Philipp Schmitt

Philipp Johann Adolf Schmitt (20 November 1902 – 8 August 1950) was a German officer of the Schutzstaffel (SS) who served as commandant of Fort Breendonk, a Nazi prison camp in German-occupied Belgium during World War II.

In September 1930 Schmitt renewed his party membership and in March 1932 he joined the Schutzstaffel (SS) (member nr.

Before the start of the Second World War Schmitt was transferred to Wiesbaden where he oversaw order during the road works of the Organisation Todt.

In November 1943 Schmitt was fired as commandant as it became known that he had engaged in black market practices,[1] for which he was formally reprimanded by Ernst Kaltenbrunner.

After recovering from an illness he was transferred to Denmark where he was part of the Aarhus division and involved in the murder of four Danish resistance members.

Schmitt was tried in August 1949 for his role in the deaths of 83 inmates at Breendonk and for the inhuman treatment of the prisoners in the facility.