You do not have permission to edit this page, for the following reasons:

This IP address has been blocked from editing Wikipedia.
This does not affect your ability to read Wikipedia pages.
Most people who see this message have done nothing wrong. Some kinds of blocks restrict editing from specific service providers or telecom companies in response to recent abuse or vandalism, and can sometimes affect other users who are unrelated to that abuse. Review the information below for assistance if you do not believe that you have done anything wrong.

The IP address or range 3.95.0.0/16 has been blocked (disabled) by ‪Blablubbs‬ for the following reason(s):

The IP address that you are currently using has been blocked because it is believed to be a web host provider or colocation provider. To prevent abuse, web hosts and colocation providers may be blocked from editing Wikipedia.
You will not be able to edit Wikipedia using a web host or colocation provider because it hides your IP address, much like a proxy or VPN.
We recommend that you attempt to use another connection to edit. For example, if you use a proxy or VPN to connect to the internet, turn it off when editing Wikipedia. If you edit using a mobile connection, try using a Wi-Fi connection, and vice versa. If you are using a corporate internet connection, switch to a different Wi-Fi network. If you have a Wikipedia account, please log in.
If you do not have any other way to edit Wikipedia, you will need to request an IP block exemption.

How to appeal if you are confident that your connection does not use a colocation provider's IP address:
If you are confident that you are not using a web host, you may appeal this block by adding the following text on your talk page: ((unblock|reason=Caught by a colocation web host block but this host or IP is not a web host. My IP address is _______. Place any further information here. ~~~~)). You must fill in the blank with your IP address for this block to be investigated. Your IP address can be determined here. Alternatively, if you wish to keep your IP address private you can use the unblock ticket request system. There are several reasons you might be editing using the IP address of a web host or colocation provider (such as if you are using VPN software or a business network); please use this method of appeal only if you think your IP address is in fact not a web host or colocation provider.

Administrators: The IP block exemption user right should only be applied to allow users to edit using web host in exceptional circumstances, and requests should usually be directed to the functionaries team via email. If you intend to give the IPBE user right, a CheckUser needs to take a look at the account. This can be requested most easily at SPI Quick Checkuser Requests. Unblocking an IP or IP range with this template is highly discouraged without at least contacting the blocking administrator.

This block will expire on 08:49, 2 November 2024.

Even when blocked, you will usually still be able to edit your user talk page, as well as email administrators and other editors.

For information on how to proceed, please read the FAQ for blocked users and the guideline on block appeals. The guide to appealing blocks may also be helpful.

Other useful links: Blocking policy · Help:I have been blocked
Your IP address is in a range that has been blocked on all Wikimedia Foundation wikis. The block was made by ‪Jon Kolbert‬. The reason given is Open proxy/Webhost: See the help page if you are affected .
- Start of block: 05:35, 21 February 2024
- Expiry of block: 05:35, 21 February 2029
Your current IP address is 3.95.186.134. The blocked range is 3.95.0.0/16. Please include all above details in any queries you make. If you believe you were blocked by mistake, you can find additional information and instructions in the No open proxies global policy. Otherwise, to discuss the block please post a request for review on Meta-Wiki. You could also send an email to the stewards VRT queue at stewards@wikimedia.org including all above details.

You can view and copy the source of this page:

