Albert Widmann

Albert Widmann (8 June 1912 – 24 December 1986) was an SS officer and German chemist who worked for the Action T4 euthanasia program during the regime of Nazi Germany. He was convicted in two separate trials in the West German courts in the 1960s for his criminal activities during World War II.

Early life

Widmann was born in Stuttgart. His father was a railroad engineer. Widmann studied at the Stuttgart Technical Institute, receiving his certificate in chemical engineering in 1936 and his doctorate in September 1938. Soon after, he was hired by Walter Heess, the chief of the Technical Institute for the Detection of Crime (Kriminaltechnisches Institut der Sicherheitspolizei, or KTI), who had previously employed Widmann as a temporary consultant. By 1940 Widmann had been promoted to chief of the KTI's section for chemical analysis.

Widmann was not particularly involved in politics. However, in July 1933, as a student Widmann joined the National Socialist Motor Corps (Nationalsozialistisches Kraftfahrkorps, NSKK). He was admitted into the Nazi Party in May 1937. After Widmann joined the KTI, in December 1939 he was transferred from the NSKK to the SS with the rank of SS-Untersturmführer (second lieutenant).