 He was made a "Wehrwirtschaftsführer" in 1942 and presented with a First Class War Merit Cross.According to Diarmuid Jeffreys Lautenschläger became aware of the Holocaust in 1943 after junior colleagues who had witnessed gassings told him about their experiences.Arrested by the American Military Government in 1946 he was brought before the IG Farben trial the following year on charges of mass murder and slavery.