Dr. Walther Heess Certificate of Appointment 1988.1201
Finding aid prepared by Judith Janec
Tauber Holocaust Library
JFCS Holocaust Center
2245 Post Street
San Francisco, CA, 94115
415-449-3717
tauberholocaustlibrary@jfcs.org
Title: Certificate of appointment for Dr. Walther Heess
Identifier/Call Number: 1988.1201
Contributing Institution:
Tauber Holocaust Library
Language of Material:
German
Physical Description:
1.0 Folder(s)
Date: 1942 December 11
Abstract: This document is a certificate of appointment by Adolf Hitler of Dr. Walther Heess to the rank of Civil Service and Police
Director in Nazi Germany’s Reichskriminalpolizeiamt (RKPA). The document, dated December 11, 1942, is signed by Adolf Hitler
and by Heinrich Himmler.
Creator:
Heess, Walther
There are no restrictions to use for this collection.
Conditions Governing Access note
There are no restrictions to access for this collection.
Dr. Walther Heess was born December 30, 1901 in Ludwigsburg, Germany. He studied chemistry at the Technical University in
Stuttgart and in May 1925 graduated as a Doctor of Engineering. In May 1933 he joined the NSDAP – Adolf Hitler’s National
Socialist (Nazi) party.
Dr. Heess was promoted in April 1938 to Director of the Technical Institute of Criminal Investigation (KTI). KTI was closely
connected with Aktion T4, the killings of mentally ill and physically handicapped persons through the use of carbon monoxide
gas. Dr. Heess was instrumental in the development of the mobile gas chambers, where truck exhaust fumes were used to kill
those who inside the truck.
Dr. Heess disappeared at the beginning of May 1945 and was declared officially dead in December 1951.
This document is a certificate of appointment of Dr. Walther Heess to the rank of Civil Service and Police Director in Nazi
Germany’s Reichskriminalpolizeiamt (RKPA) by Adolf Hitler. The document, dated December 11, 1942, is signed by Adolf Hitler
and by Heinrich Himmler. It is an oversized document, handwritten with calligraphy in German, and includes gold lettering
and an embossed stamp of the Nazi eagle with swastika. A translation of the document is available.
Certificate of appointment for Dr. Walther Heess - 1988.1201, Tauber Holocaust Library - JFCS Holocaust Center, San Francisco,
California
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Arons, Hans J., 1914-1997
Certificates
Civil Service -- Germany
Germany -- Politics and government -- 1933-1945.
Police -- Germany