After his arrest in the 1960s, Anhalt bragged about selecting 300,000 prisoners to be murdered in the gas chambers, albeit this was determined to be an overestimate.

He lived a quiet life with his family in Thuringia in East Germany, working as a tractor driver.

During questioning the next day, Anhalt admitted to being a guard at Auschwitz, but denied personally committing any atrocities.

Anhalt signed a typed confession in which he admitted to taking items from Jewish prisoners who had been gassed.

During an interrogation on 21 August 1963, Anhalt said "During my service in the Auschwitz concentration camp, I did not commit any crimes whatsoever.

At least I don't see the shooting, killing, beating and ill-treating of prisoners in the Auschwitz concentration camp as a crime.

I simply fulfilled my duty as a National Socialist and sometimes acted out of personal interest to speed up the extermination of the Jews.