Heinrich Bütefisch is not a well-known name in the context of World War II and the Holocaust, yet he was responsible for the deaths of thousands; in addition to that, he also worked for a company that had helped to develop Zyklon B, the gas used to kill millions.
The company that produced Zyklon B was Degesch -Deutsche Gesellschaft für Schädlingsbekämpfung(German Corporation for Pest Control), which was owned for 42.5 percent by IG Farben.
Heinrich Bütefisch was a leading manager at IG Farben, and an Obersturmbannführer in the SS.
He was appointed head of the gasoline synthesis program to be established at the IG Auschwitz plant and in charge of production at the Buna Werke factory at Monowitz, sometimes referred to as Auschwitz III.
When the Nazis were building the factory, Jews in the surrounding areas were removed from their homes, as well as a few Polish residents. The Nazis gave those homes to Germans employed at the factory.
The life expectancy for Jews working at Monowitz was 3 to 4 months, and for those working in the nearby supply mines, it was only 1 month.
An estimated 10,000 died at Monowitz/Buna Werke. Bütefisch claimed he was never actually present at the Monowitz concentration camp and only knew the construction site from a few visits. I doubt this was true, and even if it was, he was the man in charge and ultimately responsible for everything that happened there.
The U.S. Army arrested Bütefisch in 1945. In 1948, he was indicted at the Nuremberg IG Farben trial and sentenced to 6 years in prison, including time already served.
After his early release from prison in 1951, he joined several supervisory boards, including Deutsche Gasolin AG, Feldmühle, and Papier- und Zellstoffwerke AG, the following year.
He was also hired as a consultant for Ruhrchemie AG, Oberhausen, and became a member of its supervisory board in 1952.
Of the 24 defendants at the IG Farben Trial, 10 were acquitted, and one was removed for medical reasons. The remaining 13 men received sentences varying from 1 to 8 years; none served the full term.
Sources
http://www.wollheim-memorial.de/en/heinrich_buetefisch_18941969
https://www.chemie.de/lexikon/Heinrich_B%C3%BCtefisch.html
https://digitalcommons.law.lsu.edu/nuremberg_photos/63/
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