Interrogation of Johann Kanduth, 30 November 1945, at Salzburg, Austria, Hq WCIT 6836, by Lt. Col. David G. Paston. 0-189428, concerning the murder of American and British prL oners of war on or about 24 January 1945.
Q. What is your name ?
A. Kanduth, Johann.
Q. Where do you live ?
A. Linz, Weissenwolfstrasse 7.
Q. Have you an address in Salzburg?
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A. Salzburg, Solleystrasse 13.
Q. Were you at any time an inmate of the concentration camp at Mauthausen ? .
A. Yes.
Q. During what period ?
A. From the 21st of March 1939 till the 5th of May 1945.
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Q. Besides your work in the kitchen did you also work in the crematorium ?
A. Yes.
Q. At what date did you begin your work in the crematorium?
A. From the 9th of May.
Q. What did you do there?
A. I worked the heating for the cremation of the bodies.
Q. Describe your work.
A. At first my occupation consisted of removing the bodies, then I served the heating and had to learn how to put in the corpses, then I had to stir up and to take out the ashes. This was my occupation during 4 years. Afterwards I had to fill the urns. In the first quarter of the year cremations of single persons took place, afterwards there were only mass cremations, the ashes were thrown away. When the Americans advanced, we filled
3,000 urns of Dutch Jews. We had to smash the urns afterwards and to throw the ashes away, so that every trace was wiped out. * ******
Q. Do you know how many bodies you cremated ?
A. Yes. '
1940— 1,242
1941— 1,676
1942— 6,523 , ,
1943_2(960 ' '
1944— 5,479
1945— 9,676 . We had two categories, the non-Jewish and the Russian prisoners. These papers I saved. But there were many additional corpses which were not cremated in the ovens. They were transported to a private crematorium at Steyr.
Q. Do these figures really represent the cremations you yourself did?
A. Yes.
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Q. Have you ever seen Kaltenbrunner at Mauthausen on a visit at any time?
A. Yes.
Q. Do you remember when it was?
A. In 1942 and 1943.
Q. Can you give it more exactly, maybe the month? -A. I do not know the date.
Q. Do ybu remember only this one visit in the year 1942 or 1943?
A. I remember Kaltenbrunner three times.
Q. What year ?
A. Between 1942 and 1943.
Q. Tell us, in short, what did you think about these visits of Kaltenbrunner which you describe? That is: what did you see, what did you do, and when did you see that he was or was not present at such executions?
A. Kaltenbrunner was accompanied by Eigruber, Schulz, Zeireis, Bachmaier, Streitwieser, and some other people. Kaltenbrunner went laughing in the gas chamber. Then the people were brought from the bunker to be executed and then all three kinds of executions: hanging, shooting in the back of the neck, and gassing were demonstrated. After the dust had disappeared,'we had to take away the bodies.
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Q. When did you see the three different kinds of executions? Were these just demonstrations or regular executions?
A. I do not know if they were regular executions, or just demonstrations. During these executions, besides Kaltenbrunner, the bunker-leaders "Hauptscharfuehrer" Seidel and Duessen, were also present. The last named then led the people downstairs.
Q. Do you know whether these executions were announced for this day or if they were just demonstrations or if the executions were staged just for pleasure of the visitors?
A. Yes, these executions were announced for this day.
Q. How do you know they were set for this day? Did somebody tell you about these announced executions?
A. "Hauptscharfuehrer" Roth, the leader of the crematorium, always had me called to his room and said to me: "Kaltenbrunner will come today and we have to prepare everything for the executions in his presence." Then we were obliged to heat and to clean the stoves.
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Extracts from an interrogation, on the cremation of the bodies of prisoners killed at Mauthausen, the disposal of ashes to hide the killing of Dutch Jews, and Kaltenbrunner's presence at executions
Authors
Johann Kanduth (Mauthausen inmate (1939-45))
Johann Kanduth
- Additional details not yet available.
David G. Paston (lt. col., war crimes interrogator (1945))
David G. Paston
- Additional details not yet available.
Date: 30 November 1945
Literal Title: Interrogation of Johann Kanduth, 30 November 1945, at Salzburg, Austria . . . Concerning the murder of American and British prisoners of war on or about 24 January 1945.
Defendant: Ernst Kaltenbrunner
Total Pages: 2
Language of Text: English
Source of Text: Nazi conspiracy and aggression (Office of United States Chief of Counsel for Prosecution of Axis Criminality. Washington, D.C. : U.S. Government Printing Office, 1946.)
Evidence Code: PS-3846
HLSL Item No.: 451770
Notes:Paston interrogated Kanduth.
Trial Issues
Concentration camp system (administration, forced labor, abuse of inmates)… Extermination of the Jews (IMT, NMT 4, 9)
Document Summary
PS-3846: Extracts from interrogation of Johann Kanduth re: who worked in the crematorium at Mauthausen
PS-3846: Testimony of Johann Kanduth, taken at Salzburg, Austria, 30 November and 3 December 1945, giving details of murders of American and other prisoners of war on or about 24 January 1945, at Mauthausen concentration camp; Kaltenbrunner’s presence at executions