camp at Beneschau, Bohemia. On 4 August 1941, Scherner was appointed SS and Police Leader in German-occupied Kraków. Early corruption Scherner was a close acquaintance of Oberscharführer Heinz Klare, meeting with him on numerous occasions. Scherner aided Klare in receiving extended work leave and enabled Klare’s entry into the Waffen SS while also guaranteeing Klare sick leave for a heart problem. Klare joined Scherner’s staff as ordnance officer and on December 15, 1941 became Scherner's personal adjutant. Scherner borrowed money numerous times from Klare personally and from Klare’s expense account, in violation of standing orders, over the course of 1941-1942. Klare and Scherner were condemned for living indecently and for possession of illegal food and spirits. The following investigation resulted in Klare’s arrest for possible involvement in black market dealings. Klare alleged that Scherner owed him money and had embezzled food stuffs and inappropriately used his service vehicle. The investigation yielded little punishment for Scherner. However, Scherner was reprimanded by the Reichsführer, Himmler, for his luxurious lifestyle. Himmler gave Scherner a serious warning and then tasked the court with investigating Scherner’s dealings. SS-Obergruppenführer Fredrich- Wilhelm Krüger, an acquaintance of Scherner's since childhood, asserted confidence in Scherner saying "[Scherner] is very companionable and helpful towards everyone. He gets close very quickly to every person, but unfortunately does not possess the ability to recognise [sic] and comply with the prescribed boundaries that apply to him in his official position towards subordinates." The judge decided Scherner had inappropriately abused his resources as well as helped Klare avoid the draft. The judge further concluded that Scherner had not been a party to military corruption and did not find Scherner's actions worthy of a court punishment. Scherner was sentenced to 14 days of, Stubenarrest, house arrest but this punishment was postponed until after the war and ultimately never imposed. Destruction of the Krakow ghetto Scherner along with Richard Wendler, were supportive of the murder and deporting of Jews as the "solution to the Jewish question". On May 28–29, 1942, Scherner began deportations from Krakow. Police battalions, commanded by Scherner, encircled the ghetto and announced all Jews were to required to register and would be killed if they did not comply. After the initial deportation, in May 1942, Scherner began an extensive murder campaign against the Jews within his jurisdiction. The murder operation moved through Tarnow, Rzeszow, Debica, Przemsylm Jaroslau Jaslo, Krosno, Nowy Sacz, Novy Targ,