In the 12 years that I’ve had my web site up, I’ve gotten lots of e-mail from students who were studying the case of Alex Piorkowski, one of the Commandants of Dachau, who was convicted by an American Military Tribunal held at Dachau. I have often wondered why there is so much interest in this very minor war crimes case after more than 60 years.
The Alex Piorkowski case started in early January 1947, and he was sentenced to death by hanging on January 17, 1947. This was a subsidiary case conducted by the AMT after the main proceedings against Martin Gottfried Weiss, and 39 others on the Dachau concentration camp staff, which began in November 1945.
Alex Bernhard Piorkowski was the Commandant at Dachau in 1941 and 1942, but during the winter of 1941 and 1942, he was away from the camp for extended periods due to illness. (more…)
