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September 12, 2026Short & citedBlog
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People File • War Criminal

Amon Goeth

Amon Leopold Goeth was an Austrian SS officer and Nazi war criminal who served as commandant of the Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp in German-occupied Poland during World War II.

Updated September 12, 20261 min readCited sources

Amon Goeth was an Austrian SS officer and Nazi war criminal. He served as commandant of the Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp in occupied Poland during World War II.

Early life and SS career

Born in Vienna in 1908, Goeth joined the Nazi Party in 1932 and the SS in 1940. He rose to SS officer rank before being assigned to occupied Poland, where he later took command of the Kraków-Płaszów camp.

Command at Kraków-Płaszów

From February 1943 to September 1944, Goeth oversaw the Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp. He was also involved in liquidating ghettos and labour camps in the region. Source estimates indicate more than 10,000 people were killed under his authority.

Trial, execution, and cultural depiction

After the war, Goeth was extradited to Poland, tried for war crimes and mass murder, and sentenced to death. He was hanged in Kraków in September 1946. His brutality was later portrayed in Steven Spielberg's 1993 film Schindler's List.

In short

  • Austrian-born SS officer who joined Nazi Party in 1932 and SS in 1940.
  • Commandant of Kraków-Płaszów camp from February 1943 to September 1944.
  • Convicted of war crimes and executed by hanging in Poland in 1946.
  • Responsible for more than 10,000 deaths in camps and ghettos.

Quick questions

Who was Amon Goeth?
Amon Goeth was an Austrian SS officer and Nazi war criminal who served as commandant of the Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp during World War II.
What did Amon Goeth do?
He oversaw the Kraków-Płaszów camp, was involved in liquidation actions against ghettos and labour camps, and was convicted after the war for mass murder and other war crimes.
How did Amon Goeth die?
He was executed by hanging in Kraków, Poland, on September 13, 1946.

Sources

  1. Britannica — https://www.britannica.com/biography/Amon-Goth
    Supports: Birth and death dates, Austrian nationality, role as commandant of Plaszow, and postwar conviction for war crimes including killings of more than 10,000 people.
  2. Yad Vashem — https://wwv.yadvashem.org/odot_pdf/Microsoft%20Word%20-%206310.pdf
    Supports: Biography, Nazi Party and SS membership, command at Plaszow, postwar extradition to Poland, conviction, and hanging.
  3. EHRI Portal — https://portal.ehri-project.eu/units/gb-003348-wl1409
    Supports: SS officer biography, transfer to Kraków, liquidation of ghettos and camps, command at Plaszow, extradition, trial, sentence, and execution.
  4. Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amon_G%C3%B6th
    Supports: Trial details, conviction for personally ordering imprisonment, torture, and extermination, and execution by hanging.