 Rödl finally began to rise through the ranks following a transfer to Buchenwald, where he was deputy to commandant Karl-Otto Koch.In that role he was given a largely free hand to indulge his cruel side, with Koch placing no restrictions on his men's actions.An example of this occurred late on 1 January 1939, when Rödl lined up the inmates, picked five at random, and had them stripped, tied to posts, and whipped until morning, in tune with the prisoner orchestra.