SS ORGANISATION-BRANCHES-WVHA.

MAIN OFFICE.

NOTE:See also KONZENTRATIONSLAGER-KZ (CONCENTRATION CAMPS).

Organisation chart of the WVHA as at 1/2/1942, and remained so until the end of the war. All groups were responsible to Oswald Pohl, via his deputy Richard Glücks.

AMTGRUPPE 'A' Dealt with Administration, Finance and Legal matters.(A.Frank to 1944 then Fanslau to 1945).

AI AII AIII AIV AV Budgets Finance Legal Audits Personnel H. Loerner. Kukatsch/Lörner Salpeter/Frank Voigt Fanslau Amtsgr. A Amtsgr. B Amtsgr. C Amtsgr. D Amtsgr. W Administration Supplies Construction Conc. camps Econ. enterprises A. Frank (-1944) G. Loerner Kammler Gluecks Pohl Fanslau (1944-45) dep. Tsentscher dep. Schleiff, dep. Liebehenschel dep. G. Loerner asst. Manzen- Kiefer dep. Maurer staff W: Hohberg, berger asst. Harbaum Baier, Volk AMTGRUPPE B

Amt. A-1 Amt. B-1 Amt. C-1 Amt. D-1 Amt. W-1 Budgets Food General Central office Minerals-Reich H. Loerner Tsentscher Sesemann Liebehenschel Mummenthey Rall R. Hoess 43-45 Amt. A-2 Amt. B-2 Amt. C-2 Amt. D-2 Amt. W-2 Finance/payroll Clothing Special Inmate labor Minerals-East Kukatsch (1942) Lechler Kiefer Maurer Bobermin H. Loerner (43-45) dep. Sommer Amt. A-3 Amt. B-3 Amt. C-3 Amt. D-3 Amt. W-3 Legal Housing Technical Medical Food Salpeter (1942) Koberlein Floto Lolling Rabineck (1942) Frank Wirtz dental: Pook Moeckel Amt. A-4 Amt. B-4 Amt. C-4 Amt. D-4 Amt. W-4 Audits Raw materials Art projects Camp admin. Timber Vogt Weggel Schneider Burger (1942) May Blaschek Kaindl Opperbeck Amt. A-5 Amt. B-5 Amt. C-5 Legal Dept. Amt. W-5 Personnel Transport Inspectorate Wiener Agric./forest/fish. Fanslau Scheide Noell Vogel Lenzer Amt. C-6 Amt. W-6 Maintenance Textiles/leather Eirenschmalz Lechler Amt. W-7 Books/pictures Mischke Amt. W-8 Special projects Salpeter Klein Amtsgr. A Amtsgr. B Amtsgr. C Amtsgr. D Amtsgr. W Administration Supplies Construction Conc. camps Econ. enterprises A. Frank (-1944) G. Loerner Kammler Gluecks Pohl Fanslau (1944-45) dep. Tsentscher dep. Schleiff, dep. Liebehenschel dep. G. Loerner asst. Manzen- Kiefer dep. Maurer staff W: Hohberg, berger asst. Harbaum Baier, Volk Amt. A-1 Amt. B-1 Amt. C-1 Amt. D-1 Amt. W-1 Budgets Food General Central office Minerals-Reich H. Loerner Tsentscher Sesemann Liebehenschel Mummenthey Rall R. Hoess 43-45 Amt. A-2 Amt. B-2 Amt. C-2 Amt. D-2 Amt. W-2 Finance/payroll Clothing Special Inmate labor Minerals-East Kukatsch (1942) Lechler Kiefer Maurer Bobermin H. Loerner (43-45) dep. Sommer Amt. A-3 Amt. B-3 Amt. C-3 Amt. D-3 Amt. W-3 Legal Housing Technical Medical Food Salpeter (1942) Koberlein Floto Lolling Rabineck (1942) Frank Wirtz dental: Pook Moeckel Amt. A-4 Amt. B-4 Amt. C-4 Amt. D-4 Amt. W-4 Audits Raw materials Art projects Camp admin. Timber Vogt Weggel Schneider Burger (1942) May Blaschek Kaindl Opperbeck Amt. A-5 Amt. B-5 Amt. C-5 Legal Dept. Amt. W-5 Personnel Transport Inspectorate Wiener Agric./forest/fish. Fanslau Scheide Noell Vogel Lenzer Amt. C-6 Amt. W-6 Maintenance Textiles/leather Eirenschmalz Lechler Amt. W-7 Books/pictures Mischke Amt. W-8 Special projects Salpeter Klein

