SS command of Auschwitz concentration camp The SS command of Auschwitz concentration camp refers to those units , commands , and agencies of the German SS which operated and administered the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II ; it is not a list of all personnel who served at Auschwitz , but does include those in command positions . Due to its large size and key role in the Nazi genocide program , the Auschwitz Concentration Camp encompassed personnel from several different branches of the SS , some of which held overlapping and shared areas of responsibility . There were over 7 , 000 SS personnel who served at Auschwitz from the time of the camp ' s construction in 1940 to the camp ' s liberation by the Red Army in January 1945 . Fewer than 800 were ever tried for war crimes , the most notable of which was the trial of camp commander Rudolf Hoess as well as several others tried between 1946 and 1948 . Senior chain of command . The supreme commander of the SS , " Reichsführer - SS " Heinrich Himmler , was the highest SS official with knowledge of Auschwitz and the function which the camp served . Himmler was known to issue direct orders to the camp commander , bypassing all other chains of command , in response to his own directives . Himmler would also occasionally receive broad instructions from Adolf Hitler or Hermann Göring , which he would then interpret as he saw fit and transmit to the Auschwitz Camp Commander . Below Himmler , the senior most operational SS commander involved with Auschwitz was " SS - Obergruppenführer " Oswald Pohl , who served as head of the SS - Economics Main Office , known as the " SS - Wirtschafts - Verwaltungshauptamt " or SS - WVHA . Pohl ' s subordinate , " SS - Gruppenführer " Richard Glücks , served as the " Amtschef " ( Department Chief ) of the Concentration Camps Inspectorate which was known as " Department D " within the WVHA . It was Glücks who may be seen as the direct superior to the camp commandant of Auschwitz , " SS - Obersturmbannführer " Rudolf Höss . In addition to this direct chain of command , the geographical location of Auschwitz placed some of its supply and wartime functions under the authoirity of Regional SS and Nazi Party leaders . When the camp was first constructed , Auschwitz was located within the borders of the newly established General Government , under the control of " Reichsleiter " Hans Frank . Before Auschwitz was a death camp , Frank left the running of the camp mostly to the SS , although he did know of the camp ' s existence since the early Auschwitz fell under his geographical authority . Simultaneously , all SS activities at Auschwitz were under the authority of the Higher SS and Police Leader " Ost " ( east ) who , during most of Auschwitz ' s existence , was Friedrich Wilhelm Krüger ( Wilhelm Koppe also held this position from late 1943 to early 1945 ) . Krüger ' s subordinate , the SS and Police Leader of Krakow was also technically senior to the Commander of Auschwitz and could issue orders concerning wartime needs . By 1942 , the territory in which Auschwitz lay had been absorbed into the German state of Upper Silesia and thereafter was under geographical control of the corresponding " Gauleiter " . For most of the camp ' s later half of existence , this person was Karl Hanke , who both visited Auschwitz and had full knowledge of the camp ' s operation . During Hanke ' s tenure , the SS command of the region stayed the same , with the addition of Auschwitz now falling under the administrative realm of the " Allgemeine - SS " division " SS - Oberabschnitt Südost " . The 23rd SS - Standarte also was a General - SS counterpart to the " Waffen - SS " personnel of the region , many of whom were stationed at Auschwitz . As well as falling under a direct and geographical chain of command , the nature of the work at Auschwitz also had the camp coming under the sphere of the " SS - Reichssicherheitshauptamt " , or RSHA . Both Reinhard Heydrich and later Ernst Kaltenbrunner routinely were briefed on activities at Auschwitz through Adolf Eichmann , assigned head of " RSHA Referat IV B4 " ( RSHA Sub - Department IV - B4 ) , who dealt with supervising the transportation of Jews to Auschwitz and had visited the camp on several occasions . A final group which had interest in Auschwitz were the various German ministries concerned with war production , slave labor , and manpower . During the Nuremburg Trials , heavy emphasis was placed on the knowledge which the civil government of Nazi Germany had of Auschwitz , which was a primary source of labor for such major firms as IG Farben . Both Fritz Sauckel and Albert Speer were directly accused of having knowledge of Auschwitz , although both denied knowing the scope of the genocide program in