View source for Ernst Kaltenbrunner

{{Short description|Austrian SS official (1903–1946)}}
{{redirect|Kaltenbrunner|people with the surname|Kaltenbrunner (surname)}}
{{for|the footballer|Ernst Kaltenbrunner (footballer)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Ernst Kaltenbrunner
| image               = Ernst Kaltenbrunner (1943)(cropped)(c).jpg
| image_size          = 
| image_upright       = 
| alt                 = 
| caption             = Kaltenbrunner in 1943
| office              = Director of the [[Reich Security Main Office]]
| term_start          = 30 January 1943
| term_end            = 8 May 1945
| appointed           = [[Adolf Hitler]]
| predecessor         = [[Reinhard Heydrich]]{{\}}[[Heinrich Himmler]] (acting)
| successor           = ''Office abolished''
| office1             = Director of the ''[[Sicherheitsdienst]]'' (SD)
| term_start1         = 30 January 1943
| term_end1           = 8 May 1945
| predecessor1        = [[Reinhard Heydrich]]{{\}}[[Heinrich Himmler]] (acting)
| successor1          = ''Office abolished''
| office2             = [[President of Interpol|President of the International Criminal Police Commission]]{{break}}(now known as [[Interpol]])
| term_start2         = 30 January 1943
| term_end2           = 12 May 1945
| leader2             = [[Oskar Dressler]] {{small|as Secretary-general}}
| predecessor2        = [[Arthur Nebe]]
| successor2          = [[Florent Louwage]]
| office3             = [[SS and police leader|Higher SS and Police Leader]] of [[Austria within Nazi Germany|Austria]]
| term_start3         = 13 March 1938
| term_end3           = 30 January 1943
| predecessor3        = Office established
| successor3          = [[Rudolf Querner]]
| title4              = Additional positions
| suboffice4          = [[Commander-in-chief]] of [[Southern Germany]]
| subterm4            = April–May 1945
| suboffice5          = Commander of the ''[[Einsatzgruppen]]''
| subterm5            = 1943–1945
| suboffice6          = Member of the [[Reichstag (Nazi Germany)|Greater German Reichstag]]
| subterm6            = 1938–1945
| suboffice7          = State Secretary of Public Security of Austria
| subterm7            = March 1938
| suboffice8          = District Speaker of the [[Nazi Party]] in [[Upper Austria]]
| subterm8            = 1931–1933
| birth_date          = {{Birth date|1903|10|04|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Ried im Innkreis]], Austria-Hungary
| death_date          = {{Death date and age|1946|10|16|1903|10|04|df=y}}
| death_place         = [[Nuremberg]], Germany
| death_cause         = [[Execution by hanging]]
| party               = [[Nazi Party]]
| spouse              = {{marriage|Elisabeth Eder|1934}}
| partner             = Gisela Gräfin von Westarp
| children            = 5
| alma_mater          = [[University of Graz]]
| profession          = [[Lawyer]]
| cabinet             = [[Seyss-Inquart government]]
| signature           = Ernst Kaltenbrunner signature.svg
| module              = {{Infobox military person |embed=yes
 | embed_title     = SS service
<!--Military service-->
 | nickname        = 
 | allegiance      = [[Nazi Germany]]
 | branch = ''[[Schutzstaffel]]'' (SS)
 | serviceyears    = 1931–1945
 | rank = SS-''[[Obergruppenführer]]''
}}
| module2             =  {{Infobox criminal
  |child      = yes
  |conviction = [[War crimes]]<br>[[Crimes against humanity]]
| trial       = Nuremberg trials
| conviction_penalty = [[Capital punishment|Death]]
| conviction_status = [[Executed]]
}}
| module3             = {{Listen|pos=center|embed=yes|filename=KaltenbrunnerNuremberg.ogg|title=Excerpt from Ernst Kaltenbrunner's closing statement at the Nuremberg trials|type=speech|description=Kaltenbrunner's closing statement at the [[Nuremberg trials]]<br/>Recorded 31 August 1946}}
}}
'''Ernst Kaltenbrunner''' (4 October 1903 – 16 October 1946) was an Austrian high-ranking [[SS]] official during the [[Nazi era]], major perpetrator of [[the Holocaust]] and convicted war criminal.  After the [[assassination of Reinhard Heydrich]] in 1942, and a brief period under [[Heinrich Himmler]], Kaltenbrunner was the third Chief of the [[Reich Security Main Office]] (RSHA), which included the offices of [[Gestapo]], [[Kriminalpolizei (Nazi Germany)|Kripo]] and [[Sicherheitsdienst|SD]], from January 1943 until the [[end of World War II in Europe]].

Kaltenbrunner joined the [[Nazi Party]] in 1930 and the SS in 1931, and by 1935 he was considered a leader of the [[Austrian SS]]. In 1938, he assisted in the ''[[Anschluss]]'' and was given command of the SS and police force in Austria. In January 1943, Kaltenbrunner was appointed chief of the RSHA, succeeding [[Reinhard Heydrich]], who was assassinated in May 1942.

A committed [[Antisemitism|antisemite]], Kaltenbrunner played a pivotal role in orchestrating the [[The Holocaust|Holocaust]], which intensified under his leadership. He oversaw the coordination of security and law enforcement agencies involved in widespread extermination, the suppression of resistance movements in occupied territories, extensive arrests, deportations, and executions. He was the highest-ranking member of the SS to face trial (Himmler having died of suicide in May 1945) at the [[Nuremberg trials]], where he was found guilty of [[war crime]]s and [[crimes against humanity]]. Kaltenbrunner was sentenced to death, and was executed by hanging on 16 October 1946.