((Short description|German SS officer))
((refimprove|date=December 2018))
((for|the American writer|Richard Baer (screenwriter)))
((Use dmy dates|date=December 2020))
((Infobox criminal
| name               = Richard Baer
| image              = File:Richard Baer.jpg
| image_size         = 150px
| caption            = 
| birth_name         = 
| birth_date         = ((Birth date|df=yes|1911|9|9))
| birth_place        = [[Floß]], [[Kingdom of Bavaria]], [[German Empire]]
| death_date         = ((death date and age|df=yes|1963|6|17|1911|9|9))
| death_place        = [[Frankfurt am Main]], [[Hesse]], [[West Germany]]
| death_cause        = 
| resting_place      = 
| resting_place_coordinates = 
| residence          = 
| other_names        = 
| unit               =   
| alma_mater         = 
| employer           = 
| occupation         = 
| home_town          = 
| title              = 
| salary             = 
| networth           = 
| height             = 
| weight             = 
| term               = 
| predecessor        = 
| successor          = 
| party              = [[Nazi Party]] #454,991<br>([[Schutzstaffel|SS]] #44,225)
| boards             = 
| religion           = 
| spouse             = 
| partner            = 
| children           = 
| parents            = 
| relatives          = 
| signature          = 
| website            = 
| footnotes          =((further information|SS command of Auschwitz concentration camp))
| module      = ((Infobox military person |embed=yes|embed_title=SS service
|serviceyears        = 1933–1945
|branch              = [[Totenkopfverbände|Death's Head Units]]<br>[[Waffen-SS]]
|rank=[[Sturmbannführer|SS Major]]
|unit=
|commands             = commandant in [[Auschwitz concentration camp#Auschwitz I|Auschwitz I concentration camp]]<br>(May 1944-February 1945)<br>commandant in [[Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp]]<br>(February-April 1945)
))
))

'''Richard Baer''' (9 September 1911 – 17 June 1963) was a German [[Schutzstaffel|SS]] officer who, among other assignments, was the commandant of [[Auschwitz I concentration camp]] from May 1944 to January 1945, and right after, from February to April 1945, commandant of [[Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp]]. Following the war, Baer lived under an assumed name to avoid prosecution but was recognized and arrested in December 1960. He died in detention before he could stand trial.((sfn|Klee|2011|p=24))

== Life ==
[[File:Richard Baer, Josef Mengele, Rudolf Hoess, Auschwitz. Album Höcker.jpg|thumb|left|From left to right: Richard Baer, [[Josef Mengele]] and [[Rudolf Höss]] (1944)]]

Born in [[Floß|Floss]], [[Kingdom of Bavaria|Bavaria]] in 1911, Baer grew up in a Protestant family.((sfn|Orth|2004|p=96)) In 1925, he moved to [[Weiden in der Oberpfalz]], where he performed a three-year apprenticeship to become a pastry chef. After completing his vocational training, Baer toured Bavaria for several years as a journeyman.((sfn|Orth|2004|p=97)) Eventually, in winter of 1932, he returned to the pastry company of his apprenticeship and worked there until he resigned in March 1933.((sfn|Orth|2004|p=98))

Baer signed on with the [[Nazi Party]] in 1930, and on 1 July 1932 he became a member of the [[Allgemeine SS|General SS]].((sfn|Klee|2013|p=25))
In the local SS post in Weiden, he met the future concentration camp commandant [[Martin Gottfried Weiss]]. Under the direction of Weiss, a small SS gang offered protection to  speakers at weekend public meetings of the Nazi Party in the surrounding villages.((sfn|Orth|2004|p=97))
Baer later stated that he had joined the General SS because he liked the "soldier discipline" and the "joy of playing soldiers".((sfn|Klee|2013|p=25))<ref name=Langbein1980/>

After the Nazis came to power, most of the SS men in Weiden served as auxiliary police officers locally((sfn|Orth|2004|p=98)) and, as early as mid-April 1933, they were assigned as guards to the Dachau concentration camp, where Baer was subject to military drills, [[Nazism|Nazi]] [[Ideology of the SS|ideological indoctrination]], and hard training in systematic techniques for the terrorisation of prisoners. His teacher was [[Theodor Eicke]], the camp commandant since June 1933 and shaper of the so-called "Dachau Model" of the Nazi concentration camp system.<ref name=OffenenArchiv>((cite web |title=Richard Baer |website=Offenen Archiv - KZ-Gedenkstätte Neuengamme |format=pdf |language=de |url=http://www.offenes-archiv.de/de/medium-ansicht?id=3912 ))</ref> Baer described the training for guard duty in Dachau as being "very strict" and "sharply polished": "The more we were polished, the more proud we were of it".<ref name=Langbein1980>During interrogations after his arrest, quoted in ((harvtxt|Langbein|1980|p=362))</ref>

