Educational purpose only. This post documents historical events related to World War II and condemns the Nazi regime, war crimes, and all totalitarian ideologies. We do not glorify violence or hate.
Alexander Piorkowski: The Dachau Commandant Who Begged for Mercy — And Was Denied
Alexander Piorkowski was one of the SS officers responsible for the systematic brutality and violence of the Nazi concentration camp system, serving as commandant of Dachau during a critical period of World War II. Born in Bremen in 1904, Piorkowski came of age amid the political chaos and economic collapse of post-World War I Germany. Like many young men disillusioned by the instability of the Weimar Republic, he gravitated toward the Nazi movement — joining the SA in 1929, the Nazi Party shortly thereafter, and the SS in 1933 as Adolf Hitler consolidated power .
This documentary examines the rise and fall of Alexander Piorkowski — from his ascent within the SS to his role as commandant of Dachau, the atrocities committed under his watch, and his desperate, ultimately futile efforts to escape justice after the war.
1. The Making of a Nazi Commandant
Piorkowski trained as a mechanic and worked as a traveling salesman before fully committing himself to the Nazi cause . His SS career advanced steadily: he became an SS-Sturmbannführer and, after serving at Lichtenburg concentration camp, was transferred to Dachau in August 1938 as Schutzhaftlagerführer (protective custody camp leader) .
In February 1940, Piorkowski was appointed commandant of Dachau — a position he would hold until mid-September 1942 . During this period, Dachau expanded its function as a site of terror, forced labor, and systematic killing. His tenure coincided with the intensification of the Nazi war machine and the increasing exploitation of concentration camp prisoners for industrial production and medical experimentation .
2. Systematic Terror: Crimes Under Piorkowski’s Command
Under Piorkowski’s leadership, Dachau became a place where prisoners faced extreme punishments — including flogging, torture by hanging, and prolonged solitary confinement . Survivors testified that Piorkowski personally approved hundreds of punishment orders and participated in acts of violence against prisoners .
One of the most egregious crimes committed on his watch was the mass shooting of Soviet prisoners of war. Many of these prisoners were intentionally erased from camp records and secretly executed, their bodies cremated to conceal the evidence . Thousands perished under his command.
Piorkowski also played a critical role in enabling the medical experiments conducted by SS doctors such as Sigmund Rascher and Claus Schilling. He granted doctors unrestricted access to prisoners, facilitating the selection of victims for brutal research on hypothermia, malaria, and other conditions — experiments that caused immense suffering and death among those deemed expendable .
3. Dismissal and Evasion of Accountability
Despite his central role in the camp’s atrocities, Piorkowski’s career in the SS came to an end not because of his crimes, but because of corruption. In September 1942, he was relieved of his command and officially discharged from the SS in August 1943 due to corruption charges . For the remainder of the war, he avoided direct accountability for the systematic murder and abuse that had occurred under his authority.
4. Justice at Dachau: The Trial and Final Plea
After Germany’s defeat, Piorkowski could no longer hide from his past. From January 6 to 17, 1947, he stood trial before a U.S. military tribunal at the Dachau trials . He was charged with war crimes for his complicity in the deportation, abduction, and ill-treatment of prisoners; his supervision of inhumane medical experiments; and the mass shootings of Soviet POWs .
The evidence was damning. Piorkowski was found guilty and sentenced to death .
In the months that followed, Piorkowski made desperate and futile petitions for a pardon . He begged for mercy — but none was granted. On October 22, 1948, Alexander Piorkowski was hanged at Landsberg Prison .
His last words were: “Long live Germany, long live my family. Be well, Herr Pfarrer, I am ready. My son, take revenge for me” . Even in his final moments, he showed no remorse — only a call for vengeance.
5. The Legacy of Dachau and the Limits of Justice
Piorkowski’s execution was one of the few instances where justice was served for the crimes committed at Dachau. Yet his case also highlights the broader failures of post-war accountability: many perpetrators of Nazi atrocities were never tried, and many who were convicted served only a fraction of their sentences as Cold War politics reshaped the priorities of the Allies .
The story of Alexander Piorkowski is a reminder that the machinery of genocide was operated not only by high-ranking ideologues but also by mid-level administrators and camp commandants who carried out the day-to-day work of terror. It is also a reminder that the pursuit of justice after such crimes is never complete — and that the victims’ demand for accountability remains an obligation that history can never fully discharge.
Primary Sources:
Alexander Piorkowski biography — Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site
Wikipedia — Alexander Piorkowski
Wikipedia — Hilmar Wäckerle
Military Wiki — Alexander Piorkowski
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum — Dachau trials records
Jewish Virtual Library — Dachau Trials overview
Deutsche Nationalbibliothek — Study on the Piorkowski Trial