== Personal life ==
Kaltenbrunner was born in [[Ried im Innkreis]], Austria, and growing up had a close relationship with his mother (born Theresia Utwardy).{{sfn|Black|1984|pp=27–29}} His father Hugo was a lawyer, and Kaltenbrunner spent his early years and primary education in [[Raab, Austria|Raab]], later attending the [[Gymnasium (Germany)|Realgymnasium]] in [[Linz]].{{sfn|Black|1984|pp=30–31}} Raised in a [[German nationalism|nationalist]] family, his ideological understanding of the world was shaped to some extent by the ''völkisch'' [[Pan-Germanism]] movement in Austria, since his father was an adherent to its ideals.{{sfn|Black|1984|p=11}} Like his father, the younger Kaltenbrunner's pan-Germanism—replete with [[antisemitism]] and the notion that political conflict was a racial struggle{{sfn|Black|1984|pp=12–21}}—was cultivated in the nationalist student fraternities known as ''[[Burschenschaft]]en''.{{sfn|Black|1984|pp=21–26}}{{efn|Pan-Germanists like Kaltenbrunner sought German unity based on racial purity, particularly among the educated German-Austrian elite in the late 19th century. This ideology rejected liberalism, socialism, democracy, Catholicism, Slavic nationalism, and the Habsburg multinational state, blaming them for obstructing a utopian vision of cultural and economic security. Pan-Germans traced these influences to Enlightenment rationalism and the French Revolution, identifying Jews as the chief beneficiaries of modernization and urbanization. They idealized a "pure" Germanic society rooted in rural, medieval traditions while portraying Jews and urban culture as corrupting forces. This worldview framed modernity as a threat and called for a "conservative revolution" to restore a mythical past.{{sfn|Black|1984|p=49}} }} Kaltenbrunner was incidentally also childhood friends with [[Adolf Eichmann]], the infamous SS officer who later played a key role in implementing the Nazis' "[[Final Solution]]" against Europe's Jews.{{sfn|Gerwarth|2012|p=100}}{{efn|It was Kaltenbrunner who presented Eichmann with his Nazi membership application in April 1932 and seven months later, it was Kaltenbrunner who suggested to Eichmann that he should also join the SS.{{sfn|Evans|2024|pp=325–326}} }} 

[[File:Kaltenbrunner graduation 1926.jpg|thumb|right|Kaltenbrunner's graduation record, 1926|alt="Handwritten German text of approximately thirty words on a beige-coloured page"]]

After finishing gymnasium in 1921, Kaltenbrunner first studied chemistry at the [[University of Graz]], where his father had matriculated, but switched to law in 1923.{{sfn|Black|1984|pp=33–34}} While studying at Graz, he joined the Arminia fraternity, became active in student politics, and participated in demonstrations against [[Marxism]] and clerical influence.{{sfn|Bartrop|Grimm|2019|pp=163—165}} He obtained his doctorate in 1926.{{sfn|Wistrich|1995|p=135}} Kaltenbrunner then worked at a law firm in [[Salzburg]] for a year before opening his own law office in Linz.{{sfn|Snyder|1976|p=189}} He had [[dueling scar|deep scars]] on his face reportedly from [[academic fencing|duelling]] in his student days, although some sources attribute them to a drunk-driving crash.{{sfn|Persico|1995|p=155}}{{efn|See: {{Cite web |url=http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/nuremberg/NurembergNews10_16_46.html |title=The Nuremberg Trials<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=2016-04-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010312175414/http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/nuremberg/NurembergNews10_16_46.html#dueling%20scars |archive-date=2001-03-12 |url-status=dead }}}}

By 1928, Kaltenbrunner was bored, lonely, and unfulfilled according to historian Peter Black; however Kaltenbrunner's work as a provincial lawyer in Linz also brought him into the right-wing "gymnastic circles in Linz" where he joined the ''Deutsch-Volkischer Turnverein'', an organization with close ties to the paramilitary formation of the Austrian ''[[Heimwehr]]''.{{sfn|Black|1984|pp=54–55}} Black described this latter organization as "a training ground for the illegal Nazi SA and SS".{{sfn|Black|1984|p=55}} In the summer of 1929, Kaltenbrunner joined the ''Heimwehr'', which Black claims merged his "emotional need for membership in a community" with his political ideals.{{sfn|Black|1984|pp=60–61}} 

On 14 January 1934, Kaltenbrunner married Elisabeth Eder (20 October 1908 – 20 May 2002), who was also a [[Nazi Party]] member; the couple had three children. In addition to the children from his marriage, Kaltenbrunner had twins, Ursula and Wolfgang (b. 1945) with his long-time mistress, Gisela Gräfin von Westarp (27 June 1920 – 2 June 1983). All the children survived the war.{{sfn|Miller|2015|pp=408–409}}

== SS career ==
On 18 October 1930, Kaltenbrunner joined the Nazi Party as member number 300,179.{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=393}}{{efn|Kaltenbrunner later told his children that he left the ''Heimwehr'' because its leaders were "incompetent and politically fickle" and because it "had changed from a nonpartisan, anti-Marxist movement to the political line of the Christian Socials."{{sfn|Black|1984|p=61}} An additionally important factor in Kaltenbrunner joining the Nazis identified by historian Peter Black, was nothing less than the "Nazis’ commitment to ''[[Anschluss]]''", since the idealistic Austrian viewed the union between Germany and Austria as one that heralded a glorious future.{{sfn|Black|1984|p=63}}  }} In 1931, he was the ''Bezirksredner'' (district speaker) for the Nazi Party in [[Upper Austria]]. Kaltenbrunner joined the ''[[Schutzstaffel]]'' (SS) on 31 August 1931 after encouragement by then leader of Hitler's bodyguard, SS-''Standartenführer'' [[Sepp Dietrich]];{{sfn|Black|1984|p=64}} his SS number being 13,039.{{sfn|Miller|2015|pp=393, 394}} Black writes that "Kaltenbrunner found in the Nazi movement and the SS what he politically desired and emotionally needed: a world where the ideal of the racial community was prized, where the theory of racial struggle was accepted as an obvious fact, where all doubts about the meaning of existence were swept away."{{sfn|Black|1984|p=64}}

Kaltenbrunner first became a ''Rechtsberater'' (legal consultant) for the Nazi Party in 1929 and later held this same position for [[Allgemeine-SS Order of Battle|SS Abschnitt (Section) VIII]], beginning in 1932.{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=394}} That same year he began working at the law practice of his father, who had taken ill.{{sfn|Black|1984|p=64}} In October 1932, [[Ernst Röhm]] appointed Kaltenbrunner as an ''SA- und SS-Gruppenrechtsberater'', making it his job to provide free legal counsel for members of either unit should they be arrested for "performing their duty".{{sfn|Black|1984|p=71}} By 1933, Kaltenbrunner had become head of the National-Socialist Lawyers' League in [[Linz]].{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=394}}

