Philipp Johann Adolf Schmitt was born on 20 November 1902 in Bad Kissingen, Bavaria, Germany. Like many young men in the aftermath of World War I, he joined a paramilitary group, enlisting in a Bavarian Freikorps unit during the turbulent Weimar years. His early political involvement included membership in the Bund Oberland, a far-right organization, during the 1920s.

Schmitt joined the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in 1925 but allowed his membership to lapse before rejoining in 1930. By 1932, he had enlisted in the Schutzstaffel (SS), receiving steady promotions over the following years. In 1936, he was transferred to the Sicherheitsdienst (SD), the intelligence agency of the SS. Two years later, he held the rank of SS-Hauptsturmführer.

In the years leading up to World War II, Schmitt was stationed in Wiesbaden and assigned to oversee order for the Organisation Todt, which managed Nazi infrastructure projects. As war loomed, his profile rose within the SS as he was repositioned for active duty in the occupied territories.

Following the Nazi invasion of Belgium in 1940, Schmitt was appointed SS-Sturmbannführer in Brussels under the SD. One of his earliest and most infamous assignments was establishing a Nazi prison camp at Fort Breendonk, a former Belgian military fort. There, he served as commandant from 1940 until 1943.

Fort Breendonk quickly became synonymous with brutality. Under Schmitt’s leadership, it operated as a place of extreme torture, inhuman punishment, and political repression. Survivors testified that Schmitt allowed or directly ordered severe mistreatment. One of the most feared aspects of his presence was his dog “Lump,” which he reportedly encouraged to attack prisoners.

In July 1942, Schmitt was also put in charge of the SS-Sammellager Mecheln, a detention and deportation hub located at the Dossin Barracks in Mechelen. More than 25,000 Jews, including children, were deported from this site to the Auschwitz death camp under his oversight.

Schmitt’s downfall began in November 1943 when he was removed from command due to black market activity and corruption. This led to a formal reprimand from high-ranking SS official Ernst Kaltenbrunner. His replacement at Breendonk was Karl Schönwetter.

Afterward, Schmitt was transferred to Denmark, where he participated in the murder of four Danish resistance members. Near the end of the war, he was moved to the Netherlands and was wounded in the leg by American artillery near Roermond.

Schmitt was arrested in May 1945 in the Netherlands. While in custody at a prison in Rotterdam, he was identified by a former inmate of Fort Breendonk. In November 1945, he was extradited to Belgium and ironically imprisoned at Breendonk, the very facility he once controlled.

His trial began in August 1949. Schmitt faced charges for the deaths of 83 inmates, as well as widespread inhuman treatment and torture. Throughout the proceedings, Schmitt showed no remorse. He denied any wrongdoing and insisted he was simply “re-educating” the prisoners under Nazi orders.

On 25 November 1949, he was found guilty and sentenced to death. Less than a year later, on 8 August 1950, Philipp Schmitt was executed by firing squad in Antwerp at 6 a.m.