AMTGRUPPE 'B' Dealt with Supplies and Equipment. BI ? Tsentscher.

AMTGRUPPE 'C' Dealt with Works and Buildings including gas chambers at KZ's.(Kammler then Bischoff).

AMTGRUPPE 'D" Dealt with KZ's.

AMTGRUPPE 'W' Dealt with Economics.

W-SS Provisioning,

Barracks/Clothing/Food etc. Equipment, Weapons,

Armament etc. (Housing & Construction).

AMTGRUPPE "C"

KZ Buildings & Gas Chambers. (Kammler).

Haushalt und Bauen (household & buildings & Industrial Enterprises. (Kammler then Bischoff).

"VWI"- Economic Administration & Agricultural Affairs. (Vögel).

"VWII" - Armaments Procurement (Becher until November 1944).

"VWIII" - Armaments Inspection Service. (Becher).

"VWIV" - W-SS Fuhrungshauptamt-Armaments Equipment Commission. (Becher).

"VWV" - SS Corruption-Financial Crimes Section. (Morgen).

AMTGRUPPE "D"

Inspector-General of KZ`s. (Glücks).

KZ Administration. (Burger).

"DI" - Inspectors of KZ`s. (Lebenhenschel then Höss then Weiss).

"DII" - Transport & Allocation of KZ labor. (Maurer & Kraus, then Karl Sommer).

"DIII" - SS Medical Services & Sanitation. (Lolling).

"DIV" - KZ Economic Crime & Sabotage etc. (Vögel).

NOTE: This office grew out of the need to provide equipment and services to the SS from the early days of the Nazi Party., but was not so named until the 1st February 1942. In 1934 Himmler had decided to let Theodre Eicke supervise the KZ`s and left it to Oswald Pohl, the SS Business Manager, to provide the provisioning of them from funds derived from confiscated [mainly Jewish] property.

Until the 1st February 1942, the management of the KZ`s was the responsibility of the RSHA, but on that date an Ordinance transferred this responsibility to the WVHA, with OGf. Oswald Pohl as its chief. Gf. Richard Glücks took over as Ober Inspector of KZ`s. Pohl drew up a series of "Articles" changing the inmates role from the RSHA`s "correction" to "economic", I.e., from this time on inmates were not in a KZ to protect society from them, but rather to be slave laborers for the benefit of the Reich!

It was Himmler's desire to make use of the KZ system to provide slave labor for German industry, and so release German workers for military service, such was the very high attrition rate from that year on.

NOTE: FOR INFORMATION ON KONZENTRATIONSLAGER-KZ -(CONCENTRATION CAMPS).

The WVHA was part of the SS Central Organisation and its head was OGf. Oswald Pohl. He was directly responsible to the head of the Central Organisation, OGf. Gottlob Berger. Berger in turn was responsible to Himmler.

