Richard Baer

Richard Baer (9 September 1911 – 17 June 1963) was a German SS commander during the Nazi era who was the commandant of the Auschwitz I concentration camp from May 1944 to February 1945. As well as the commandant of Nordhausen-Dora from February 1945- April 1945. Following the war, Baer lived under an assumed name to avoid prosecution but was recognized and arrested in 1960. He died in detention before he could stand trial. 2Life Baer was born in Floss, Bavaria in 1911. Originally a trained confectioner, he became a guard in Dachau concentration camp after becoming unemployed in 1930. He was a member of NSDAP (no. 454991) and the SS (no. 44225). In 1939, he joined the SS-Totenkopfverbände, and was appointed adjutant of Neuengamme concentration camp in 1942 following spells in Oranienburg, Columbia-Haus and Sachsenhause