The SS had many tasks in Nazi Germany. One of them was to run and guard the concentration camps. SS men working in Mauthausen concentration camp had different areas of responsibility in and around the campsite. Whilst the site of deployment changed regularly for ordinary guards, the staff of command remained mostly unchanged. The latter was unique to Mauthausen concentration camp.
In its seven years of existence, about 12,000-15,000 SS guards worked here. A small number of female guards was also stationed in Mauthausen at the end of World War II. Not all of the guards were members of the SS.
Until 1941/42, both the staff of command and the guard squad was comprised of exclusively German and Austrian SS men. As a consequence of the enlargement of the concentration camp complex the demand for guards increased. New guards were systematically recruited from German-speaking minorities in Eastern Europe.