

Unfortunately, the Soviet practice of false witnesses, forged documents and overall abandonment of fundamental principles of criminal justice somehow crawled into IMT Nuremberg trial. In his memoir, Hoess claimed to have suffered mistreatment at the hands of his British captors and to have signed the transcript of his first interrogation under duress. Which was, most likely, true.

These practices automatically made all defendants de-jure not guilty due to legal issues – regardless of whether they were guilty de-facto. Not innocent, mind you – just not guilty. And makes all documents generated by this trial highly suspect.

On 25 May 1946, Hoess was handed over to Polish authorities, and the Supreme National Tribunal in Poland tried him for murder. As all Soviet and Communist trials, it was a show trial in a kangaroo court… however, it does not change the undeniable fact that was guilty as sin and got what he richly deserved.

Hoess’ trial lasted from March 11 to 29, 1947. He was sentenced to death by hanging on 2 April. The sentence was carried out two weeks later on 16 April beside the crematorium of the former Auschwitz I concentration camp. He was hanged on a short-drop gallows (the most cruel kind of hanging) constructed specifically for that purpose, at the location of the camp’s Gestapo.

Shortly before his execution, Hoess returned to the Catholic Church. On 10 April 1947, he received the sacrament of penance from a Jesuit priest. The next day, the same priest administered to him Holy Communion as Viaticum (the Eucharist administered to a person who is dying – part of the Last Rites).

Hoess’ was the last public execution in Poland (about 100 witnesses were present, including former prisoners and various high-ranking officials of the Polish government).