:''For more information on commandant when used as a rank, see Commandant (rank).''

Commandant ( or ) is a senior title often given to the officer in charge of a large training establishment or academy. This usage is common in anglophone nations. In some non-English speaking countries it may be a military or police title or rank.

India and Pakistan

In the erstwhile British Indian Army, the commanding officer of a regiment or battalion was called the Commandant instead of the CO.

France

In the French Army and French Air Force, the term commandant is used as a rank equivalent to Major (NATO rank code OF-4). However, in the French Navy ''Commandant'' is the style, but not the rank, of the senior officers, specifically ''capitaine de corvette'', ''capitaine de frégate'' and ''capitaine de vaisseau''.

South Africa

In South Africa, ''Commandant'' was the title of the commanding officer of a commando (militia) unit in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka, the Commandant of the Volunteer Force is the head of the Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force. Commandant is also the title used for the commanding officer (one-star rank) of military academies - Sri Lanka Military Academy, Naval and Maritime Academy and Air Force Academy - and the commanding officer (two-star rank) of the Defence Services Command and Staff College. It is also the title of the de-facto vice-chancellor of the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, usually an officer of two-star rank.

Colonel-Commandant is an honorary post in corps of the army and the Sri Lanka National Guard, similar to that of Colonel of the Regiment found in infantry regiments. The post of Centre Commandant is the commanding officer of a corps or regiment.

United Kingdom

In the British Armed Forces, a Commandant is usually the commanding officer of a training establishment, such as the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst or the Royal Air Force College Cranwell.

Colonel-Commandant was an appointment which existed in the British Army between 1922 and 1928, and in the Royal Marines from 1755 to some time after World War II. It replaced Brigadier-General in the Army, and was itself replaced by Brigadier in both the Army and the Marines. The Colonel-Commandant is also the ceremonial head of some Army corps and this position is usually held by a senior general.

Commandant was also the appointment, equivalent to Commodore, held by the Director of the Women's Royal Naval Service between 1951 and 1993.

United States

In the United States, 'Commandant' is an appointment, not a rank, and the following two appointments currently exist:

Commandant of the Marine Corps

Commandant of the Coast Guard

Formerly, Admirals were appointed as commandants of Naval Districts.

The Commandant is the second most senior officer (after the Superintendent) of United States Service academies, such as The Citadel, West Point, Annapolis, and the United States Air Force Academy, equivalent to the Dean of Students at a civilian college. Commandant is also the title of the commanding officer of many units of the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command, including the Noncommissioned Officer Academies, whose commandants are typically command sergeants major.

Commandant is also the title of the ranking officer in charge of each War College of the United States military, and is responsible for the administration, academic progress and success of the civilians and military officers assigned to the college. He is a model for all personnel, a military academy graduate of impeccable character and bearing who has demonstrated accomplishment in both academic excellence and active military service in the field. They include the Navy War College, the Air War College, the Army War College, the Marine Corps War College and the National War College..

The title may also be used for the commander of a unit headquarters, who is usually responsible for administrative matters such as billeting and is called the Headquarters Commandant; this may also be a duty assigned to a staff officer in large headquarters.

Republic of Ireland

In the Irish Army Commandant is the equivalent of Major in other armies.

New Zealand

In the New Zealand Defence Force, the term Commandant is used for the senior officer (or Commander) of garrisonned units that do not deploy and are not operational. This typically includes learning institutes such as the New Zealand Defence College and (formerly) the Command and Staff College. The title could also be used for other non-deploying units such as the Services Corrective Establishment (SCE) in Burnham, or Depot Level Engineering units.

The equivalent term for opertaional units is 'Commander'. Such as Commander Joint Force Headquarters New Zealand (COM JFHQ NZ).

Under the 2010 creation of the Training and Education Directorate (TED), an additional position of Commandant was established for the Training Institute to complement the Commandant of the Defence College.

See also

Commandant general, in Fascist Italy, was the head of the (Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale (National Security Volunteer Militia or "Blackshirts"), a position held by Benito Mussolini.

References

Category:Military appointments Category:Titles

fr:Commandant (grade) id:Komandan lt:Komandantas es:Comandante

Name	Amon Leopold F Göth
Birth date	11 December 1908
Death date	13 September 1946 (aged 37)
Birth place	Vienna, Austria-Hungary (now Austria)
Death place	Kraków, Poland
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Branch
Serviceyears	1930-1945
Rank	Hauptsturmführer
Unit
Commands	Arbeitslager ''KL-Plaszow''
Laterwork	SS-Wirtschafts-Verwaltungshauptamt }}

Amon Leopold Göth (11 December 1908 – 13 September 1946; ) was an Austrian Nazi and the commandant of the Nazi concentration camp at Płaszów, General Government (a German-occupied area of Poland). A ''Hauptsturmführer'' (Captain) of the SS, he was tried as a war criminal after the war.

