Eugene K. Bird

Lieutenant Colonel Eugene K. Bird (11 March 1926 – October 28, 2005) was US Commandant of the Spandau Allied Prison from 1964 to 1972 where, together with six others, Deputy Führer Rudolf Hess was incarcerated.

In March 1971, Bird’s superiors at the US Mission in Berlin became aware of Bird's cooperation with Hess in the writing of a book about Hess. He was put under house arrest and eventually made to resign his position as Commandant of Spandau Prison. This episode, in effect, also ended his military career.

Biography

Eugene K. Bird was born in Lambert, Montana, USA. In 1944, Bird joined the U.S. Army. He was sent to Europe, where he fought against the Axis Powers.

After the Nuremberg trials of the major Nazis, the old prison at Spandau in the western suburb of Berlin was adapted by the Allies to incarcerate the seven convicted senior Nazis who were not executed at Nuremberg.

In 1964, Bird was appointed U.S. Commandant of the Spandau Allied Prison. By late 1966, the only remaining prisoner incarcerated there was Rudolf Hess.