August Becker Nazi military man, scientist, SS Obersturmbannführer Date of Birth: 17.08.1900 Country: Germany

Biography of August Becker

August Becker, a Nazi military officer and scientist, was born in Staufenberg, Hesse, Germany. He came from a family of local factory owners. After serving in the German army during World War I, Becker pursued studies in chemistry and physics at the University of Giessen.

In 1933, Becker obtained his PhD degree and worked as an assistant at the university for two more years. During this time, he joined the Nazi party in September 1930 and became a member of the SS in February 1931. From February to April 1934, he worked in the Hessian branch of the Gestapo.

In May 1935, Becker was assigned to an SS unit in a resort town in northern Hesse and held the rank of Obersturmführer. He was mainly involved in military matters at that time. Later, he was transferred to Berlin, where he joined the Central Reich Security Office. It was there that he was eventually tasked with the "T4 Project," a program aimed at exterminating mentally disabled individuals using carbon monoxide gas.

Becker willingly participated in the project, viewing Hitler's orders as a justification for his involvement in mass killings. He personally conducted the first test, resulting in the deaths of approximately 18 to 20 mentally disabled prisoners. In early January 1940, Becker worked at the specially converted Brandenburg Institute, where gas chambers were constructed to execute the victims.

The chambers were rooms measuring 3x5x3 meters, with drilled pipes along the walls to introduce the gas. The chambers featured reinforced doors to prevent gas from escaping and allowed the "researchers" to observe the fate of their "experimental rabbits." The experiments conducted at the institute proved the effectiveness of carbon monoxide gas as a lethal agent.

Later, Becker was transferred to a new project developed by Heinrich Himmler's department, known as the "gas vans." The principle of operation was similar to static gas chambers, but the use of functioning engines allowed for savings on gas cylinders, simply by redirecting the exhaust pipe into the vehicle's interior.

After the war, Becker was sentenced to three years in prison as an ordinary member of the SS. Upon his release, he worked as a salesman briefly before attracting the attention of authorities once again. This time, further investigations revealed more damning facts from his biography, leading to his arrest and a ten-year prison sentence. However, due to his poor health, Becker was released early. He passed away on December 31, 1967.