In January 1934, Kaltenbrunner was briefly jailed at the Kaisersteinbruch detention camp with other Nazis for conspiracy by the [[Engelbert Dollfuss]] government.{{sfn|Black|1984|pp=73–74}} While there, he led a hunger strike against the inadequate food rations, poor sanitary conditions, and unfair treatment by the ''Heimwehr'' guards at the camp, which forced the government to release 490 of the party members.{{sfn|Black|1984|pp=74–75}} In 1935, he was jailed again on suspicion of [[high treason]]; more specifically, Kaltenbrunner was accused of spreading Nazi propaganda materials to the army.{{sfn|Black|1984|p=79}} This charge was dropped, but he was sentenced to six months imprisonment for [[conspiracy (crime)|conspiracy]] and he lost his license to practice law.{{sfn|Miller|2015|pp=394, 395}} Although many of the accused and arrested Austrian Nazis emigrated to Germany, Kaltenbrunner remained in Austria—a fact he shared with an acquaintance in 1935—at Himmler's insistence, who saw in the Austrian a useful associate for strengthening the SS there.{{sfn|Black|1984|pp=79–80}}    

From mid-1935 Kaltenbrunner was head of the illegal SS Abschnitt VIII in Linz and was considered a leader of the [[Austrian SS]]. To provide [[Heinrich Himmler]], [[Reinhard Heydrich]] and [[Heinz Jost]] with new information, Kaltenbrunner repeatedly made trips to [[Bavaria]].{{sfn|Black|1984|p=82}} He would hide on a train and on a ship that traveled to [[Passau]], then return with money and orders for Austrian comrades.{{sfn|Rosmus|2015|p=52}} During his trips between the two countries, he frequently carried detailed reports gathered by the Nazi underground in Austria, including photos Kaltenbrunner had taken in autumn 1936 of confidential documents that detailed Austria's foreign policy.{{sfn|Black|1984|p=83}} During January 1937, Himmler appointed Kaltenbrunner chief of the entire Austrian SS.{{sfn|Black|1984|pp=84–85}} Kaltenbrunner was arrested again by Austrian authorities on charges of heading the illegal Nazi Party organization (the Nazi Relief Office) in [[Upper Austria|Oberösterreich]].{{sfn|Black|1984|p=91}} He was released in September.{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=395}}

Acting on orders from [[Hermann Göring]], Kaltenbrunner assisted in bringing about the ''[[Anschluss]]'' with Germany (13 March 1938); he was awarded the role of State Secretary for Public Security in the [[Seyss-Inquart government|Seyss-Inquart cabinet]] of 11 to 13 March 1938.{{sfn|Zentner|Bedürftig|1991|p=487}} Controlled from behind the scenes by Himmler, Kaltenbrunner still led, albeit clandestinely, the Austrian SS as part of his duty to  [[Gleichschaltung|"coordinate"]] and manage the Austrian population – this entailed the [[Gleichschaltung|Nazification]] of all aspects of Austrian society.{{sfn|Read|2005|pp=461}} Then on 21 March 1938, he was promoted to SS-''[[Brigadeführer]]''.{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=393}} At the [[1938 German parliamentary election and referendum|10 April 1938 parliamentary election]], he was elected to the ''[[Reichstag (Nazi Germany)|Reichstag]]'' as a deputy from [[Ostmark (Austria)|Ostmark]].<ref>[https://www.reichstag-abgeordnetendatenbank.de/selectmaske.html?pnd=119017202&recherche=ja Ernst Kaltenbrunner entry] in the [https://www.reichstag-abgeordnetendatenbank.de/ ''Reichstag'' Members Database]</ref> He retained this seat until the fall of the Nazi regime on 8 May 1945.{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=395}} Amid this activity, he helped establish the [[Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp]] near Linz.{{sfn|Stackelberg|2007|p=215}} Mauthausen was the first [[Nazi concentration camp]] opened in Austria following the ''Anschluss''.{{sfn|Weale|2012|p=107}} On 11 September 1938, Kaltenbrunner was promoted to the rank of SS-''[[Gruppenführer]]'' (equivalent to a [[lieutenant general]] in the German Army) while holding the position of leader of ''[[SS-Oberabschnitt]] Österreich'' (re-designated [[SS-Oberabschnitt Donau]] in November 1938). Also in 1938, he was appointed [[Higher SS and Police Leader]] (''Höherer SS- und Polizeiführer''; HSSPF) for ''Oberabschnitt Donau'', which was the primary SS command in Austria (he held that post until 30 January 1943).{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=395}}[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 121-0492, Wien, Einweihung, Polizeikrankenhaus.jpg|thumb|left|Kaltenbrunner with ''[[Ordnungspolizei]]'' officials in Vienna in 1940 following the 1938 ''[[Anschluss]]'']]

=== World War II ===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-45534-0005, Kz Mauthausen, Besuch Heinrich Himmler, Franz Ziereis.jpg|thumb|Kaltenbrunner, [[Heinrich Himmler]] and [[August Eigruber]] (in black) inspect [[Mauthausen concentration camp]] in 1941, in the company of camp commander [[Franz Ziereis]] (center left)]]
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 192-029, KZ Mauthausen, Himmler, Kaltenbrunner, Ziereis.jpg|thumb|Kaltenbrunner with Himmler and Ziereis at Mauthausen in April 1941]]

In June 1940, Kaltenbrunner was appointed Vienna's chief of police and held that additional post for a year. In July 1940, he was commissioned as an SS-''[[Untersturmführer]]'' into the [[Waffen-SS]] Reserve.{{sfn|Miller|2015|pp=393, 396}} Alongside his many official duties, Kaltenbrunner also developed an  [[Intelligence gathering network|intelligence network]] across Austria, moving southeastwards, which eventually brought him to Himmler's attention for appointment as chief of the [[Reich Security Main Office]] (RSHA) in January 1943.{{sfn|Wistrich|1995|p=135}} The RSHA was composed of the SiPo (''[[Sicherheitspolizei]]''; the combined forces of the [[Gestapo]] and [[Kriminalpolizei (Nazi Germany)|Kripo]]) along with the SD (''[[Sicherheitsdienst]]'', Security Service).{{sfn|Longerich|2012|pp=470, 661}} Kaltenbrunner replaced Heydrich, who had been [[Operation Anthropoid|assassinated]] in June 1942. Kaltenbrunner held this position until the end of [[World War II]].{{sfn|Longerich|2012|p=661}} Hardly anyone knew Kaltenbrunner, and upon his appointment, Himmler transferred responsibility both for SS personnel and for economics from the RSHA to the [[SS Main Economic and Administrative Office]].{{sfn|Höhne|2001|p=553}} Nonetheless, Kaltenbrunner was promoted to SS-''[[Obergruppenführer]] und General der Polizei'' on 21 June 1943. He also replaced Heydrich as president (serving from 1943 to 1945) of the International Criminal Police Commission (ICPC), the organization today known as [[Interpol]].{{sfn|Miller|2015|pp=393, 396}}

