Franz Ziereis: Mauthausen Commandant Who Ran One of Nazi Germany’s Deadliest Camps

World History: True Stories of the 20th Century · Apr 13, 2026 · 12m

Franz Ziereis, commandant of Mauthausen concentration camp, oversaw one of the deadliest systems of forced labor and mass killing in Nazi Germany during the Second World War. Franz Ziereis was the longest-serving and most notorious commandant of the Mauthausen concentration camp, presiding over one of the deadliest camp systems in Nazi Germany during the Second World War. Born on 13 August 1905 in Munich, Ziereis came from a working-class background and initially trained as a merchant before joining the Reichswehr in the 1920s. Drawn to National Socialism, he left the army in 1936 and entered…