Ernst Kaltenbrunner was born on 4 October 1903 in the Valley of the Inn, near Braunau, the birthplace of Adolf Hitler. He was descended from a family of (traditionally) country artisans, however, his father and grandfather were lawyers. Kaltenbrunner was educated in Linz, where Adolf Eichmann was one of his boyhood friends, and then subsequently studied law at Graz University.
Kaltenbrunner joined the Nazi Party and the SS in Austria in 1932. Prior to 1933, he was the District speaker and legal counselor of the SS division VIII. After 1933 he was the commander of a regiment, and later of the SS division VIII.
From mid-1935, Kaltenbrunner was the leader of the Austrian SS. He assisted in the Anschluss and Hitler promoted him to SS-Brigadefuhrer on the day the Anschluss was completed. On 11 September 1938, he was promoted to the rank of SS-Gruppenfuhrer. He was also a member of the Reichstag from 1938.
From 1938 to 1943, Kaltenbrunner gained more and more power as a result of promotions. In 1941, he was appointed Major-General of the Police. However, his power base was primarily in Vienna and not Berlin. This all changed with the death of Reinhard Heydrich. In June 1942, Heydrich was assassinated in Prague. In January 1943, Kaltenbrunner replaced him as Chief of the Security Police and the SD. Hitler rewarded Kaltenbrunner for his work with the Knight’s Cross of the War Merit, Cross with Swords, a rare award and a sign of Hitler’s opinion of Kaltenbrunner.
Kaltenbrunner was involved with the organisation behind the murder of Jews and others in the death camps. In every sense, he simply carried on the work of Heydrich. Kaltenbrunner also gave orders that captured Allied POW’s should be shot.
It was often said that even Himmler feared him, as Kaltenbrunner was an intimidating figure with his 1.94 meter (6 ft 4 in) height, facial scars, and volatile temper. Kaltenbrunner was also responsible for heading Operation Long Jump, the attempt to assassinate Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt. This mission was thwarted by Soviet intelligence agent Gevork Vartanian.
All in all, he was one of the highest ranking members of the SS. As the war was coming to an end he escaped his headquarters from Berlin and made his way to Altaussee, where he had often vacationed and had strong ties.
On 12 May 1945, he gave himself up claiming to be a doctor and offering a false name. What’s most interesting his mistress spotted him as he was led away and, by chance occurrence, she called out his name and rushed to hug him. This action tipped off the Allied troops, resulting in his capture, trial, and execution.