From December 1934 to end-March 1935, Baer performed guard duty at the infamous [[Gestapo]] prison ''[[Columbia concentration camp|Columbia-Haus]]'' in Berlin.((sfn|Gross|Renz|2013|p=280)) He was later assigned to the [[SS-Totenkopfverbände|SS-Death's Head]] (SS-TV) 2nd regiment ''Brandenburg'', which in 1936 was involved in the build up of the [[Sachsenhausen concentration camp]].<ref name=OffenenArchiv/> After taking a platoon commander course in [[Oranienburg concentration camp]], Baer served from March to September 1938 with the SS-TV 3rd regiment ''Thuringen'' in [[Buchenwald concentration camp]]. In September 1938, Baer was promoted to SS-[[second lieutenant]] (''[[Untersturmführer]]'') and, at the end of the same year, he headed the first group of guards in the newly established [[Neuengamme concentration camp]], then still a [[Subcamp|sub-camp]] of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. In September 1940, he became a commando overseer.<ref name=OffenenArchiv/>

At the end of 1940, Baer asked to join the front line and, after completing a course to become a company commander, he was sent to the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern front]]. In December 1941, as a result of a wound, he was transferred back to Neuengamme concentration camp.<ref name=OffenenArchiv/>

In 1942, Baer was appointed adjutant to the commandant of the Neuengamme concentration camp. At Neuengamme, he participated in the killing of Soviet prisoners-of-war in a special [[gas chamber]] and in the selection of prisoners for the so-called [[Action 14f13|Operation 14f13]] in the [[Aktion T4|T4 Euthanasia Program]].((sfn|Klee|2011|p=24)) 
[[File:Auschwitz-Richard Baer Karl Hocker Enno Lolling.jpg|right|thumb| [[Enno Lolling]], the director of Office DIII "Sanitation and Hygiene" in Department D "Concentration camps Inspectorate" of the [[SS Main Economic and Administrative Office]]; with Richard Baer, commandant of Auschwitz I, and his adjutant [[Karl-Friedrich Höcker]] (left to right)]]

From November 1942 to May 1944, Baer was adjutant to [[Oswald Pohl]], then chief of the [[SS Main Economic and Administrative Office]]. In November 1943, he took over the office DI (Central Office) in the Department D "Concentration camps Inspectorate". He succeeded [[Arthur Liebehenschel]], considered by [[Heinrich Himmler|Himmler]] to be too "soft" with the prisoners((Citation needed|date=August 2010)), as the third and final commandant of [[Auschwitz]] I from 11 May 1944, until the final dissolution of the camp in early 1945. 

From November 1943 until the end of 1944, [[Fritz Hartjenstein]] and [[Josef Kramer]] were responsible for the extermination camp in [[Auschwitz concentration camp#Auschwitz II-Birkenau|Auschwitz II-Birkenau]], so Baer was only Commandant of that part of the camp from the end of 1944 until February 1945. Near the end of the war, having replaced [[Otto Förschner]] as commandant of the [[Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp]] in [[Nordhausen, Thuringia|Nordhausen]], Baer was responsible for the mass execution of Soviet prisoners by hanging((fact|date=January 2023)). His final rank was [[Sturmbannführer|SS Major]].((sfn|Klee|2011|p=24))

== Post-war ==
Baer returned to his home county at the end of the war and eventually settled near [[Hamburg]], living as Karl Egon Neumann, a forestry worker.((sfn|Klee|2011|p=24)) In the course of investigation during the [[Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials]], a warrant for his arrest was issued in October 1960 and his photograph was printed in newspapers.

