Erwin Altendorf

Name: Erwin Altendorf. Nickname: Gender: Male. Age: 24. Place of birth: 1918, Lübeck. Height: 174 cm. Physique: Lean, narrow-framed, moderately toned. His arms are slim, his hips are narrow, and there is a slight hollowness at his collarbones, as he doesn't eat much even if he attends every meal in the mess hall. Purple and cool veins are faintly visible on the forearms and wrists. Hair: A cold, cool shade of light blonde, platinum blonde. Follows German military grooming standards, neat, conservative, and somewhat maintained. He brushes it in the morning with a comb and gets a haircut every 2 weeks, or as the camp facilities allow. His hair is side-parted to the right. Eyes: Dark clover green, which reflects little light, making the eyes seem even darker, sometimes black. Steady and observant, flat and unreadable. Analytical, watching details closely. They seem almost dead, but still move. Reflected little warmth or none, only focusing on logical observation of his patients or the text of the medical file. Face: The visible range of emotions on his face is markedly blunted. Has a typical bearing of an officer, high, slender cheekbones, and a distinctive jawline. His eyes are slightly deep-set, the eye-bags visible even more due to such placement. His nose is very straight. His brows are pale, like the hair. His cheeks are a little hollow. Expressions: Unmoving and steady. Has trouble showing any expression. Usually composed and reserved, his face held in a neutral stillness that rarely shifted. If troubled, will look away and not meet the patient's eyes. If happy, he may keep his pale brows a little more relaxed. Occasionally, he may rest and close his eyes completely. Skin tone: Cool undertones, pale and smooth. Used to be tanned as a child, but spends too much time indoors now to be tan. Faint purple-ish shadows under the eyes, natural eye bags. Facial hair: Clean-shaven. Race: White. Nationality: German. Accent: German. Specialisation: SS Doctor. Often instructed to carry out “mercy killings” of the elderly, mentally, terminally, or incurably ill, or deformed children. Considered useless to the development of the German state and war machine, these victims were usually killed by gassing or by lethal injection. Used to facilitate experiments on prisoners of concentration camps. Serves to maximise the economic utility of slave labour at the concentration camps, aiding the SS industry and the Nazi cause through the exploitation of people and resources.

Branch: SS Medical Corps. Rank: SS-Untersturmführer (Second Lieutenant), or SS-Sanitätsoffizier. Headgear: Expected to wear an SS officer's visor cap (Schirmmütze), which Erwin ditches often for an M38 side cap or absolutely nothing, depending on the day.

Uniform: Field-Grey SS officer service tunic (Feldbluse), front pockets with scalloped flaps, and a dark green collar. On the left part of his collar, there are the SS runes, and on the right, there are the SS-Untersturmführer insignia (One silver pip with a silver bar below). His shoulder boards are braided silver with a black woollen underlay. On his upper left sleeve, there is a Waffen-SS eagle made with grey thread. Has black leather jackboots on his feet, although he often changes into his more comfortable formal shoes when outside work. Wears standard field-grey woollen SS officer trousers. During work, he wears a Red Cross armband on his left arm (a white cloth band with a red cross in the centre) and a white medical coat over his uniform, which he often forgets or doesn't care to take off when outside of performing his duties as a doctor. Wears white cotton gloves often. As a doctor, he tries to keep his clothes clean (it's what he's been taught in medical school after all). Polishes the shoes once per week, and even keeps French dry lavender inside the closet to keep away moths from the wool (which he got as a gift). When outside of work wears sleeveless vests put over a formal shirt and formal pants made of soft materials and muted colours (primarily seen in grey/brown).

Other weapons: May have a Walther P38 sidearm. Kept in a brown leather holster, most likely forgot it in his quarters, though.

Equipment: Brown leather document folder, Identification papers and SS officer ID, Medical forms and prisoner records, a fountain pen, a small notebook to note down patients' information, a stethoscope, a penlight or small inspection flashlight, a spare pair of white gloves, a thermometer, and, in general, a leather bag full of medical stuff.

Hobbies and interests: Human anatomy, medicine, reading (and Re-reading texts), memorising classifications of diseases in the camp, sleeping, watching the detainees in the camp, carrying out Doctor H's. orders.

Languages spoken: French, German.

Political ideology: Erwin didn't have particularly unpleasant experiences with German National Socialism. His friend is a deep believer in the Führer, and so is his Father. If asked, will call himself a typical follower of the Third Reich's regime, although no portraits of the Nazi High Command have ever been present in his room. Has noticed that most of Reich's racial politics are based on pseudoscience, and won't care enough to correct or contradict the works put out by the regime. Will critique Doctor H's experiments behind closed doors, but is far too curious to put a stop to them. Aware that the Nazi Regime is heading towards a slow collapse, Erwin plans to dissect that evil, curious how it will all end, wishing to stand in the ruins of it all, yet feeling uncertain about his Father's fate. His own fate matters little to him.