NOTE: The WEVHA mp; "D". "A" & "B" dealt with the provisioning of W-SS troops and personnel with barracks, buildings, equipment, weapons and food etc., "C" dealt with business enterprises for the SS. [It was jokingly called "the SS Capitalists` Section"]. It took over industries which produced everything from mineral water to to furniture and cemrnt works. It also arranged for the collection, sorting and disposal of KZ inmates property. money and valuables. This group was further sub-divided into two sub-groups under the overall direction of Gf. Dr. Hans Kammler:

A sub-group designated CI - was responsible for KZ buildings, gas chambers etc., and another - CII, was responsible for industrial enterprises for armaments production [vehicle, steel helmet manufacture etc.,], and was further divided into five sections designated VWI-Economic Administration and Agricultural Affairs, VWII-Armaments Procurement, VWIII-Armaments Inspection Service, VWIV-W-SS Fuhrungshauptamt Armaments & Equipment Commission, VWV-Corruption in the SS including KZ staff not reported by DIV below. [There was liason wirh the SS Legal Department of RSHA`s Amt V-Kripo].

Group "D" dealt with the management of the KZ`s ONLY. Its chief was Gf. Richard Glucks, who was the Inspector-General of KZ`s. This group was divided into four sections: DI-Inspectors of KZ`s, DII-Transport, DIII-Medical Services, DIV-Economic Crime [Sabotage & corruption by industry managers, workers, slave laborers & SS staff, in close liason with the RSHA`s resident KZ Amt IV (Gestapo) officer. (There was one middle-level officer permanently based in each KZ - see below*).

Although Richard Glücks had the responsibility for which KZ prisoners went where, this was limited to the inmates` incarceration period and the transport required to ferry prisoners and their guards on their daily work details. KZ prisoner release and transport to and from the KZ`s was the responsibility of the Gestapo (RSHA).

*Each KZ had a Gestapo Office, whose OIC had a dual role. Determination of who should be imprisoned there, prisoner release, and, to oversee the SS camp staff carried out their duties and remained idealogically faithful to the Party. KZ Gestapo staff could and often did, by-pass the Commandant and report direct to RSHA in the Prinz Albrecht Strasse in Berlin!

The WVHA hired out inmate labor to its own industrial enterprises [Deutsche Erd und Steinwerke], and to other firms like Siemens, IG Farben etc., In all cases, the death rate among inmates was very high. The mortality and injury rate varied from KZ to KZ, and there are many varying statements regarding what benefits the KZ inmates got, if any, from the use of their forced labor. On page 32 of Albert Speer's book "The Slave State" ther is quoted some official figures from an Armaments Inspection Report Reference IX-KASSEL-Ba-Rw, dated 20/9/1943, referring to prisoner output: There was an average of 6.5% sick. Some plants reported 17.8%, 18%, 21%, and 22% absenteeism through sickness. From a report "Krankenstand in der Industrie Niederschliesiens", Ref:Ba R/3813 dated 2/44: Prisoners were paid RM4 per day for laborers, RM4.70 per day for semi-skilled, and RM6 per day for skilled workers.

There were conflicting reports as to who got this money. Some say that the prisoners recieved it, which would mean that an unskilled inmate got RM96 per month, and a skilled inmate about RM144 per month! Other reports say that factory owners paid the money to the SS and the prisoners got nothing. The latter is most likely!

Known staff of WVHA.

Head of Amtsgruppe "A" OGf. Gottlob Berger.

" " "B" OGf. Gottlob Berger.

" " "C" OGf. Oswald Pohl.

" Section "CI" - Gf. Dr. Hans Kammler.

" " "CII" Kammler then StdF Dr. Karl Bischoff.

" Sub-Sect. "VWI" StdF.Heinrich Vögel.

" " "VWII" StdF. Dr.Kurt Becher. (until November 1944).

" " "VWIII" StdF. Dr.Kurt Becher.

" " "VWIV" StdF. Dr.Kurt Becher.

" " "VWV"" ObF. Dr.Konrad Morgen.

"" Amtgruppe "D"Gf.Richard Glücks was Inspector-General of KZ`s.

SbF.Willi Burger was Officer in charge of KZ Aministration " Section "DI"OSbF.Arthur Lebenhenschel, then Stdf. Rudolf Höss, then

StdF. Martin Weiss.(Former Commandant of Dachau was also hanged).