History of Sorts

As the Second World War drew to a close and the Nazi regime faced inevitable defeat, its acts of brutality did not diminish — in many cases, they escalated into desperate and horrific final acts of violence. One of the most chilling episodes of this period was the last use of gas chambers at Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria: the execution of 33 Upper Austrian socialist and communist leaders. This event, occurring in late April 1945, stands as both a tragic symbol of Nazi fanaticism and a testament to the indomitable spirit of political resistance even in the darkest times.

Mauthausen, opened in 1938 shortly after the Anschluss (the annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany), quickly became one of the most notorious labor and extermination camps in the Nazi system. Unlike camps such as Auschwitz, which primarily targeted Jews and other groups deemed racially inferior, Mauthausen was designated from the beginning as a “Grade III” camp, reserved for the most “incorrigible political enemies” of the Reich. Among its prisoners were political dissidents, intellectuals, members of the resistance, and those who had actively opposed Nazism.

By April 1945, Allied forces were advancing rapidly from both east and west, and the collapse of the Third Reich was imminent. Yet in these final weeks, rather than attempting to negotiate, surrender, or mitigate their crimes, many Nazi leaders chose to intensify the murder of their perceived enemies. At Mauthausen, the SS camp administration, driven by a mix of revenge, fear of retribution, and ideological zeal, prepared for one final mass killing.

The 33 individuals targeted were prominent socialist and communist leaders from Upper Austria, including former local politicians, trade unionists, and underground resistance members. These men had already survived years of harassment, imprisonment, and forced labor under Nazi rule. Some had been arrested long before the war even began, punished for their commitment to worker’s rights, democracy, and the ideals of international solidarity. Now, as the Reich crumbled around them, they became the last victims of Mauthausen’s gas chambers.

On April 28, 1945, the 33 men were taken into the camp’s small gas chamber, disguised as a “shower room” to deceive prisoners. There, they were murdered with Zyklon B, the same chemical agent used in the mass exterminations at Auschwitz.

Their murders were carried out with cold efficiency, even as the sounds of approaching Allied troops could be heard in the distance. Just days later, on May 5, 1945, Mauthausen was liberated by American forces.

The significance of this final gassing lies not only in its cruelty but also in its deliberate targeting of political opponents. While the Holocaust is rightly remembered primarily for its devastation of European Jewry, the murder of socialists, communists, and other political dissidents was also central to Nazi ideology. Hitler and his followers viewed Marxism and socialism as mortal enemies — “Jewish Bolshevism,” as they called it — and had long associated political leftism with a global conspiracy against the German Volk. In killing these 33 men, the Nazis sought to symbolically eliminate the ideals of socialism, workers’ rights, and political resistance at the very moment their own regime was dying.

The deaths of these 33 leaders highlight another important truth: the Nazi regime’s crimes were not just spontaneous acts of wartime brutality, but calculated efforts to reshape society according to a fanatical vision of racial purity and authoritarian control. Even when the war was undeniably lost, and the perpetrators had no hope of escape or victory, they chose extermination over surrender.

In the postwar years, the memory of these victims played a crucial role in shaping Austrian historical consciousness. Although Austria often portrayed itself as the “first victim” of Nazi aggression, the experiences of those who had resisted — particularly socialists and communists — revealed a more complex reality. Many Austrians had collaborated willingly with the Nazis, while others, like the 33 executed at Mauthausen, paid the ultimate price for their opposition.

Today, Mauthausen stands as a memorial site, a place of mourning and education. The story of the 33 Upper Austrian socialist and communist leaders reminds us of the dangers of political extremism and the courage it takes to stand against tyranny, even when such resistance seems hopeless. Their execution, the final atrocity carried out in Mauthausen’s gas chambers, serves as a somber warning about the enduring need to defend human rights and democratic values against the forces of hatred and oppression.

sources

https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/mauthausen-concentration-camp

https://www.mauthausen-memorial.org/en/News/Concerning-Doubts-about-the-Existence-of-a-Gas-Chamber-at-the-Mauthausen-Concentration-Camp

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/mauthausen

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/gassing-operations

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauthausen_concentration_camp

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