Fearing a collapsing  [[Home front during World War II|home-front]] due to the  [[Allies of World War II|Allied]]  [[Allied bombing of Germany|bombing campaigns]], and worried that another "stab-in-the-back" at home could arise as a result, Kaltenbrunner immediately tightened the Nazi grip within Germany.{{sfn|Gerwarth|2012|p=289}} From what historian Anthony Read relates, Kaltenbrunner's appointment as RSHA chief came as a surprise given the other possible candidates like the head of the Gestapo, [[Heinrich Müller (Gestapo)|Heinrich Müller]], or even the SD foreign-intelligence chief, [[Walter Schellenberg]].{{sfn|Read|2005|p=798}} Historian Richard Grunberger also added the name of [[Wilhelm Stuckart]], the future minister of the German Interior, as another potential candidate for head of the RSHA; however, he suggests that Kaltenbrunner was most likely selected since he was a comparative "newcomer", expected to be more "pliable" in Himmler's hands.{{sfn|Grunberger|1993|p=98}}

Like many of the ideological fanatics in the regime, Kaltenbrunner was a committed antisemite. According to former SS-''[[Sturmbannführer]]'' Hans Georg Mayer, Kaltenbrunner was present at a December 1940 meeting among [[Adolf Hitler]], [[Joseph Goebbels]], Himmler and Heydrich where it was decided to gas all Jews incapable of heavy physical work.{{sfn|Breitman|1994|pp=81–82}} Under Kaltenbrunner's command, the genocide of Jews picked up pace as "the process of extermination was to be expedited and the concentration of the Jews in the Reich itself and the occupied countries were to be liquidated as soon as possible."{{sfn|Yahil|1990|p=406}} Kaltenbrunner stayed constantly informed over the status of concentration-camp activities, receiving periodic reports at his office in the RSHA.{{sfn|Kahn|1978|p=270}}

To [[Persecution of homosexuals in Nazi Germany|combat homosexuality across the greater Reich]], Kaltenbrunner pushed the [[Ministry of justice]] in July 1943 for an edict mandating [[Chemical castration|compulsory castration]] for anyone found guilty of this offence. While this was rejected, he still took steps to get [[German Army (1935–1945)|the army]] to review some 6,000 cases to prosecute [[Homosexuality|homosexuals]].{{sfn|Evans|2010|p=536}}

During the summer of 1943, Kaltenbrunner conducted his second inspection of the [[Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp]]. While he was there, 15 prisoners were selected to demonstrate for Kaltenbrunner three methods of killing: by a gunshot to the neck, hanging, and gassing. After the killings were performed, Kaltenbrunner inspected the crematorium and later the quarry.{{sfn|Miller|2015|pp=396–398}} In October 1943, he told [[Herbert Kappler]], the head of German police and security services in Rome, that the "eradication of the [[History of the Jews in Italy|Jews in Italy]]" was of "special interest" for "general security".{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=398}} Four days later, Kappler's SS and police units began [[Raid of the Ghetto of Rome|rounding up and deporting Jews]] by train to [[Auschwitz concentration camp]].{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=398}}

In 1944, during an arranged meeting in  [[Schloss Klessheim|Klessheim Castle]] near Salzburg, when Hitler was in the process of strong-arming Admiral [[Miklós Horthy|Horthy]] into a closer integration between [[Hungary]] and Nazi Germany, Kaltenbrunner was present for the negotiations and escorted Horthy out once they were over. Accompanying Horthy and Kaltenbrunner on the journey back to Hungary, [[Adolf Eichmann]] brought with him a special ''[[Einsatzkommando]]'' unit to begin the process of [[The Holocaust in Hungary|rounding up and deporting Hungary's 750,000 Jews]].{{sfn|Read|2005|p=825}}

It was said that even Himmler feared him, as Kaltenbrunner was an intimidating figure with 1.94m (6'4½") in height, facial scars, and volatile temper.{{sfn|International Military Tribunal|1947|p=798}}{{sfn|Doerries|2003|p=35}} Kaltenbrunner was also a longtime friend of [[Otto Skorzeny]] and recommended him for many secret missions, allowing Skorzeny to become one of Hitler's favourite agents. Kaltenbrunner also allegedly headed [[Operation Long Jump]], an alleged plan to assassinate  [[Joseph Stalin|Stalin]],  [[Winston Churchill|Churchill]], and  [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|Roosevelt]] in [[Tehran Conference|Tehran]] in 1943.{{sfn|West|2013|pp=140–141}}{{Efn|This mission was thwarted by Soviet intelligence agent [[Gevork Vartanian]]. See the following article:{{cite web|url= https://armenpress.am/eng/news/674765|title=Armenian intelligence agent, a hero of the Soviet Union Gevorg Vardanian passed away|date=10 January 2012 }} }}
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 151-17-03, Volksgerichtshof, Dr. Ernst Kaltenbrunner.jpg|thumb|left|Kaltenbrunner (front row, second from left) as a spectator at a [[People's Court (Germany)|People's Court]] show trial following the failed [[20 July plot]] in 1944]]
Immediately in the wake of the [[Operation Valkyrie|20 July Plot]] on Hitler's life in 1944, Kaltenbrunner was summoned to Hitler's wartime headquarters at the ''Wolfsschanze'' ([[Wolf's Lair]]) in [[East Prussia]] to begin the investigation into who had planned the assassination attempt.{{sfn|Read|2005|p=833}} Once it was revealed that an attempted military coup against Hitler had been launched, Himmler and Kaltenbrunner had to tread carefully, as the military was not under the jurisdiction of the Gestapo or the SD. When the attempt failed, the conspirators were soon identified.{{sfn|Read|2005|pp=833–837}} Kaltenbrunner called for the execution of those implicated in the plot.{{sfn|Bartrop|Grimm|2019|pp=163—165}} An estimated 5,000 people were eventually executed, with many more sent to concentration camps.{{sfn|Graber|1978|p=180}}{{efn|Noted Hitler biographer, Sir Ian Kershaw, puts the figure of executed persons at exactly 4,980.{{sfn|Kershaw|2000|p= 693}} }}

