Biography: Martin Gottfried Weiß
Martin Gottfried Weiß (b. June 3, 1905, Weiden/Upper Palatinate) joined the Nazi Party in 1926 and was active in Weiden. He finished his electrical engineering studies in 1930.
In April 1933 Weiß joined the guard squad at the Dachau concentration camp. As early as November he was named camp engineer and in March 1938 promoted to adjutant to the camp commandant, Hans Loritz.
Martin Gottfried Weiß in custody, 1945 - Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial, courtesy of Victor L. Wegard
Witness Helmut Opitz identifies Martin Gottfried Weiß, November 1945 - United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington D.C., courtesy of Vincent Paul Donaghue
In April 1940 Weiß was assigned the task of setting up the Neuengamme concentration camp near Hamburg. He was named commandant there in November of the same year. On September 1, 1942 Weiß was appointed commandant in Dachau.
Between November 1943 and May 1944 Weiß was commandant at the Majdanek concentration camp. Appointed a special deployment chief at Group D of the SS Economic and Administration Main Office, from November 1944 he was the highest-ranking SS officer in the Mühldorf subcamp complex. At the Dachau Main Trial Weiß was sentenced to death on December 13, 1945 and executed on May 29, 1946 in Landsberg prison.
Martin Gottfried Weiß during the reading of his death sentences, Dezember 13, 1945 - United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington D.C., courtesy of Elisabeth and Mary Kvitashvili