Amon Göth: Nazi Camp Commandant Known as the Butcher of Kraków

Amon Göth was the brutal Nazi commandant of the Płaszów concentration camp whose crimes made him one of the most feared figures of the Holocaust in occupied Poland. Amon Göth, commandant of the Płaszów concentration camp, remains one of the most notorious Nazi figures of the Holocaust. A former Austrian publisher’s son turned SS officer, Göth rose to infamy for his direct involvement in the persecution, torture, and murder of thousands during World War II. This documentary traces his path from early Nazi activism in Vienna to his brutal reign in occupied Poland, and ultimately, his postwar trial and execution for war crimes. After joining the Nazi Party in 1931 and the SS shortly after, Göth became involved in paramilitary operations and smuggling arms into Austria. Following the Anschluss in 1938, he advanced quickly through the ranks. By 1943, he was selected to command the newly established Kraków-Płaszów camp, built on the grounds of desecrated Jewish cemeteries. Under Göth’s leadership, Płaszów expanded into a site of mass murder, forced labor, and terror. Göth personally oversaw the liquidation of ghettos across southern Poland, including Kraków, Tarnów, and Szebnie, and ordered the deportation of tens of thousands of Jews to Belzec and Auschwitz. At Płaszów, he earned the nickname “Butcher of Kraków” for personally executing prisoners from the balcony of his villa, using his trained dogs as instruments of terror, and enforcing collective punishment. Witnesses recall random shootings, public hangings, and brutal treatment of workers under his command. Despite his loyalty to Nazi ideology, Göth was arrested by the Gestapo in 1944 for corruption, theft of Jewish property, and misuse of power. After the war, he was captured by U.S. forces and extradited to Poland. In 1946, the Polish Supreme National Tribunal found him guilty of ordering mass deportations and killings, and sentenced him to death. He was executed on 13 September 1946 in Kraków, not far from the camp he once commanded. His final words: “Heil Hitler.” This film presents a thorough, historically grounded account of Göth’s actions and the lives destroyed under his command, drawing on survivor testimonies, postwar trial records, and the broader history of the Holocaust in Poland.This episode is part of the series The Nazi Camp Commandants.Watch the full documentary and explore hundreds of historical films at:WorldHistory.tv