Anton Malloth

Anton Malloth
Born	13 February 1912 Schenna,Tyrol,Austria-Hungary(nowSouth Tyrol,Italy)
Died	31 October 2002(2002-10-31)(aged 90) Munich,Germany
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Gestapo
Years of service	1940–1945
Battles/wars	World War II

Anton Malloth(13 February 1912 – 31 October 2002) was a supervisor in the "Kleine Festung"(Small Fortress) part of theTheresienstadt concentration camp.

From June 1940 to May 1945, Malloth worked as a supervisor in theGestapoprison "Kleine Festung Theresienstadt", which was part of the larger Theresienstadt concentration camp. His nickname was "der schöne Toni"(The handsome Toni). He was convicted of beating at least 100 prisoners to death and sentenced tolife imprisonmentin 2001, after escaping justice for 55 years.

Life

Malloth grew up in the town ofSchenna,nearMerano,inSouth Tyrol.His foster-parents ran a small agricultural business and guest-house. He did an apprenticeship as abutcherand later became alance corporalin the Italian army, where he opted to serve inGermany.In Innsbruck he received training as a "Schutzpolizei"(a uniformed branch of theThird Reichpolice force) and later volunteered for police service inPrague.For most of theSecond World War,Malloth worked in Theresienstadt.

Life in Austria

After the end of war, Malloth went on the run for some time, living at his parents-in-laws' home inWörgl,Tyrol.In early 1948, Malloth was arrested by the Austrian police. In the interrogation in front of a judge in Innsbruck, he played down his role in the Gestapo prison and denied having been involved withtortureandmurder.

An application forextraditionby theCzechoslovakgovernment was ignored by the Austrian justice department. Malloth wastriedin absentiain September 1948 in Czechoslovakia for war crimes in Terezín/Theresienstadt, but by then Malloth had already been released by the Austrian court. After numerous witness testimonials, the Czechoslovak court inLitoměřicetown ruled that there was no doubt that Malloth had beaten to death about 100 detainees. The verdict was reversed in 1969, but the application for extradition was still pending.

From 1948 to 1988 Malloth lived undisturbed inMeran.In 1952 he became an Italian citizen. When his Italian citizenship was stripped, he became a German citizen in 1957.

In spite of several applications for extradition by Germany and Austria, the German consulate inMilanissued him new passports as the previous ones expired. When he was expelled to Germany in 1988, the public prosecution department of Dortmund denied any extradition to Austria or Czechoslovakia. As there were no preliminary proceedings against Malloth, he was freed.

Life in Germany

From 1988 to 2000, Malloth lived inPullachnearMunich.Gudrun Burwitz,the daughter ofHeinrich Himmler,was instructed by the "Stille Hilfe"to rent a comfortable room for him in a home for the aged, which was built on land formerly owned byRudolf Hess.

When it became public in the late nineties that the social welfare office had paid most of the expenses of Malloth's room, there was much criticism in the German media. The involvement of Himmler's daughter Gudrun Burwitz was also criticized.

Arrest and trial

Malloth was taken into custody on 25 May 2000 and charged by the public prosecution department in Munich. The trial started on 23 April 2001 in the prison inMunich-Stadelheim.On 30 May 2001 Malloth was convicted by the district court of Munich for murder and attempted murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. Ten days before his death, cancer-suffering Malloth was declared unfit for prison and released.

Literature

• Oliver Schröm/ Andrea Röpke, Stille Hilfe für braune Kameraden, Christoph Links Verlag, 2002,ISBN978-3-86153-231-6
• Ernst Klee, Was sie taten - Was sie wurden, Fischer Taschenbuch (4364), 12. Auflage 1998,ISBN978-3-596-24364-8
• Ernst Klee, Persilscheine und falsche Pässe, Fischer Taschenbuch (10956), 5. Aufl. 1991),ISBN978-3-596-10956-2

External links

• Nikola Friedrich:Wer nicht fühlen will, muß hören?
• Peter Finkelgruen:Der Justizskandal ist noch nicht aufgeklärt
• Thomas Karny:Rechenschaft statt Rache. Nach 56 Jahren steht der SS-Mann Anton Malloth vor Gericht.In:Wiener Zeitung,25. Mai 2001
• Presse-Infos zum Fall Malloth