Bütefisch, Heinrich Wilhelm August

Date of birth:: February 24th, 1894 (Hannover/Hannover, Germany)
Date of death:: August 13th, 1969 (Essen/North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany)
Service number:: 5.771.136 (NSDAP)
Nationality:: German

Biography

Heinrich Bütefisch was born on February 24th, 1894 in Hannover. When he left school in 1911 he joined the Technischen Hochschule Hannover to study chemistry.
In 1914 he left school to join the German Army in the First World War. After the war he finished his education. In 1920 he finished and started working with BASF and the Merseburg Ammoniakwerk. In 1925 he became Abteilungsleiter (sectionleader) and in 1927 Prokura (procurator). In 1930 he became the Leiter der Leunawerke of I.G. Farben and in 1936 Beauftragter für Ölproduktion as assistant to Carl Krauch. Bütefisch joined the NSDAP in 1937. In 1938 he was appointed Vorstandsmitglied der Technischen Ausschusses der I.G. Farben (Board Member) and became Wehrwirtschaftsführer later that year.

In 1939 Heinrich Bütefisch became Ehrenmitglied der SS (Honorary member) with the rank of SS-Obersturmbannführer. From 1941 onwards he was the Leiter der Treibstoffproduktion der I.G. Farben (Leader for production of fuels) at the KZ Auschwitz-Monowitz. With this function he became responsible for the treatment of the prisonworkers. Bütefisch was arrested by American troops in 1945.

During the I.G. Farben-Prozess (part of the Neurenberg trials), Bütefisch was in 1948 sentenced to six years imprisonment for his part in the treatment of prisoners. He was inprisoned in the Kriegsverbrechtergefängnis Landsberg (War Criminals Prison at Landsberg), but was already released in 1951. After his imprisonment he became member of the advisary board with several firms like Ruhrchemie AG, Gasolin AG and Feldmühle. In 1964 he was awarded the Große Bundesverdienstkreuz, but returned it when it led to many protetst. Between 1963 and 1965, Heinrich Bütefisch played a roll as wittness in the 1.Auschwitzprozess in Frankfurt.

He died in Essen on August 13th, 1969.

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