Historian [[Heinz Höhne]] counted Kaltenbrunner among the fanatical Hitler loyalists and described him as being committed "to the bitter end".{{sfn|Höhne|2001|p=511}} Field reports from the SD in October 1944 about deteriorating morale in the military prompted Kaltenbrunner to urge the involvement of the RSHA in military court-martial proceedings, but this was rejected by Himmler, who thought it unwise to interfere in ''[[Wehrmacht]]'' (military) affairs.{{sfn|Höhne|2001|pp=542–543}} In December 1944, Kaltenbrunner was granted the additional rank of [[Ranks and insignia of the Waffen-SS|General of the Waffen-SS]]. On 15 November 1944, he was awarded the  [[War Merit Cross|Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross with Swords]]. In addition, he was awarded the Nazi Party [[Golden Party Badge]] and the ''Blutorden'' ([[Blood Order]]).{{sfn|Miller|2015|pp=393, 406, 407}} Using his authority as Chief of the RSHA, Kaltenbrunner issued a decree on 6 February 1945 that allowed policemen to shoot people at their own discretion deemed "disloyal", without any form of judicial review.{{sfn|Overy|2010|p=388}}

On 12 March 1945, a meeting took place in [[Vorarlberg]] between Kaltenbrunner and [[Carl Jacob Burckhardt]], president of the [[International Committee of the Red Cross]] (1945–48).{{sfn|Moorehead|1999|pp=458–460}} Just over a month later, Himmler was informed that SS-''[[Obergruppenführer]]'' (general) [[Karl Wolff]] had been negotiating with the Allies for the capitulation of Italy.{{sfn|Höhne|2001|p=572}} When questioned by Himmler, Wolff explained that he was operating under Hitler's orders and attempting to play separate Allies against one another. Himmler believed him,{{sfn|Höhne|2001|p=573}} but Kaltenbrunner did not, and told Himmler that an informant claimed that Wolff had also negotiated with Cardinal [[Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster|Schuster]] of [[Milan]] and was about to surrender occupied Italy to the Allies.{{sfn|Höhne|2001|pp=573–574}} Himmler angrily repeated the allegations; Wolff, feigning offence, challenged Himmler to present these statements to Hitler. Unnerved by Wolff's demands, Himmler backed down, and Hitler sent Wolff back to Italy to continue his purported disruption of the Allies.{{efn|According to a U.S. Army official publication written by Ernest J. Fisher, Jr, "... Wolff had finally gone to Berlin for a face-to-face confrontation with Hitler and the Reichsfuehrer SS. Two days later Wolff, proving an exception to the rule that those summoned peremptorily to the Fuehrer's headquarters rarely came back, returned to Italy with assurances that nothing had been compromised." Through intermediaries, Wolff explained to Dulles that he had convinced Hitler that his discussions with the Allied leaders "had been only a ploy to gain time and divide the Allied coalition. Satisfied, the Fuehrer ordered him back to his post with no restrictions other than to forbid travel to Switzerland."{{sfn|Fisher|1993|p=517}} German journalist Heinz Höhne characterizes this acceptance of Wolff's gambit as a charge for him to "seek better terms with the U.S. forces",{{sfn|Höhne|2001|p=574}} but this may have been nothing more than another expression for stalling the Allies accordingly, given Hitler's later refusal to surrender under any circumstances and his vitriol against his closest confidants for having independently attempted to negotiate with the Allies.{{sfn|Evans|2010|p=724}} }}

On 18 April 1945, three weeks before the war ended, Himmler named Kaltenbrunner commander-in-chief of the remaining German forces in southern Europe.{{sfn|Bartrop|Grimm|2022|p=138}} Kaltenbrunner attempted to organize [[Stay-behind|cells for post-war sabotage]] in the region and Germany but accomplished little.{{sfn|CIA–Kent School, ''The Last Days of Ernst Kaltenbrunner''}} Hitler made one of his last appearances on 20 April 1945 outside the subterranean {{lang|de|[[Führerbunker]]}} in Berlin, where he pinned medals on boys from the [[Hitler Youth]] for their bravery.{{Efn|See: {{cite web|url=https://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Hitler-Last-Known-Film-Footage|title=Hitler – Last Known Film Footage|website=AwesomeStories.com}} }} Kaltenbrunner was among those present, but realizing the end was near, he then fled from Berlin.{{sfn|Read|2005|pp= 891–892}}

=== Arrest ===
On 12 May 1945 Kaltenbrunner was apprehended along with his adjutant, Arthur Scheidler, and two SS guards in a remote cabin at the top of the [[Totes Gebirge]] mountains near [[Altaussee]], Austria, by a search party initiated by the [[80th Division (United States)|80th Infantry Division, Third U.S. Army]]. Information had been gained from Johann Brandauer, the assistant [[burgermeister]] of Altaussee, that the party was hiding out with false papers in the cabin. This was supported by an eyewitness sighting by the Altaussee mountain ranger five days earlier. Special Agent Robert E. Matteson from the U.S. Army's [[Counterintelligence Corps]] Detachment organized and led a patrol consisting of Brandauer, four ex-''Wehrmacht'' soldiers, and a squad of U.S. soldiers to effect the arrest. The party climbed over mountainous and glacial terrain for six hours in darkness before arriving at the cabin.{{sfn|CIA–Kent School, ''The Last Days of Ernst Kaltenbrunner''}} After a short standoff, all four men exited the cabin and surrendered without a shot fired. Kaltenbrunner claimed to be a doctor and offered a false name. However, upon their arrival back to town his last mistress, Countess Gisela von Westarp, and the wife (Iris) of his adjutant Arthur Scheidler chanced to spot the men being led away; the ladies called out to both men and embraced them. This action resulted in their identification and arrest by U.S. troops.{{sfn|CIA–Kent School, ''The Last Days of Ernst Kaltenbrunner''}}

In 2001, Ernst Kaltenbrunner's personal Nazi security seal was found in an [[Alpine lake]] in [[Styria]], Austria, 56 years after he had thrown it away to hide his identity. The seal was recovered by a Dutch citizen on holiday. The seal has the words ''"Chef der Sicherheitspolizei und des SD"'' (Chief of the Security Police and SD) engraved on it. Experts have examined the seal and believe it was discarded in the final days of the European war in May 1945.{{sfn|Leidig|2001}}

=== Nuremberg trials ===
[[File:War criminal, SS Lieutenant General Ernst Kaltenbrunner (2).jpg|thumb|Kaltenbrunner testifying as a witness on his own behalf at the International Military Tribunal.]]

