Franz Stangl Research Paper

Many people are uninformed or uneducated about Franz Stangl. He is not considered one of the obvious when someone thinks of the Holocaust. Franz Stangl had three (3) important parts of his life: his childhood, his career, and his death. Although he had a seemingly normal childhood, this man grew to become the “White Death” of history. “Stangl was born on 26 March 1908 in Altmünster, located in the Salzkammergut region of Austria. The son of a nightwatchman, his relationship with his father was emotionally distressing. He was so deeply frightened of him that Stangl developed a hatred for his Habsburg Dragoons uniform.Stangl claimed that his father died of malnutrition in 1916. To help support his family Franz learned to play the zither and
This was the highlight of his life and will be divided into two (2) parts. The first part of his career is his entrance into the Nazi party. Stangl joined the party shortly after joining the Austrian police force in 1931. This was illegal for an officer of the Austrian police force at the time. When questioned of his association he denied it and later claimed it was to escape arrest after Germany took control in 1938. “In 1935, Stangl was accepted into the Kriminalpolizei as detective in the Austrian town of Wels. After Austria's Anschluss Stangl was assigned to the Schutzpolizei (which was taken over by the Gestapo) in Linz, where he was posted to the Jewish Bureau (German language: Judenreferat). Stangl joined the SS in May 1938.[5] He would ultimately reach the rank of SS-Hauptsturmführer (Captain).” (“Franz Stangl”) Stangl also reported for T-4 Euthanasia Program. ‘He traveled to the RSHA in Berlin, where he was received by Paul Werner. Werner offered Stangl a job as supervisor in charge of security at a T4 killing facility, and in the language commonly used during recruitment, described Action T4 as a "humanitarian" effort that was "essential, legal, and secret". Next Stangl met with Viktor Brack, who offered him a choice of work between Hartheim and Sonnenstein Euthanasia Centres; naturally, Stangl picked Hartheim, which was near Linz. Through a direct order from Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler issued in November 1940, Stangl became the deputy office manager (Police Superintendent) of the T-4 Euthanasia Program at Hartheim Euthanasia Centre, and in late summer 1941 at Bernburg Euthanasia Centre, where mentally and physically disabled people, as well as political prisoners, were sent to be killed.[]’ (“Franz