Anton Burger was an Austrian SS-Hauptsturmführer (captain) and commandant of the Theresienstadt concentration camp during World War II. He was born on November 19, 1911, in Neunkirchen, Austria, and became a member of the Nazi Party and the SS, where he quickly rose through the ranks.
Burger's role in the Holocaust was significant due to his position in Theresienstadt, a camp that served as a transit point for many Jews before they were sent to extermination camps in the East. Theresienstadt was also used as a 'model' concentration camp for propaganda purposes, to deceive the International Red Cross and other organizations about the true nature of the Holocaust.
After the war, Burger went into hiding and was never prosecuted for his war crimes. It is believed that he lived under a false identity in Germany until his death on December 20, 1991. The full extent of his actions during the war and his life afterward remained shrouded in mystery, as he successfully evaded justice. His death marked the end of the life of one of the many SS officers who played a crucial role in the implementation of the Nazi's Final Solution but managed to escape the post-war trials that brought many of his contemporaries to account for their atrocities.