After the war, the Supreme National Tribunal of Poland at Kraków found Göth guilty of murdering tens of thousands of people. He was executed by hanging on September 13, 1946, age 37, not far from the former site of the Płaszów camp.

Early life and career

Göth was born in Vienna, then the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, to a family in the book publishing industry. Göth joined a Nazi youth group at the age of seventeen, moved to a nationalist paramilitary group at the age of nineteen, and at the age of twenty two, became a member of the Austrian branch of the Nazi Party. In September 1930, he was assigned the Party Number 510764. Göth simultaneously joined the Austrian SS and was appointed an SS-Mann with the SS Number 43673.

Göth's early activities are little known, largely because the Austrian SS was an illegal and underground organization until the Anschluss of Austria by Nazi Germany in 1938. Between 1932 and 1936, Göth was a member of an Allgemeine-SS company in Vienna and, by 1937, had risen to the rank of ''SS-Oberscharführer'' (Staff Sergeant). Between 1938 and 1941, he was a member of 11th SS-Standarte operating from Vienna and was commissioned an ''SS-Untersturmführer'' (Second Lieutenant) on 14 July 1941.

Płaszów

In August 1942, Göth departed from Vienna to join the staff of ''SS-Brigadeführer'' Odilo Globočnik, the SS and Police Leader of the Kraków area. He was appointed as a regular SS officer of the Concentration Camp service, and on 11 February 1943 was assigned to construct and command a forced labour camp at Płaszów. The camp took one month to construct using slave labour and, on 13 March 1943, the Jewish ghetto of Kraków was closed down (liquidated) with the surviving inhabitants imprisoned in the new slave labor camp. Approximately 2,000 people died during the evacuation. At his later war crimes trial, it was revealed that Göth had personally killed a little over 500 slave laborers during the Płaszów camp's time in operation.

On 3 September 1943, Göth was given the further task of shutting down the ghetto at Tarnów, where an unknown number of people were killed on the spot. On 3 February 1944, Göth closed down the concentration camp at Szebnie by ordering the inmates to be murdered on the spot or deported to other camps, again resulting in several thousand deaths.

By April 1944, Göth had been promoted to the rank of ''SS-Hauptsturmführer'' (Captain), having received a double promotion and thus skipping the rank of ''SS-Obersturmführer'' (First Lieutenant). He was also appointed a reserve officer of the Waffen-SS. His assignment as Commandant of the Płaszów Labour Camp continued, now under the direct authority of the SS Economics and Administration Office.

It was Göth's firm belief that the Jews themselves should pay for their own executions, and it was wholly in this spirit when on 11 May 1942, in the small town of Szczebrzeszyn, the Gestapo ordered the Jewish council to pay 2,000 złoty and 3 kilograms of coffee to cover the expenses for the ammunition used to kill the Jews.

During his tenure as commander of Płaszów, Göth tortured and murdered prisoners on a daily basis. Göth is believed to have personally killed more than 500 imprisoned Jews and sent thousands more to be executed on Hujowa Górka, a large hill that was used for mass killings along Płaszów's grounds. Poldek Pfefferberg, one of the Schindler Jews, said, "When you saw Göth, you saw death." According to Płaszów survivor Helen Jonas,

"As a survivor I can tell you that we are all traumatized people. Never would I, never, believe that any human being would be capable of such horror, of such atrocities. When we saw him from a distance, everybody was hiding, in latrines, wherever they could hide. I can't tell you how people feared him."

Göth spared the life of a Jewish prisoner Natalia Hubler, later famous as Natalia Karp, after hearing her play a nocturne by Chopin on the piano the day after she arrived at the Płaszów camp.

Dismissal and capture

On 13 September 1944, Göth was relieved of his position as Commandant of Płaszów and was assigned to the SS Office of Economics and Administration. Shortly thereafter, in Vienna around November 1944, Göth was charged with theft of Jewish property (which, according to Nazi legislation, belonged to the ''State''), and was arrested by the Gestapo. He was scheduled for an appearance before SS judge Georg Konrad Morgen, but due to the progress of World War II, and Germany's looming defeat, a court martial was never assembled and the charges against him were summarily dismissed.

He was next assigned to Bad Tölz, Germany, where he was quickly diagnosed by SS doctors as suffering from mental illness and diabetes. He was committed to a mental institution. He remained there until he was arrested by the United States military in May 1945. At the time of his arrest, Göth claimed to have been recently promoted to ''SS-Sturmbannführer'' and, during later interrogations, several documents listed him as "SS-Major Göth". Rudolf Höss was also of the opinion that Göth had been promoted and, when called to give testimony at Göth's trial, indicated that Göth was an SS-Major in the Concentration Camp service.

