The SS in the Falkensee concentration
camp
Rudolf Dörrier's
drawing shows the perspective of the camp from a watchtower in the direction of
today's Hamburger Straße. Spandauer Straße can be seen on the right edge of the
picture. Handwritten records 1944/45. Source:
Bundesarchiv, BArch, NY 4581/4, Aufzeichnungen von Rudolf Dörrier
The leadership and
guards in the Falkensee subcamp were provided by the SS. Two names are already
associated with the Staaken predecessor of the Falkensee camp, which had
existed since January 1943: Commando SS Obersturmfuhrer Kurt Ludewig and
Rapportfuhrer SS Oberscharführer Fritz Ficker. Both were later reported for the
premeditated murder of six inmates in the Staaken camp. During their deployment
in Falkensee, the armaments company Deutsche Maschinenbau AG complained about
the physical condition of the prisoners. Both SS men were therefore withdrawn
from Falkensee. Fritz Ficker was
one of the 16 accused in the Sachsenhausen trial, which began on October 24,
1947 in the Berlin-Pankow town hall. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with
forced labor on November 1, 1947 and taken to a Soviet penal camp in December
1947, where he died in 1948. In June 1944, the
new commando leader Ernst Kannenberg followed, who was a Wehrmacht captain who
had been assigned to the SS and had become unfit for the front. Under his
leadership, the situation of the prisoners in the camp improved. SS-Unterscharführer
Rudolf Dörrier served as a guard in the Sachsenhausen and Falkensee
concentration camps for eight months. After the war, Dörrier, who lived in East
Germany, was able to cover up his work as a concentration camp guard. He
documented his life and also described his time in the Falkensee concentration
camp. In addition to
texts, the notes that he left to the Federal Archives also include drawings and
photos that are used for presentation on the information steles.
Ernst Kannenberg,
commando leader of the concentration camp subcamp from November 1944. Here is
his passport photo from his SA ID card in 1934. Source: Brandenburg
State Main Archive, Rep. 161, Object 4, ZB 2969 Rudolf Dörrier was
SS sergeant and guard at the Falkensee concentration camp. Source:
Bundesarchiv, BArch, NY 4581/4, Aufzeichnungen von Rudolf Dörrier Former SS
Rapportfuhrer Fritz Ficker as a defendant during the Sachsenhausen trial in
October/November 1947 in Berlin-Pankow. He was sentenced to life imprisonment
with forced labor. Quelle: United
States Holocaust Memorial Museum