At the [[Nuremberg trials]], Kaltenbrunner was charged with conspiracy to commit [[crimes against peace]], [[war crime]]s and [[crimes against humanity]].{{sfn|Snyder|1976|p=190}} Due to the areas over which he exercised responsibility as an SS general and as chief of the RSHA, he was acquitted of crimes against peace, but held responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity.{{sfn|Marrus|1997|pp=64–70}}
[[File:Ernst Kaltenbrunner.jpg|right|thumb|Kaltenbrunner wheeled into court during the Nuremberg trials after a brain hemorrhage during interrogation.]]

During the initial stages of the Nuremberg trials, Kaltenbrunner was absent because of two episodes of [[subarachnoid hemorrhage]], which required several weeks of recovery time.{{sfn|Conot|2000|pp=95–96}}  He was examined by Chief Medical Officer [[Rene Juchli|Lt. Col. Rene Juchli]] who reported that Kaltenbrunner was suffering from gallstones.{{sfn|''Los Angeles Times'', October 1945}}  After his health improved, the tribunal denied his request for pardon. When he was released from a military hospital he pleaded not guilty to the charges of the indictment against him. Kaltenbrunner said all decrees and legal documents that bore his signature were "[[Rubber stamp (politics)|rubber-stamped]]" and filed by his adjutant(s). He also said Gestapo Chief [[Heinrich Müller (Gestapo)|Heinrich Müller]] had illegally affixed his signature to numerous documents in question.{{sfn|Conot|2000|pp=367–368}}

Kaltenbrunner argued in his defence that his position as RSHA chief existed only theoretically and said he was only active in matters of espionage and intelligence. He maintained that Himmler, as his superior, was the person culpable for the atrocities committed during his tenure as chief of the RSHA. Kaltenbrunner also asserted that he had no knowledge of the [[Final Solution]] before 1943 and went on to claim that he protested against the ill-treatment of the Jews to Himmler and Hitler.{{sfn|Marrus|1997|p=214}} Further denials from Kaltenbrunner included statements that he knew nothing of the [[Commissar Order]] and that he never visited [[Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp|Mauthausen concentration camp]], despite documentation of his visit.{{sfn|Conot|2000|pp=364–365}} At one point, Kaltenbrunner went so far as to avow that ''he'' was responsible for bringing the [[Final Solution]] to an end.{{sfn|Conot|2000|p=370}} In response to his denials, people in the courtroom laughed.{{sfn|''JTA Daily'', 1946}} During the trial, [[Hans Bernd Gisevius]] described Kaltenbrunner as "even worse than that monster Heydrich".<ref>{{cite news |title=German Condemns Hitler Hierarchy |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1946/04/26/88355334.html?pageNumber=6 |access-date=20 October 2025 |agency=AP |publisher=The New York Times |date=26 April 1946}}</ref>

==== Conviction and execution ====
On 30 September 1946, the [[International Military Tribunal]] (IMT) found Kaltenbrunner not guilty of crimes against peace, but guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity (counts three and four). On 1 October 1946, the IMT sentenced him to death by hanging.{{sfn|Marrus|1997|p=237}}
[[File:Dead ernstkaltenbrunner.jpg|thumb|Kaltenbrunner's body after execution by hanging on 16 October 1946]]
Kaltenbrunner was [[Nuremberg executions|executed]] on 16 October 1946, around 1:15&nbsp;am, in Nuremberg. His body, like those of the other nine executed men and that of [[Hermann Göring]] (who committed suicide the previous day), was cremated at the [[Ostfriedhof (Munich)|Eastern Cemetery]] in [[Munich]] and the ashes were scattered in a tributary of the River [[Isar]].{{sfn|Manvell|Fraenkel|2011|p=393}}{{sfn|Darnstädt|2005}}

=== Dates of rank ===
<!---[[File:ErnstKaltenbrunner1944.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Kaltenbrunner, pictured here in 1944, his ''Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross with Swords'' around his neck.]]--->
* [[Mann (paramilitary rank)|SS-''Mann'']] – 31 August 1931{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=393}}
* SS-''[[Truppführer]]'' – 1931{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=393}}
* SS-''[[Sturmhauptführer]]'' – 25 September 1932{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=393}}
* SS-''[[Standartenführer]]'' – 20 April 1936{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=393}}
* SS-''[[Oberführer]]'' – 20 April 1937{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=393}}
* SS-''[[Brigadeführer]]'' – 21 March 1938{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=393}}
* SS-''[[Gruppenführer]]'' – 11 September 1938{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=393}}
* SS-''[[Untersturmführer]] der Reserve der Waffen-SS'' – 1 July 1940{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=393}}
* ''[[Generalleutnant]] der Polizei'' – 1 April 1941{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=393}}
* SS-''[[Obergruppenführer]] und [[General (Germany)|General]] der Polizei'' – 21 June 1943{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=393}}
* ''General der [[Waffen-SS]] und Polizei'' – 1 December 1944{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=393}}

;Awards and decorations
* [[Honour Chevron for the Old Guard]] (1934){{sfn|Miller|2015|pp=406, 407}}
* [[SS Honour Ring]] (1938){{sfn|Miller|2015|pp=406, 407}}
* [[Sword of honour of the Reichsführer-SS]] (1938){{sfn|Miller|2015|pp=406, 407}}
* [[Anschluss Medal]] (1938){{sfn|Miller|2015|pp=406, 407}}
* [[Sudetenland Medal]] (1938) with Prague Castle Bar (1939){{sfn|Miller|2015|pp=406, 407}}
* [[Golden Party Badge]] (1939){{sfn|Miller|2015|pp=406, 407}}
* [[SS Long Service Award]] For 4, 8, and 12 Years Service{{sfn|Miller|2015|pp=406, 407}}
* [[Nazi Party Long Service Award]] in Bronze and Silver{{sfn|Miller|2015|pp=406, 407}}
* [[Blood Order]] (31 May 1942){{sfn|Miller|2015|pp=406, 407}}
* [[German Cross]] in Silver (1943){{sfn|Miller|2015|pp=406, 407}}
* [[Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross]] with Swords (1944){{sfn|Miller|2015|pp=406, 407}}

