On May 24, 1933 the 30 year old, single attorney at law Dr. Alfred Strauss from Munich who was in the concentration camp Dachau as a prisoner under protective custody was killed by 2 pistol shots by SS man Johann Kantschuster who escorted him on a walk prescribed to him by the camp doctor, outside of the fenced part of the camp.
Kantschuster gives the following report: He himself had to urinate; Strauss proceeded on his way. Suddenly Strauss broke away towards the shrub located at a distance of about 6 m from the line. When he noticed it, he fired 2 shots at the fugitive from a distance of about 8 m, whereupon Strauss collapsed dead.
On the same day, May 24, 1933, a judicial inspection of the locality took place. The corpse of Strauss was lying at the edge of the wood. Leather slippers were on his feet. He wore a sock on one foot, while the other foot was bare, obviously because of an injury to this foot. Subsequently an autopsy was performed. Two bullets had entered the back of the head. Besides the body showed several black and blue spots and also open wounds. Coroner's inquest was ordered; it took place on 26 May 1933. According to the expert's opinion death was caused by cerebral paralysis due to one bullet penetrating and one bullet lodging in the right portion of the cerebrum. Older scars were found at the right hip and seat, as well as hemorrhages of the left abdominal wall. The direction of the firing channels further revealed that the bullets had been fired from low behind and upwards to the right. The distance from which they were fired could not be established by the autopsy; for this purpose chemical and microscopical examinations are necessary.
I have charged Kantschuster today with murder and have made application for opening and execution of the judicial preliminary investigation as well as for a warrant of arrest against him.
The District Court Public Prosecutor Attorney
WINTERSBERGER
TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT 642-PS
File No: G 866/33 Munich, 1 June 1933
State Prosecution at the
State Court [Landgericht] Munich
Local Telephone: 5791 Long Distance: 57801.
To the Prosecutor General at The Supreme State Court [Oberlandesgericht] Munich.
Subject: Decease of the arrestee in protective custody, Leonhard Hausmann in the Dachau concentration camp.
No. 12431 with one copy submitted to the State Minister for Justice, Munich, 2 June 1933