Göth's service record, however, does not support the claim of a late war promotion and he is listed in most texts as having held the rank of only ''SS-Hauptsturmführer'', equivalent to Captain.

Execution

After the war, the Supreme National Tribunal of Poland in Kraków found Göth guilty of murdering tens of thousands of people. He was hanged on September 13, 1946, at the age of 37, not far from the former site of the Płaszów camp. At his execution, Göth's hands were tied behind his back. The executioner twice miscalculated the length of rope necessary to hang Göth, and it was only on the third attempt that the execution was successful.

Family

Göth was married and divorced twice. His first marriage was to Olga Janauschek in January, 1934. They were divorced in July, 1936. His second marriage was to Anny Geiger in October 1938; this ended in 1944. Soon after his second marriage ended, Göth was engaged to Ruth Irene Kalder, (nicknamed "Majola" in the Płaszów camp during her stay in Göth's "Red Villa"), who had taken Göth's name shortly after his death. Through these relationships, Göth had a total of two sons and two daughters. Göth's first child, a boy named Peter, died seven months after his birth from a diphtheria infection. Göth had two more children with Anny Geiger, a daughter named Ingeborg and a son named Werner. Göth's last child was a daughter named Monika (chosen mainly from Göth's childhood nickname, "Mony") whom he had by Ruth Irene Kalder. Monika was born on October 23, 1945.

In popular culture

Göth's actions at Płaszów Labor Camp became internationally known through his depiction by British actor Ralph Fiennes in the 1993 film, ''Schindler's List''. In a subsequent interview, Fiennes recalled,

"Evil is cumulative. It happens. People believe that they’ve got to do a job, they’ve got to take on an ideology, that they’ve got a life to lead; they’ve got to survive, a job to do, it’s every day inch by inch, little compromises, little ways of telling yourself this is how you should lead your life and suddenly then these things can happen. I mean, I could make a judgment myself privately, this is a terrible, evil, horrific man. But the job was to portray the man, the human being. There’s a sort of banality, that everydayness, that I think was important. And it was in the screenplay. In fact, one of the first scenes with Oskar Schindler, with Liam Neeson, was a scene where I’m saying, ''You don’t understand how hard it is, I have to order so many-so many meters of barbed wire and so many fencing posts and I have to get so many people from A to B.'' And, you know, he’s sort of letting off steam about the difficulties of the job."

Fiennes was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and his portrayal ranked 15th on AFI's list of the top 50 film villains of all time. Notably, he ranks as the highest non-fiction villain. When Płaszów survivor Mila Pfefferberg was introduced to Fiennes on the set of the film, she began to shake uncontrollably, as Fiennes, attired in full S.S. dress uniform, reminded her of the real Amon Göth. At film's climax, Göth's hanging is dramatized. However, he is incorrectly shown patting his hair in place and saying "Heil Hitler" moments before an officer in the People's Army of Poland kicks a chair out from under him.

In 2002, Monika Göth Hertwig published her memoirs under the name ''Ich muß doch meinen Vater lieben, oder?'' ("I Must Still Love My Father, Mustn't I?"). Monika also described the subsequent life of her mother, Ruth Kalder Göth, who unconditionally glorified her fiance until confronted with his role in the Holocaust. Ruth ultimately committed suicide after giving an interview in the 1980s.

Monika Hertwig's experiences in dealing with her father's crimes are also detailed in ''Inheritance'', a 2006 documentary directed by James Moll. Also appearing in the documentary is Helen Jonas, one of Amon Göth's former house slaves. The documentary details the meeting of the two women at the Płaszów memorial site in Poland.

Summary of SS career

SS number: 43673

Nazi Party number: 510764

Primary Positions: Lagerkommandant, Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp

Waffen-SS service: SS-Hauptsturmführer der Reserve

Dates of rank

SS-Mann: c. 1930

SS-Oberscharführer: c. 1937

SS-Untersturmführer: July 14, 1941

SS-Hauptsturmführer: August 1, 1943

SS-Hauptsturmführer der Reserve die Waffen-SS: April 20, 1944

Awards

Anschluss Medal

German National Sports Badge (Silver)

SS Julleuchter

Honour Chevron for the Old Guard

References

External links

Footage of Amon Göth's execution

The Trial of Amon Göth

''Voices on Antisemitism' Interview with Helen Jonas from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

''Voices on Antisemitism'' Interview with Ralph Fiennes from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum

Category:1908 births Category:1946 deaths Category:Executed Nazi concentration camp personnel Category:Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp personnel Category:People executed by hanging Category:People from Vienna Category:SS officers Category:Austrian Nazis convicted of war crimes Category:Nazi leaders executed in Poland Category:Austrian people executed abroad Category:Holocaust perpetrators Category:People associated with Kraków Category:Austrian people convicted of crimes against humanity

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