The story of Baer's arrest is vividly recounted by Devin Pendas in his book ''The Frankfurt Auschwitz Trial''.((sfn|Pendas|2006|p=48)) After seeing a wanted picture in the [[Tabloid (newspaper format)|tabloid newspaper]] ''[[Bild-Zeitung]]'', a co-worker on ''[[Fürst]]'' [[Otto von Bismarck|von Bismarck]]'s estate reported that Baer was working as a forester there. When officials confronted "Neumann" on the early morning of 20 December 1960, he at first denied everything. Having already addressed Baer as her "husband", the woman in the house subsequently gave her name as "Frau Baer", but still claimed that Baer was named "Neumann". Baer, however, finally admitted his true identity. On the advice of his lawyer, he refused to testify. He died of a heart attack((fact|date=January 2023)) while in pre-trial detention in 1963.((sfn|Orth|2004|loc=p. 290 note 68))

==See also==
* [[Höcker Album]]

==Notes==
((reflist))

== References ==
* ((cite book |editor1-last=Gross |editor1-first=Raphael |editor2-last=Renz |editor2-first=Werner |year=2013 |title=Der Frankfurter Auschwitz-Prozess (1963–1965)  |others=Annotated edition in 2 volumes |series=Wissenschaftliche Reihe des Fritz Bauer Instituts |location=Frankfurt a/Main / New York City |publisher=Campus Verlag |isbn=978-3593399607 |language=de 
))
* ((cite book |last=Klee |first=Ernst |author-link=Ernst Klee |year=2011 |title=Das Personen Lexikon zum Dritten Reich. Wer war was vor und nach 1945? |trans-title=People Dictionary of the Third Reich. Who's Who Before and After 1945 |location=Koblenz |publisher=Edition Kramer |isbn=978-398114834-3 |language=de 
))
* ((cite book |last=Klee |first=Ernst |year=2013 |title=Auschwitz - Täter, Gehilfen, Opfer und was aus ihnen wurde |trans-title=Auschwitz - Perpetrators, Helpers, Victims, and what became of them |edition=Kindle |location=Frankfurt a/Main |publisher=Fischer E-books |isbn=978-310402813-2 |language=de 
))
* ((cite book |last=Langbein |first=Hermann |author-link=Hermann Langbein |year=1980 |title=Menschen in Auschwitz |location=Frankfurt |publisher=Ullstein |isbn=9783548330143 |language=de 
))
* ((cite book |last=Orth |first=Karin |author-link=Karin Orth |year=2004 |title=Die Konzentrationslager-SS. Sozialstrukturelle Analysen und biographische Studien |location=München |publisher=[[dtv Verlagsgesellschaft|DTV]] |isbn=3-423-34085-1 |language=de
))
* ((cite book |last=Pendas |first=David |year=2006 |title=The Frankfurt Auschwitz Trial, 1963-1965: Genocide, History and the Limits of the Law |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=9780521127981
))
* ((cite book |last=Segev |first=Tom |author-link=Tom Segev |year=1995 |title=Die Soldaten des Bösen. Zur Geschichte der KZ-Kommandanten |location=Reinbek bei Hamburg |publisher=[[Rowohlt Verlag]] |isbn=3-499-18826-0 |language=de
))
* ((cite book |last=Wagner |first=Jens-Christian |author-link=Jens-Christian Wagner |year=2001 |title=Produktion des Todes: Das KZ Mittelbau-Dora |location=Göttingen |publisher=Wallstein Verlag |isbn=3-89244-439-0 |language=de
))

==External links==
*[https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Baer.html Richard Baer] on the [[Jewish Virtual Library]]
* ((cite web |title=Auschwitz Through the Lens of the SS [Höcker Album photos] |website=[[United States Holocaust Memorial Museum]] |url=https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/collections-highlight-auschwitz-through-the-lens-of-the-ss ))
*[http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/03/17/080317fa_fact_wilkinson ''Picturing Auschwitz'']

((Holocaust Poland))

((Authority control))

((DEFAULTSORT:Baer, Richard))
[[Category:1911 births]]
[[Category:1963 deaths]]
[[Category:Auschwitz concentration camp personnel]]
[[Category:German mass murderers]]
[[Category:Holocaust perpetrators in Germany]]
[[Category:Holocaust perpetrators in Poland]]
[[Category:Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp personnel]]
[[Category:Nazi concentration camp commandants who died in prison custody]]
[[Category:Neuengamme concentration camp personnel]]
[[Category:People from Neustadt an der Waldnaab (district)]]
[[Category:People from the Kingdom of Bavaria]]
[[Category:Prisoners who died in German detention]]
[[Category:SS-Sturmbannführer]]

