Egon Zill
Encyclopedia
Egon Zill was a German
Schutzstaffel
Sturmbannführer
and concentration camp commandant.
The son of a brewer from Plauen, Zill's father was severely injured in the First World War and as such Zill was apprenticed to a baker
at an early age in order to bring in much needed money to the family. As a 17 year old Zill enlisted in both the Nazi Party and the Sturmabteilung
, switching to the SS as soon as it came to his hometown (in fact Zill was the 535 member of the SS nationally). Zill would later work as a security guard in a curtain factory and it was not until 1934 that he became a full-time SS man, serving as a guard at a minor concentration camp at Chemnitz
.
From this low beginning Zill began to rise through the ranks at the camps. His first appointment at a major camp was at Lichtenburg
where he, along with fellow future commandant Arthur Rödl
, guarded the camp borders. He moved between camps, seeing service at Dachau, Ravensbrück
and Hinzert
in various capacities. His first commandant role was at Natzweiler-Struthof
before taking charge at Flossenbürg
. As a commandant Zill expected his guards to act with the discipline of soldiers whilst also supporting the idea that camp inmates who had been indoctrinated into Nazism
should be allowed to fight for Nazi Germany
in return for their freedom. His regime as a commandant was also marked by extreme cruelty and according to the testimonies of inmates Zill's crimes included tying prisoners to trees before allowing his dogs to savage their genitalia. Zill was replaced in April 1943 by Max Kögel
after being judged ineffective as a commandant. The move followed letters of complaint to Fritz Sauckel
from the villagers about the high standards of living enjoyed by camp guards and their wives in contrast to the impoverished standards in the village, as well as a culture of corruption amongst the guards. He was transferred to the Eastern Front
in 1943.
Nicknamed 'little Zill' because of his short stature he went to ground after the Second World War but revealed himself when he put his real name on the birth certificate of an illegitimate child. Sentenced to life imprisonment by a Munich
court the sentence was reduced on appeal to fifteen years in 1955. Following his release Zill settled in Dachau where he died in 1974.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Schutzstaffel
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
Sturmbannführer
Sturmbannführer
Sturmbannführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party equivalent to major, used both in the Sturmabteilung and the Schutzstaffel...
and concentration camp commandant.
The son of a brewer from Plauen, Zill's father was severely injured in the First World War and as such Zill was apprenticed to a baker
Baker
A baker is someone who bakes and sells bread, Cakes and similar foods may also be produced, as the traditional boundaries between what is produced by a baker as opposed to a pastry chef have blurred in recent decades...
at an early age in order to bring in much needed money to the family. As a 17 year old Zill enlisted in both the Nazi Party and the Sturmabteilung
Sturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
, switching to the SS as soon as it came to his hometown (in fact Zill was the 535 member of the SS nationally). Zill would later work as a security guard in a curtain factory and it was not until 1934 that he became a full-time SS man, serving as a guard at a minor concentration camp at Chemnitz
Chemnitz
Chemnitz is the third-largest city of the Free State of Saxony, Germany. Chemnitz is an independent city which is not part of any county and seat of the government region Direktionsbezirk Chemnitz. Located in the northern foothills of the Ore Mountains, it is a part of the Saxon triangle...
.
From this low beginning Zill began to rise through the ranks at the camps. His first appointment at a major camp was at Lichtenburg
Lichtenburg (concentration camp)
Lichtenburg was a Nazi concentration camp, housed in a Renaissance castle in Prettin, near Wittenberg in eastern Germany. Along with Sachsenburg, it was among the first to be built by the Nazis, and was operated by the SS from 1933 to 1939. It held as many as 2000 male prisoners from 1933 to 1937...
where he, along with fellow future commandant Arthur Rödl
Arthur Rödl
Arthur Rödl was a German Standartenführer in the Waffen-SS and a Nazi concentration camp commandant....
, guarded the camp borders. He moved between camps, seeing service at Dachau, Ravensbrück
Ravensbrück concentration camp
Ravensbrück was a notorious women's concentration camp during World War II, located in northern Germany, 90 km north of Berlin at a site near the village of Ravensbrück ....
and Hinzert
Hinzert concentration camp
Hinzert was a Nazi concentration camp located in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, 30 km from the Luxembourg border....
in various capacities. His first commandant role was at Natzweiler-Struthof
Natzweiler-Struthof
Natzweiler-Struthof was a German concentration camp located in the Vosges Mountains close to the Alsatian village of Natzwiller in France, and the town of Schirmeck, about 50 km south west from the city of Strasbourg....
before taking charge at Flossenbürg
Flossenbürg concentration camp
Konzentrationslager Flossenbürg was a Nazi concentration camp built in May 1938 by the Schutzstaffel Economic-Administrative Main Office at Flossenbürg, in the Oberpfalz region of Bavaria, Germany, near the border with Czechoslovakia. Until its liberation in April 1945, more than 96,000 prisoners...
. As a commandant Zill expected his guards to act with the discipline of soldiers whilst also supporting the idea that camp inmates who had been indoctrinated into Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
should be allowed to fight for Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
in return for their freedom. His regime as a commandant was also marked by extreme cruelty and according to the testimonies of inmates Zill's crimes included tying prisoners to trees before allowing his dogs to savage their genitalia. Zill was replaced in April 1943 by Max Kögel
Max Kögel
Otto Max Koegel was a Nazi officer who served as a commander at Lichtenburg, Ravensbrück, Majdanek and Flossenbürg concentration camps.-Early life:...
after being judged ineffective as a commandant. The move followed letters of complaint to Fritz Sauckel
Fritz Sauckel
Ernst Friedrich Christoph "Fritz" Sauckel was a Nazi war criminal, who organized the systematic enslavement of millions from lands occupied by Nazi Germany...
from the villagers about the high standards of living enjoyed by camp guards and their wives in contrast to the impoverished standards in the village, as well as a culture of corruption amongst the guards. He was transferred to the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
in 1943.
Nicknamed 'little Zill' because of his short stature he went to ground after the Second World War but revealed himself when he put his real name on the birth certificate of an illegitimate child. Sentenced to life imprisonment by a Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
court the sentence was reduced on appeal to fifteen years in 1955. Following his release Zill settled in Dachau where he died in 1974.