Portrait of Walter Rauff

Birthday profile

Walter Rauff

Walter Rauff, German SS officer (died 1984)

Born
June 19, 1906
Died
May 14, 1984
Zodiac sign
Gemini
Birth year
1906

About Walter Rauff

Hermann Julius Walther Rauff, also Walther Rauff (19 June 1906 – 14 May 1984) was a mid-ranking SS commander in Nazi Germany. From January 1938, he was an aide of Reinhard Heydrich firstly in the Security Service (Sicherheitsdienst or SD), later in the Reich Security Main Office. He worked for the Federal Intelligence Service of West Germany (Bundesnachrichtendienst) between 1958 and 1962, and was subsequently employed by the Israeli secret service. He sailed to South America in December 1949 and landed in Ecuador, initially living in Quito. He was described in a documentary on the History Channel as one of the seven most dangerous Nazis who fled to South America after World War II. Rauff escaped an Allied internment camp in Italy and then was able to hide in Italian monasteries. He was able to live in Quito, Ecuador, for almost ten years after World War II, departing in 1958 and travelling to Chile before returning to Germany in 1960 to collect his German Navy pension. After this Rauff was recruited by Augusto Pinochet. Rauff played a role in the creation of the Chilean internal security apparatus during the military dictatorship. His funeral in Santiago, Chile was attended by several former Nazis. Rauff is accused of being responsible for nearly 100,000 deaths during World War II. Among other actions, he was instrumental in the use of mobile gas chambers for the execution of prisoners. He was arrested in 1945, but subsequently escaped and was never brought to trial. They required thousands of Jews in the countryside to wear the Star of David, and they created special Judenrat-like committees of Jewish leaders to implement Nazi policies under threat of imprisonment or death. During his thirteen years in the Navy, Rauff became acquainted with Reinhard Heydrich and saw service in South America and Spain as a young officer in 1924.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

The world when Walter Rauff was born

Walter Rauff was born in 1906. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1906

  • Best-selling bookThe Jungle by Upton Sinclair

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports moment"Hitless Wonders" Chicago White Sox upset Cubs in World Series
  • Top headlineSan Francisco earthquake and fire — 3,000+ killed
  • Technology milestoneFirst radio broadcast of voice and music
  • World population~1.66B

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderTheodore Roosevelt
  • U.S. population84.6M

1906 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Walter Rauff's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19062026
Population84.6M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Library of Congress, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

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