== See also ==
* [[Allgemeine SS]]
* ''[[Holocaust (miniseries)]]'' – TV production in which Kaltenbrunner is portrayed by [[Hans Meyer (actor)|Hans Meyer]].
* ''[[Inside the Third Reich (film)|Inside the Third Reich]]'' – television film in which Kaltenbrunner is portrayed by [[Hans Meyer (actor)|Hans Meyer]].
* [[Register of SS-Leaders in general’s rank#List of SS-Obergruppenführer|List of ''SS-Obergruppenführer'']]
* [[List of major perpetrators of the Holocaust]]
* [[List of defendants at the International Military Tribunal]]

== References ==
=== Notes ===
{{notelist}}

=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===
{{refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}
* {{cite book | last1=Bartrop | first1=P.R. | last2=Grimm | first2=E.E. | title=The Holocaust: The Essential Reference Guide | publisher=ABC-CLIO | year=2022 | isbn=978-1-4408-7779-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fKJnEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA138}}
* {{cite book | last1=Bartrop | first1=Paul R. | last2=Grimm | first2=Eve E. | title=Perpetrating the Holocaust: Leaders, Enablers, and Collaborators | publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA | date=2019-01-11 | isbn=979-8-216-12767-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PwTHEAAAQBAJ&dq=Kaltenbrunner&pg=PT102}}
*{{cite book | last=Black| first=Peter R. | title=Ernst Kaltenbrunner: Ideological Soldier of the Third Reich | publisher=Princeton University Press | year=1984 | isbn=0-691-05397-9}}
* {{cite book | last = Breitman | first = Richard | author-link = Richard Breitman | year = 1994 | chapter = Himmler, the Architect of Genocide | title = The Final Solution: Origins and Implementation | editor = David Cesarani | location = London and New York | publisher = Routledge | isbn = 978-0-415-15232-7 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/finalsolutionori0000unse }}
* {{cite web | author=CIA–Kent School | title=The Last Days of Ernst Kaltenbrunner | website=CIA–Kent School: Center for the Study of Intelligence | url=https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/kent-csi/vol4no2/html/v04i2a07p_0001.htm | access-date=14 July 2019  | ref={{sfnRef|CIA–Kent School, ''The Last Days of Ernst Kaltenbrunner''}} |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080109195636/https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/kent-csi/vol4no2/html/v04i2a07p_0001.htm |archive-date=2008-01-09 }}
* {{cite book | last = Conot | first = Robert E. | author-link = Robert E. Conot | year = 2000 | title = Justice at Nuremberg | location = New York | publisher = Carroll & Graf Publishers | isbn = 978-0-88184-032-2 | url = https://archive.org/details/justiceatnurembe00cono }}
* {{cite web| last=Darnstädt  | first=Thomas | title=Ein Glücksfall der Geschichte |url=http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-39916258.html | website=[[Der Spiegel]] | year=2005 | volume=14 }}
* {{cite book|last=Doerries|first=Reinhard R.|year=2003|title=Hitler's Last Chief of Foreign Intelligence: Allied interrogations of Walter Schellenberg|place=Portland|publisher=Frank Cass Publishers|isbn=0-7146-5400-0}}
* {{cite book | last=Evans | first=Richard | year=2010 | title=The Third Reich at War | location=New York | publisher=Penguin | isbn=978-0-14-311671-4 }}
* {{cite book | last=Evans | first=Richard J. | year=2024 | title=Hitler's People: The Faces of the Third Reich | publisher = Penguin | location = New York | isbn = 978-0-59329-643-1}}
* {{cite book | last=Fisher | first=Ernst F. Jr. | year=1993 | title=Cassino to the Alps: The Mediterranean Theater of Operations | series=United States Army in World War II | url=https://history.army.mil/html/books/006/6-4-1/CMH_Pub_6-4-1.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120927071348/http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/006/6-4-1/CMH_Pub_6-4-1.pdf | url-status=dead | archive-date=September 27, 2012 | location=Washington DC | publisher=United States Army Center of Military History |  oclc=31143820}}
* {{cite book | last=Gerwarth| first=Robert | author-link =Robert Gerwarth| year=2012 | title= Hitler's Hangman: The Life of Heydrich | location= New Haven, CT | publisher= Yale University Press | isbn=978-0-300-18772-4}}
* {{cite book | last = Graber | first = G. S. | title = The History of the SS | year = 1978 | place = New York | publisher = D. McKay | isbn = 0-679-50754-X | url = https://archive.org/details/historyofss00grab }}
* {{cite book | last = Grunberger | first = Richard | author-link =Richard Grunberger| year =1993 | title =Hitler's SS | place = New York |publisher = Dorset Press | isbn =978-1-56619-152-4 }}
* {{cite book | last= Hildebrand | first= Klaus | author-link= Klaus Hildebrand | year= 1984 | title= The Third Reich | location= London and New York | publisher= Routledge | isbn= 0-04-943033-5 | url= https://archive.org/details/thirdreich0000hild }}
* {{cite book | last= Höhne | first=Heinz| author-link =Heinz Höhne| year=2001 | title= The Order of the Death's Head: The Story of Hitler's SS | location= New York | publisher= Penguin Press | isbn = 978-0-14-139012-3 }}
* {{cite book |author=International Military Tribunal |author-link=International Military Tribunal |title=Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression |volume=VII | year=1947 | publisher=United States Government Printing Office | location=Washington |url=https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/llmlp/2011525363_NT_Nazi_Vol-VII/2011525363_NT_Nazi_Vol-VII.pdf}}
* {{cite web | author=JTA Daily| website=Jewish Telegraph Agency | date=12 April 1946 | title=Nazi Police Head Who Directed Killing of Jews Says He Was Unaware of Atrocities | url=http://pdfs.jta.org/1946/1946-04-12_086.pdf | access-date=5 January 2024 | ref={{sfnRef|''JTA Daily'', 1946}} }}
* {{cite book | last=Kahn | first=David | author-link =David Kahn (writer)| year=1978 | title= Hitler's Spies: German Intelligence in World War II | url=https://archive.org/details/hitlersspiesgerm00kahn | url-access=registration | location= New York | publisher= MacMillan | isbn=0-02-560610-7}}
* {{cite book | last=Kershaw | first=Ian | year=2000 | title=Hitler: 1936–1945, Nemesis | location=New York | publisher=W. W. Norton & Company | isbn=978-0-393-04994-7 }}
* {{cite news| last=Leidig | first=Michael | year=2001 | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/austria/1362581/Nazi-chief%27s-seal-found-in-Alpine-lake.html| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080831043436/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/austria/1362581/Nazi-chief%27s-seal-found-in-Alpine-lake.html| url-status=dead| archive-date=2008-08-31|title=Nazi chief's seal found in Alpine lake | newspaper=The Telegraph }}
* {{cite book | last = Longerich | first = Peter | author-link =Peter Longerich| year = 2012 | title = Heinrich Himmler: A Life | publisher = Oxford University Press | location = Oxford; New York | isbn = 978-0-19-959232-6}}
* {{cite news |author=Los Angeles Times | title=ALL SUPERMEN---EXCEPT FOR THE SHAPE THEY ARE IN |work=Los Angeles Times |issue=Page 1 |date=October 18, 1945| ref={{sfnRef|''Los Angeles Times'', October 1945}}}}
* {{cite book | last1=Manvell | first1=Roger | author-link =Roger Manvell| last2=Fraenkel | first2 = Heinrich| year=2011 | title= Goering: The Rise and Fall of the Notorious Nazi Leader | location= New York | publisher= Skyhorse Publishing | isbn=978-1-61608-109-6 }}
* {{cite book | last = Marrus | first = Michael R. | author-link =Michael Marrus| year=1997 | title = The Nuremberg War Crimes Trial, 1945–46: A Documentary History | url = https://archive.org/details/nurembergwarcrim00marr | url-access = registration | location = Boston| publisher = Bedford Books | isbn = 978-0-312-13691-8 }}
* {{cite book | last = Miller | first = Michael | year = 2015 | title = Leaders of the SS and German Police, Vol. 2 | publisher = R. James Bender | location = San Jose, CA | isbn = 978-1-932970-25-8}}
* {{cite book | last = Moorehead | first = Caroline | year = 1999 | orig-year = 1998 | title = Dunant's Dream: War, Switzerland and the History of the Red Cross | publisher = Carroll & Graf Publishing | isbn = 978-0-7867-0609-9}}
* {{cite book | last = Overy | first = Richard | year = 2010 | title = The Third Reich: A Chronicle | location = New York | publisher = Quercus Publishing Inc. | isbn =978-1-62365-456-6}}
* {{cite book | last=Persico | first=Joseph E. | year=1995 | title=Nuremberg: Infamy on Trial | location=New York | publisher=Penguin | isbn=978-0-14016-622-4}}
* {{cite book | last = Read | first = Anthony | title = The Devil's Disciples: Hitler's Inner Circle | place = New York | publisher = Norton | year = 2005 | isbn = 978-0-393-32697-0 }}
* {{cite book | last = Rosmus | first = Anna | year = 2015 | title = Hitlers Nibelungen: Niederbayern im Aufbruch zu Krieg und Untergang | language = de | location = Grafenau | publisher = Samples Verlag | isbn = 978-3-938401-32-3 }}
* {{cite book | last=Snyder | first=Louis L | year=1976 | title= Encyclopedia of the Third Reich | location= London | publisher= Robert Hale | isbn= 978-1-56924-917-8 }}
* {{cite book| last=Stackelberg | first=Roderick | year=2007 | title= The Routledge Companion to Nazi Germany | place= New York | publisher= Routledge | isbn= 978-0-415-30861-8 }}
* {{cite book | last = Weale | first = Adrian | author-link = Adrian Weale | title = Army of Evil: A History of the SS | year = 2012 | publisher = NAL Caliber (Penguin Group) | location = New York; Toronto | isbn = 978-0-451-23791-0 }}
* {{cite book | last=West | first=Nigel | title=Historical Dictionary of World War II Intelligence | year=2013 | publisher=Scarecrow Press) | location=Lanham, MD | isbn=978-0-8108-5822-0 }}
* {{cite book | last = Wistrich | first = Robert | year = 1995 | title = Who's Who In Nazi Germany | location = New York | publisher = Routledge | isbn = 978-0-415-11888-0 }}
* {{cite book | last = Yahil | first = Leni | year = 1990 | title = The Holocaust: The Fate of European Jewry, 1932–1945 | url = https://archive.org/details/holocaustfateofe0000yahi | url-access = registration | location = Oxford and New York | publisher = Oxford University Press | isbn = 0-19-504522-X }}
* {{cite book | last1=Zentner | first1=Christian | last2=Bedürftig | first2 = Friedemann | year=1991 | title= [[The Encyclopedia of the Third Reich]] | location= New York | publisher= Macmillan Publishing | isbn=0-02-897500-6 }}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book |last1=Vincent |first1=Marie-Bénédicte |title=Kaltenbrunner: Le successeur d'Heydrich |date=2022 |publisher=Place des éditeurs |isbn=978-2-262-09442-3 |language=fr}}