place there . Senior Chain of Command " Reichsführer - SS " Heinrich Himmler ( Supreme Commander of the SS ) " SS - Obergruppenführer " Oswald Pohl ( Commander , " SS - Wirtschafts - Verwaltungshauptamt " ) " SS - Gruppenführer " Richard Glücks ( Concentration Camps Inspectorate ) Lateral Senior Commands " SS - Obergruppenführer " Friedrich - Wilhelm Krüger " SS - Obergruppenführer " Wilhelm Koppe " SS - Oberführer " Julian Scherner Camp leadership and personnel . The camp commander of Auschwitz , as well as the senior camp officers and non - commissioned officers , were all members of the " SS - Totenkopfverbande " , or the SS - TV . Due to a 1941 personnel directive from the " SS Personalhauptamt " , members of the SS - TV were also considered full members of the " Waffen - SS " . Such personnel were further authorized to display the Death ' s Head Collar Patch , indicating full membership in both the SS - TV and Waffen - SS . The Auschwitz Commandant was assigned a full - time administrative staff to which answered a primary adjutant as well as several other SS officers in charge of supply , finance , and other administrative needs . Auschwitz also maintained a motor pool as well as an arsenal from which all the SS personnel would draw weapons and ammunition , although several of the SS were known to purchase their own handguns and other weapons . Administrative and supply SS personnel were assigned mostly to the camp headquarters at the Auschwitz I camp . Such personnel , many of whom were Waffen - SS members but not members of the SS - TV camp service , were usually " out of the way " of the more horrific activities of the camp . Oskar Gröning is one such well known Auschwitz clerk , who has appeared on several documentaries speaking about life in Auschwitz for the SS , and how living in the camp was in fact an enjoyable experience . Garrison commanders " SS - Obersturmbannführer " Rudolf Höss ( 1940 - 1943 / 1944 ) " SS - Obersturmbannführer " Arthur Liebehenschel ( 1943 – 1944 ) " SS - Sturmbannführer " Richard Baer ( 1944 – 1945 ) Senior adjutant officers " SS - Hauptsturmführer " Josef Kramer ( Auschwitz I ) " SS - Hauptsturmführer " Robert Mulka ( Auschwitz I and II ) Junior adjutant officers " SS - Obersturmführer " Karl - Friedrich Höcker ( Auschwitz I ) Headquarters staff " SS - Hauptscharführer " Detlef Nebbe ( Head NCO , Commandant ' s Staff ) Pay office " SS - Unterscharführer " Oskar Gröning ( Currency Exchange Clerk ) Post office " SS - Sturmscharführer " Robert Heider ( Post Office NCO ) Legal office " SS - Obersturmführer " Wilhelm Bayer " SS - Obersturmführer " Heinrich Ganninger Directors of administration " SS - Obersturmbannführer " Karl Möckel Camp administration main office " SS - Unterscharführer " Franz Romeikat ( Administrative assistant ) Prisoner property office " SS - Obersturmführer " Theodor Kratzer ( Property director ) Camp personnel department " SS - Hauptscharführer " Friedrich Schimpf ( Personnel accommodation ) " SS - Oberscharführer " Hans Zobisch ( Personnel NCO ) Camp technical section " SS - Scharführer " Georg Engelschall ( Technical section NCO ) Internal camp order . Internal camp order was under the authority of SS - TV members answering directly to the Camp Commander through officers known as " Lagerführer s " . Each of the three main camps at Auschwitz was assigned a " Lagerführer " to which answered several SS - non - commissioned officers known as " Rapportführer s " . The " Rapportführer " commanded several " Blockführer " who oversaw order within individual prisoner barracks . Assisting the SS with this task was a large collection of Kapo s , who were trustee prisoners . Camp labor section " SS - Unterscharführer " Heinrich Oppelt ( Director of camp labor ) " SS - Unterscharführer " Heinrich Schoppe ( Labor service NCO ) Women ' s camp sub - section " SS - Unterscharführer " Richard Perschel ( Women ' s camp labor director ) " SS - Unterscharführer " Johann Ruiters ( Women ' s camp labor administration ) Camp Guards . External camp security was under the authority of an SS unit known as the " Guard Battalion " , or " Wachbattalion " . These guards manned watchtowers and patrolled the perimeter fences of the camp . During an emergency , such as a prisoner uprising , the Guard Battalion could be deployed within the camp . The Guard battalion was organized on military lines with a Battalion Commander , Company and Platoon Leaders , as well as non - commissioned officers and enlisted SS soldiers . Camp guards were either members of the SS - TV or Waffen - SS veterans rotated into the concentration camp system due to wounds in action or for some other administrative reason . Ironically , contrary to the stereotypical image of the " Concentration Camp Guard " , members of