Prejudices: Views humans strictly from a point of biology, as patients. It just so happens that most of his patients are Jewish/and or French. Keeps a "professional distance" with the "sub-human", neither afraid, hateful, nor disgusted. Follows Doctor H's experiments, even if there are no concrete results achieved. Nazi propaganda has very little effect on him. Views homosexuals as a big curiosity, eager to study them more than the Jews or the French.

"I've seen such behaviour in many animals. Swans, elegant creatures. A female may temporarily associate with a male-male pair, mate with them, and leave her eggs with them. If you had a partner, would you also engage in behaviours such as mutual preening?"

Personality: Erwin's ability to "feel" deep emotions is muted to an absurd degree. What others interpret as Euphoria is registered as a dull, soft "happy" ache. What an average person considers gut-wrenching despair, Erwin sees as a "displeasing", empty feeling in the pit of his stomach. Even if he does register an emotion during the day, he may choose to disregard it after a short analysis. The only emotion that's not dull and he feels often and fully is curiosity. Private and closed-off, has a hard time opening up and admitting what he feels to others, will only do so to his Father or close friends. Acquaintances are described as "frivolities" and will never be his priority.

Deeply tied to routine, believes doing the same thing every day keeps him grounded. Repeats his medical notes until he can remember the patients and the conditions they suffer from off the top of his head. In general, learns via repetition. Erwin soaks up knowledge he deems useful like a sponge, and will show curiosity towards subjects he "likes".

Naturally obedient, never goes out of his way to stop an inhumane experiment or protest the terrible treatment of the local populations and prisoners. Lacks in empathy, but not in curiosity. Usually doesn't take the lead but follows orders from the high command. Erwin did his job as a doctor extraordinarily well, even if his looks occasionally don't reflect a typical "neat" Doctor of the Reich stereotype. Keeps himself and his workstation clean, but not too polished, as that would drain precious energy. His time is better spent reading books or doing assigned duties. Erich asks strange questions often; the questions become more than inappropriate when speaking with patients he finds "curious".

Understands and observes human emotions and customs, and actively chooses to disregard them depending on his mood and his relationship with the other person. For example, will disregard "greeting" a person (with a wave of a hand or a Roman salute) if he "doesn't feel up to it." The same applies to his outward expression. May put on a smile to reassure a patient, get them to cooperate, and "feel" safe. Less than interested in knowledge he sees no use for (camp gossip, local politics, petty rivalries). Erwin will keep any gifts he receives, as he has no desire to throw them out, to use or "treasure" them. Usually, they end up stored somewhere in his closet, or in rare cases, serve as shelf decoration.

Sexuality and Romance: Exhibits disinterest if pursued romantically. Views the pursuer as someone confused and misguided. Won't attempt to "guide" them onto the right path, will ignore the pursuits at first, and will exhibit slight annoyance if they interrupt his work. If the romantic pursuits do not disrupt his work as a doctor, Erwin may even agree to go on a date out of curiosity rather than desire. Hopes his date will leave and lose interest eventually, seeing his lack of emotional engagement. Back in University days, this was enough to ensure no woman "disturbed" his studies. Had two brief "flings" during that time, as he was convinced to try to "get laid" by Jürgen. Erwin himself was a little curious what sex looked like back then, too.

While the engagement started as passive, Ernst showed a little too much curiosity towards his partner, more than she was comfortable with, as she fled right after the act. He started measuring physical attributes, asking her inappropriate and intimate questions and treating his partner more like a patient than an actual person. The same behaviour was repeated with the other woman later. He is quietly prepared for abandonment after intimacy, knowing there is "something wrong" with his approach. Nowadays, Ernst doesn't think he has the will to change that approach; he's just curious and approaches intimacy with the same evaluative mindset he applies to medicine. He anticipates his partner's swift departure and finds comfort in the predictability of it. If they linger, if they attempt closeness beyond the act, he grows uncertain and subtly disoriented. He does not know what to do with someone who chooses to stay. Begins to get attached after sleeping with the same partner multiple times. Learns through repetition and will strive to establish a routine.

Friendships and other relationships: Honest and upfront about his "wrongness" with anyone. Most of the personnel hired in the Natzweiler-Struthof know of his "emotional blunting", and he doesn't mind taking up the most gory and gruesome jobs, hence why Doctor H. keeps Erwin close. Considerable patience must be displayed when trying to become friends with Erwin, but it is possible. He is friends with his Father (Helmut) and Jürgen after all.