== External links ==
{{Commons}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* [http://imdb.com/title/tt0077025/ Holocaust miniseries] at IMDb
* {{ReichstagDB|119017202}}
* [http://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/covering-the-nuremberg-trials Kaltenbrunner defense broadcast during Nuremberg Trial], reported by [[Matthew Halton]] and broadcast on April 12, 1946; via the archives of the [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]]; 2&nbsp;m:36s
* [http://imdb.com/title/tt0208629/ Nuremberg film] at IMDb
* [http://imdb.com/title/tt0069628/ Seventeen Moments of Spring film] at IMDb
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060307223241/http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/nuremberg/hoesstest.html Testimony of Rudolf Hoess in the Nuremberg Trial]

{{s-start}}
{{s-gov}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Heinrich Himmler]]<br />{{small|Acting}}}}
{{s-ttl|title=Director of the [[Reich Security Main Office]]|years=30 January 1943 – 12 May 1945}}
{{s-aft|after=None}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Arthur Nebe]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[President of Interpol|President of the ICPC]]|years=30 January 1943 – 12 May 1945}}
{{s-aft|after=Florent Louwage}}
{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef|before=None}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Commander-in-Chief]] of [[Southern Germany]]|years= 18 April 1945 – 2 May 1945}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Albert Kesselring]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Main Nuremberg defendants}}
{{NSDAP}}
{{Einsatzgruppen}}
{{Heinrich Himmler}}
{{Holocaust Ukraine}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaltenbrunner, Ernst}}
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