Josef Erber

Josef Erber (birth name: Josef Houstek) (16 October 1897 – 31 October 1987) was a Nazi German SS-Oberscharführer at Auschwitz concentration camp. He was in charge of the crematoria.

Early life Erber was an ethnic German born Josef Houstek in Ottendorf, Czech Republic, on October 16, 1897. The town had a population of around 820 at the time. This region of the Czech Republic would not become part of Czechoslovakia until 1918.

Auschwitz In November of 1940, Houstek was deployed to serve at Auschwitz as a guard. There, he was responsible for identifying which incoming detainees should be kept alive and which should be sent to the gas chambers. Personally killing dozens of detainees, he is mentioned several times in the account of Sonderkommando member Filip Müller with a reputation as one of the most notoriously cruel members of the SS personnel.

Capture After serving at Auschwitz, Josef Houstek changed his name to Josef Erber in 1944. Auschwitz was liberated in January of 1945. Erber was taken prisoner in May of 1945 by the Americans. He was released on December 25, 1947, after which he worked at a spinning mill in Hof, Bavaria for 15 years.

Arrest and trial On October 1, 1962, Erber was arrested. He was tried at the Frankfurt Auschwitz trials where he earned the nickname "the horror of Birkenau." Erber claimed to be nothing more than a clerk at Auschwitz who had no authority, merely counting the number of arrivals without deciding their fate. He was found guilty of mass murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Later life In 1985, the 87-year-old Erber was nearly released from prison because of his age in a decision by a lower court. But the Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt overturned this ruling and kept him imprisoned. However, Erber was released from prison the following year. He was killed in a traffic accident at the age of 90 on October 31, 1987.