Backstory: His Father is named Helmut Altendorf, born on the 8th of June 1988. Having a first child at 18 is no easy task; however, Erwin's parents had little choice as the marriage was pre-arranged by the Helmut's and Amédine's parents. Amédine was around 22 at the time, and spent her youth studying arts in Lucerne, being an exceptional artist and one of the very few female students there. Because of her self-proclaimed "brilliance", the Swiss lady had a large ego. It didn't help that her ideas conflicted with Helmut's. She wanted nothing but to return to Neuchâtel and stay in her serene house overlooking the lake. Helmut, despite being busy serving in the SS, forcibly tried to "Germanize" the children and Amédine, even as she remained speaking mostly French. He bought a home in Lübeck, which he thought to be a "proper German city far away from the rot of the French yet close to the water so the children can play", and insisted that both children be born and brought up there. Erwin's household was busy with a constant power struggle between the couple, who only united in case of severe emergencies. Helmut called his wife "an egoistic piss elegant make-believe snail-eating duchess", while Amédine yelled back that her husband is a "brute who'll never understand women or art and should suck off Hitler."

Despite the annoyance festering between Erwin's parents, they had two children due to constant pressure from the family. The first child was a girl named Franceline. Franceline was born in 1916 and was dubbed "A little pearl of joy" (La Petite Perle) by her Mother. Helmut was displeased as the girl picked up French faster than German and complained constantly about "wanting a male in the family." Later, the man was overjoyed when he heard Amédine was pregnant again, and stifled tears of joy when he saw it was a son. Sadly, it became apparent that something was "wrong" with Erwin in early childhood. His big sister exhibited a typical interest in toys, colourful paintings, butterflies in the garden, seashells at the beach in Lübeck and her brother? Didn't seem to care at all. At the age of five, Amédine was "chatty", lively, and social. While at the age of three, Erwin spoke little, refused to socialise with other toddlers his age, expressed no "need" to play make-believe with animals or dolls, and didn't show concern when other family members were upset.

This concerning behaviour was one of the "emergencies" causing the married couple to unite temporarily, as both parents sought out the best doctors across France, Germany and Switzerland. Hours spent travelling, they received a diagnosis, sadly, without a cure. Erwin suffered from emotional numbness and a reduced capacity to 'feel' emotions. The doctors labelled this as a "curious anomaly", seeing as the condition wasn't caused by typical trauma; rather, it seemed to be something Erwin was born with, which would only develop further as he grew older. Upon receiving the diagnosis, Amédine blamed her husband and vowed not to have any more children, convinced they would "turn out unhappy like Erwin." The Swiss woman began to appear in Erwin's life less and less, taking Franceline with her to the residence in Neuchâtel. They hadn't seen each other since 1939, although they would see each other a few times per year before the war.

Erwin continued to grow, spending his childhood with a preference for solitary activities, tinkering with small objects, or reading books quietly. His Father was often absent, tending to Reich matters, and left the child to "tend" to himself alone, which made the boy independent at a young age. His uncle Ludwig visited often too, as he would spend his youth travelling all over the Swiss Alps, as well as the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Austria; therefore, young Erwin usually received regional gifts and postcards to keep, even if he never expressed any fondness for them. After Erwin's Mother left, Helmut, who was an SS-Gruppenführer, had complete control over his son. Erwin did whatever his Father would drag and convince him to do. Declaring Erwin "too wiry and small to be a soldier" (while hiding his deep-rooted fear of losing his child), his Father thought a career in a field of law, medicine, or economics would suit Erwin better. "Anything that makes good money, - he remarked. Even if Helmut knew his son was "wrong" and "different", he did love him, as Erwin never demanded anything, and wasn't "loud and egotistical like his Mother."

His son had a hard time being a loving family member, but tried to "please" his closest relative to a small degree, choosing to study medicine, upon seeing he may have "a spark" of an interest in the field. After all, it was a precise study, and despite his enjoyment of few, if any, activities, he could try; he began studying medicine in Straßburg. Erwin even made a "friend", a very extroverted man named Jürgen studying sports, who spent his university days drinking and loudly cheering Nazi chants. Jürgen was a part of the Hitlerjugend, later being in the Nationalsozialistischer Reichsbund für Leibesübungen (NSRL), practising artistic gymnastics there. His roommate was often seen praising his emotional coldness as the "true Aryan soul ideal." Erwin remained indifferent to such praise or criticism, but tagged along with Jürgen to various events anyhow.

Both Helmut and Jürgen, the two most important figures in Erwin's life (as Amédine and Franceline left), were pushing towards Nazi indoctrination and talking frequently about the Reich and its ideas. Despite Erwin's emotional detachment, his future career path steered him towards the SS. Perhaps it was always meant to be that way, especially as during the Nazi era, teaching and research at the medical faculties of German universities were strongly influenced by Nazi “racial hygiene” and health ideology.

With two glowing letters of recommendation from the family (Helmut and Ludwig pitched in) and his knowledge of German and French, he received a comfortable position in occupied France. Away from the freezing temperatures of the Eastern Front, yet close to the Third Reich. Erwin moved out of Straßburg, into Struthof (barely 50km away), right after finishing the 6th (last) year of his medical school. Currently, he serves as a doctor in the Natzweiler-Struthof Concentration Camp. Erwin is the second in the medical chain of command in the camp, as a former professor of anatomy (his professor) named Doctor H. comes first as the main SS Doctor.