the Guard Battalion seldom , if ever , had direct contact with prisoners . Exceptions occurred due to prisoner escapes or uprisings , of which the 1944 Crematorium Revolt ( depicted in the film " The Grey Zone " where the Guard Battalion enters and machine gun s a crematorium ) is one such example . Battalion Commanders " SS - Sturmbannführer " Max Gebhardt " SS - Sturmbannführer " Arthur Plorin Guard Company Commanders " SS - Sturmbannführer " Otto Stoppel Guard Platoon Leaders " SS - Obersturmführer " Josef Kollmer Guard Battalion NCOs " SS - Hauptscharführer " Adolf Becker " SS - Hauptscharführer " Matthias Tannhausen " SS - Oberscharführer " Emanuel Glumbik " SS - Oberscharführer " Vinzent Klose Guard Battalion Sentries " SS - Rottenführer " Erich Dinges " SS - Rottenführer " Richard Böch " The " rank and file " of the Guard Battalion consisted primarily of junior SS soldiers holding the rank of " Schütze " , " Oberschütze " , and " Sturmmann " . Auschwitz Dog Squad " SS - Obersturmführer " Hans Merbach ( Dog Squad Commander ) Camp medical personnel . Auschwitz maintained its own medical corps , led by Eduard Wirths , whose doctors and medical personnel were from various backgrounds in the SS . The infamous Josef Mengele , for example , was a combat field doctor in the Waffen - SS before transferring to Auschwitz after being wounded in combat . Office of the Garrison Physician " SS - Sturmbannführer " Dr . Eduard Wirths " SS - Obersturmfuhrer " Dr . Franz von Bodmann Medical administration section " SS - Sturmbannführer " Dr . Eduard Krebsbach ( Temporary assignment - served less than 2 months ) Medical staff officers " SS - Hauptsturmführer " Dr . Josef Mengele " SS - Hauptsturmführer " Dr . Alfred Trzebinski " SS - Obersturmführer " Dr . Franz Lucas " SS - Untersturmführer " Dr . Hans Wilhelm König Civilian medical personnel Dr . Carl Clauberg ( Civilian physician ) " SS - Untersturmfuhrer " Dr . Walter Goebel ( Assistant to Dr . Clauberg ) Medical service staff " SS - Oberscharführer " Josef Klehr ( Senior medical staff NCO ) " SS - Unterscharführer " Adolf Theuer ( Sanitary orderly ) Office of the Garrison Dentist " SS - Sturmbannführer " Dr . Raimond Ehrenberger Staff Dentists " SS - Obersturmführer " Dr . Willi Schatz Dental service staff " SS - Untersturmführer " Josef Simon ( Dental technician ) Camp Pharmacists " SS - Sturmbannführer " Dr . Victor Capesius Pharmacy staff " SS - Obersturmführer " Gerhard Gerber ( Pharmacist ' s assistant ) Camp Veterinarians " SS - Sturmbannführer " Dr . Ludwig Boehne " SS - Hauptsturmführer " Armand Langermann Auschwitz Hygiene Institute " SS - Untersturmführer " Dr . Hans Münch ( Deputy hygiene director ) Camp Gestapo command . The " Gestapo " maintained a large office at Auschwitz , staffed by uniformed Gestapo officers and personnel . Political office directors " SS - Untersturmführer " Maximilian Grabner Political office directorate " SS - Hauptscharführer " Helmut Westphal " SS - Oberscharführer " Josef Wietschorek " SS - Unterscharführer " Hermann Kirschner Political records office " SS - Untersturmführer " Hans Stark ( Death register ) Camp identification department " SS - Hauptscharführer " Bernhard Walter ( ID Department NCO ) " SS - Rottenführer " Ludwig Pach ( Identification checks ) Camp interrogation department " SS - Oberscharführer " Klaus Dylewski ( Lead interrogator ) Camp escape department " SS - Oberscharführer " Wilhelm Boger ( Escape department NCO ) Camp " Gestapo " agents " SS - Oberscharführer " Josef Erber " SS - Unterscharführer " Perry Broad " SS - Rottenführer " Hans Hoffmann Personnel involved in genocide . SS personnel assigned to the gas chambers were technically under the same chain of command as other internal camp SS personnel , but in practice were segregated and worked and lived locally on site at the crematorium . In all , there were usually four SS personnel per gas chamber , led by a non - commissioned officer , who oversaw around one hundred Jewish prisoners ( known as the " Sonderkommando " ) forced to assist in the extermination process . The actual delivery of the gas to the victims was always handled by the SS . This was accomplished by a special SS unit known as the " Hygiene Division " which would drive Zyklon B to the crematorium in an ambulance and then empty the canister into the gas chamber . The Hygiene Division was under the control of the Auschwitz Medical Corps , with the Zyklon B ordered and delivered through the camp supply system . Female camp personnel . Female personnel assigned to Auschwitz were considered members of the SS Women ' s Auxiliary and were known as " SS - Helferin " . Such women served in a variety of roles from secretaries , nurses , and ( most notoriously ) guards of female compounds within Auschwitz .