Ernst-Robert Grawitz

Grawitz greeting members of the National Leader's School (Reichsführerschule) of the German Red Cross, February 20, 1939

Ernst-Robert Grawitz (8 June 1899 – 24 April 1945) was a German physician (and an SS Reichsarzt) in Nazi Germany during World War II.

Early life

Grawitz was born in Charlottenburg, in the western part of Berlin, Germany.

Career

As Reichsarzt SS and Polizei (Reichsphysician SS and Police), Grawitz advised Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler on the use of gas chambers. Grawitz was also head of the German Red Cross. His wife, Ilse, was the daughter of SS-Obergruppenführer and General der Waffen-SS Siegfried Taubert.

Towards the end of World War II in Europe, Grawitz was a physician in Adolf Hitler's Führerbunker. When he heard that other officials were leaving Berlin in order to escape from advancing Soviet armies, Grawitz petitioned Hitler to allow him to leave; his request was refused.

Death

As the Soviets approached, a grenade exploded in Grawitz's house in Babelsberg, killing him, his wife and his children. It is assumed that it was suicide in an act that also killed his family. The event was depicted in the 2004 historical film Der Untergang (Downfall), in which he was portrayed by Christian Hoening.