| German War Crimes Trials. Nuremberg and Dachau. Rudolf Wolf, who testified that more than 600 prisoners at Dachau had been killed in a “death march,” points to Franz Trenkle, number 4 on the list of 40 accused torturers at Dachau being tried for their actions. This notorious Nazi concentration camp, now the scene of the trials, is located near Munich, Germany. Dachau, Germany. The Dachau camp trial (German: Dachau-Hauptprozess) was the 1st mass trial of the Dachau trials, a series of trials against war criminals held by the United States Army on the premises of the Dachau concentration camp. The main trial took place from November 15 to December 15, 1945. 40 people were charged with war crimes in connection with the Dachau concentration camp and its subcamps. The trial ended with 40 convictions, including 36 death sentences, of which 28 were carried out. The official name of the case was United States of America vs. Martin Gottfried Weiss et al. The main trial served as a “parent case” for 123 subsequent cases. In the subsequent trials, all crimes that were established in the main trial were taken as proven, significantly shortening their duration relative to the parent case. The Dachau trials consisted of 6 total parent trials, each with its own subcases, and were held between 1945 and 1948. In total, there were 489 Dachau trials, of which 394 were held within the confines of the camp itself. The order to evacuate the Dachau concentration camp and its subcamps was issued only a few days before the arrival of American troops. The subcamps of the Kaufering complex were abandoned on April 23, 1945. 3 days later, the 1st marching columns left the main Dachau camp, heading southward. The SS forcibly evacuated on transports or mercilessly herded along on forced marches at least 25,000 prisoners from the Dachau camp system. During these marches, called “death marches,” at least a 1,000 prisoners died. They died of disease, undernourishment, and exhaustion. If a prisoner collapsed or, fully exhausted, simply could not continue, they were beaten or shot to death by SS guards. The route of the marches passed through numerous villages and small towns. Scores of residents witnessed the brutal marches. The trial was international news. As the trial progressed, the Cairns Post in Australia reported, Dachau Death March – Survivor’s Story – Hundreds Died of Thirst — Frankfurt, Novermber 19 (Australian Associated Press) – Rudolf Wolf, a former prisoner of the Germans, given evidence at the Dachau war criminal trials, described the death march from the camp as the American 7th Army advanced, in which between 1,400 prisoners perished. He said the parties were grouped according to nationalities and marched off south, hauling with ropes enormous waggons on which were stowed SS officers’ baggage. ‘Guards mounted on motorcycles goaded the prisoners with whips, while the guns of the Seventh Army rumbled behind us.’ Men dropped to the ground from exhaustion and thirst. 1st in twos and threes, and finally in whole groups. Wolf, who said he was a Communist, was imprisoned for arousing ‘public anger and indignation.” He estimated that, because of neglect by the SS and camp authorities, between 18,000 died in the typhus epidemic during the winter of 1944-45.” Rudolf Wolf (January 26, 1910 – ????) was born in Bremen. Working as an engraver in Frankfurt am Main until 1939. Wolf was taken into “police preventive detention” for theft and obscenity. In October 1940, he was categorized as a “professional criminal” and sent to the Sachsenhausen and then the Neuengamme concentration camps. In September 1942, Wolf arrived in the Dachau camp, where he remained until liberation by the United States Army. Wolf testified as a witness at the Dachau Main Trial and a subsequent trial. He identified several accused before the court and demonstrated the torture methods used by the Schutzstaffel SS camp personnel, including SS-Hauptscharführer Franz-Xaver Trenkle and SS-Oberscharführer Engelbert Valentin Wiedermeyer. SS-Hauptscharführer Franz-Xaver Trenkle (December 23, 1898 – May 28, 1946) was appointed Rapportführer at Dachau in 1943. He was later promoted to Verwaltungsführer. Trenkle transferred to Neuengamme and Sachsenhausen from 1940-1942. Trenkle singled out Soviet Prisoners of War for beatings. He was said to force prisoners to stand in front of him and kick their legs in a downward motion, peeling the skin off their shins. He would deny prisoners sick call and then beat them if they tried to apply again. He was known to beat prisoners who refused to whip other prisoners. From June 1943, Trenkle prepared prisoners for execution. He then ordered the cremation of the executed. Wolf pointed him out during the trial. SS-Oberscharführer Engelbert Valentin Wiedermeyer (December 26, 1911 – May 28, 1946), the administrator of the Dachau crematorium from 1942. Wiedermeyer was known to beat prisoners. He arrived at Dachau on May 24, 1934, and whipped a 100 prisoners by November 1941. That month, he participated in the execution of 40 Soviet Prisoners of War and then cremated their bodies. Wolf pointed him out during the trial. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0957.jpg |
| Image Size | 573.03 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2310 x 2898 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | United States Army Signal Corps |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | November 20, 1945 |
| Location | Konzentrationslager Dachau |
| City | Dachau |
| State or Province | Bavaria |
| Country | Germany |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NRE-338-FTL(EF)-3161(3) |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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