Martin Sommer

[Björn]

I´m new to this forum so first of all I want to say hi to everyone!

So, I´m looking for information about a man named Martin Sommer aka "Henker von Buchenwald". I read about him in the Eugen Kogon´s fantastic book and want to know more about him.
All i know that he was the supervisor of the bunker until 1943 when he was tranferred to the easter front. I also know that he was put on trial in 1958 and sentenced to xxx years.
I also want to know if there are any written about the trial.

Hope I will get some reply at this.

[David Thompson]

Sommer, Walter Gerhard Martin (c. 1915-?) [SS Master Sergeant] – service, concentration camp (Konzentrationslager - KL) Buchenwald c. 1938-1943 {SS officer reduced in rank and sentenced by an SS court 1943 to service in a penal battalion on the eastern front; lost an arm and a leg in a tank explosion; taken prisoner by Soviet troops; held after May 1950 as war criminal (NYT 7 May 1950:35:3); impending release pursuant to "Adenauer amnesty" announced by Nikita S. Krushchev 9 Sept 1955 (Gulag Archipelago vol. 3, pps. 441-2); released from Soviet captivity 1955; arrested by West German authorities 1957 on charges of participating in 101 murders; put on trial 11 Jun 1958 by a West German court at Bayreuth on charges of murder and mistreatment of prisoners at KL Buchenwald (NYT 12 Jun 1958:4:8; NYT 3 Jul 1958:5:2); convicted of murdering 25 inmates by hypodermic injections of phenol in 1940-1942 and sentenced to life imprisonment and loss of civil rights 3 Jul 1958 (NYT 4 Jul 1958:4:6; JuNSV Verfahren Lfd.Nr.464; LG Bayreuth 580703; BGH 590505; Buchenwald Report p. 204n).}

[tomalbright]

David..do you know what W-SS unit Sommer was transferred to in 1943? also, do have anything on his SS service prior to KL Buchenwald?

thanks

Tom

[Schmauser]

Martin Sommer aka "Henker von Buchenwald".

Can I get a rough translation on what this means?

Is it "Butcher of Buchenwald"?

~Regards Schmauser

[David Thompson]

Schmauser -- "Henker" usually translates as "hangman." That's all I have on Sommer at the moment -- if I find any more I'll post it up for you.

[Björn]

Thanks for sharing the info!

I read somewhere that he died in 1988.

Must have been after the Koch-trial that he was sent to the front?

Quite amazing that a coward like him actually took that step...

[Ryan81]

I've read that Sommer was released in 1975 and died in the Rummelsberger Institutions. Why was he released prematurely? Was it the age old thing about 'poor health?'

[von Putzbrunn]

He was called the "hangman of Buchenwald" because he enjoyed to hang inmates in trees, as punishment, from behind. The inmates hands would be tied behind their backs and then hung up in the tree with the wire tied around their thumbs. This way thei thumbs would hold the weight of their entire body. The would hang like this for one or two hours before being let down.
There is a really famous photo of this with 2 prisoners hanging from a tree and one more lying on the ground in front of Sommer himself.
I have it somewhere. Ill post it when I find it.

[von Putzbrunn]

Found it! Here it is:

[von Putzbrunn]

Found it! Here it is:

[Ryan81]

Glad he was re-arrested in 1950 and spent nearly the rest of his life in prison. Even that was too good for him.

[itaiv40]

Here's another pic of Sommer.

[TH Albright]

Arcane note: Sommer here is in the uniform of SS-TV "Sachsen"..the guard unit at KL Sachsenberg...a graduate of this unit and comrade of Max SImon, Egon Zill, and Konrad Schellong. Reminds me that Otto Weidinger served along side Rudolph Hoess in SS-Wachtruppe Dachau in 1934.

[TH Albright]

Arcane note: Sommer here is in the uniform of SS-TV "Sachsen"..the guard unit at KL Sachsenberg...a graduate of this unit and comrade of Max SImon, Egon Zill, and Konrad Schellong. Reminds me that Otto Weidinger served along side Rudolph Hoess in SS-Wachtruppe Dachau in 1934.

[sum]

another pic