Anton Thernes (8 February 1892 – 3 December 1944) was a Nazi German war criminal, deputy commandant of administration at the notorious Majdanek concentration camp on the outskirts of Lublin, Poland in World War II. He was tried at the Majdanek Trials and executed on 3 December 1944, along with five other war criminals, near the gas chambers and the Majdanek crematorium.
Thernes was given the task of destroying the evidence of crimes against humanity and genocide, but ran out of time due to his ineptitude and lethargy. He was unable to destroy the chimneys and set the camp on fire before Soviet forces arrived at the camp outskirts. Thernes was caught by the Soviets and tried at the Majdanek Trials together with his assistant SS-Hauptsturmführer Wilhelm Gerstenmeier. He denied knowing anything, but the proceedings were swamped with testimonial proofs offered by eyewitnesses. During his trial, Thernes said, "The people here were mostly Jews, they were not real prisoners of war. I am not a sadist!"
Thernes was publicly hanged on 3 December 1944 along with five other war criminals, close to the gas chambers and the Majdanek crematorium.
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