Pages transcluded onto the current version of this page (help):

Richard Baer (edit)
Template:Ambox (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Authority control (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Birth date (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Both (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Br separated entries (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Category handler (view source) (protected)
Template:Citation needed (view source) (protected)
Template:Cite book (view source) (protected)
Template:Cite web (view source) (protected)
Template:Count (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:DMCA (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Dated maintenance category (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Dated maintenance category (articles) (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Death date and age (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Delink (view source) (protected)
Template:FULLROOTPAGENAME (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Fact (view source) (protected)
Template:Find sources mainspace (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Fix (view source) (protected)
Template:Fix/category (view source) (protected)
Template:For (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Further (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Further information (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Harvard citation text (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Harvtxt (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Hlist/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Template:Holocaust Poland (view source) (semi-protected)
Template:Holocaust Poland Aftermath (view source) (semi-protected)
Template:Holocaust Poland Camps (view source) (semi-protected)
Template:Holocaust Poland Resistance (view source) (semi-protected)
Template:Holocaust in German-occupied Poland (view source) (semi-protected)
Template:If empty (view source) (protected)
Template:Infobox (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Infobox criminal (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Infobox military person (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Infobox person (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:MONTHNAME (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:MONTHNUMBER (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Main other (view source) (protected)
Template:More citations needed (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Navbox (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Ns has subpages (view source) (protected)
Template:PAGENAMEBASE (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Pagetype (view source) (protected)
Template:Perpetrators of the Holocaust in Poland (view source) (semi-protected)
Template:Plainlist/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Template:Pluralize from text (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Refimprove (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Reflist (view source) (protected)
Template:Reflist/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Template:SDcat (view source) (protected)
Template:Sfn (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Short description (view source) (protected)
Template:Short description/lowercasecheck (view source) (protected)
Template:Template other (view source) (protected)
Template:Unbulleted list (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Use dmy dates (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:WPMILHIST Infobox style (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Wikidata image (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Age (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Arguments (view source) (protected)
Module:Authority control (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Authority control/config (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Category handler (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/blacklist (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/config (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/data (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/shared (view source) (protected)
Module:Check for clobbered parameters (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Check for unknown parameters (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1 (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/COinS (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Date validation (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Identifiers (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Whitelist (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Module:Data (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Date (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Delink (view source) (protected)
Module:Detect singular (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Disambiguation/templates (view source) (protected)
Module:EditAtWikidata (view source) (protected)
Module:Find sources (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Find sources/config (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Find sources/links (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Find sources/templates/Find sources mainspace (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Footnotes (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Footnotes/anchor id list (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Footnotes/anchor id list/data (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Footnotes/whitelist (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:For (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Format link (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Hatnote (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Hatnote/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Hatnote list (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:If empty (view source) (protected)
Module:Infobox (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Infobox/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:InfoboxImage (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Labelled list hatnote (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:List (view source) (protected)
Module:Message box (view source) (protected)
Module:Message box/ambox.css (view source) (protected)
Module:Message box/configuration (view source) (protected)
Module:Namespace detect/config (view source) (protected)
Module:Namespace detect/data (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbar (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbar/configuration (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbar/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbox (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Navbox/configuration (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Navbox/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Ns has subpages (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/config (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/disambiguation (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/setindex (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/softredirect (view source) (protected)
Module:ParameterCount (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:SDcat (view source) (protected)
Module:Separated entries (view source) (protected)
Module:String (view source) (protected)
Module:TableTools (view source) (protected)
Module:Template wrapper (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Text (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Unsubst (view source) (protected)
Module:WPMILHIST Infobox style (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Wd (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Wd/i18n (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Wikitext Parsing (view source) (protected)
Module:Yesno (view source) (protected)

Return to Richard Baer.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Baer"