Wilhelm Bittrich

Wilhelm Bittrich

Wilhelm Bittrich
Nickname(s) Willi
Born (1894-02-26)26 February 1894
Wernigerode, Province of Saxony, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Died 19 April 1979(1979-04-19) (aged 85)
Wolfratshausen, Bavaria, West Germany
Allegiance  German Empire
 Weimar Republic
 Nazi Germany
Service/branch Luftstreitkräfte
Waffen SS
Years of service 1914–45
Rank Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS
Service number NSDAP #829,700
SS #39,177
Battles/wars

World War I

World War II
Awards Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords

Wilhelm Bittrich (26 February 1894 – 19 April 1979) was an SS-Obergruppenführer and Waffen-SS General during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern).[a] The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves and Swords was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

Life

Born in Wernigerode in the Harz mountains of Germany, Bittrich served as an army officer and fighter pilot during World War I and was a member of the Freikorps, after the war ended. He joined the SS-Verfügungstruppe in 1934 and the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler in 1939. He was in command of the Deutschland Regiment during the fighting in Poland (1939) and France (1940).

Between August 1942 and February 1943, Bittrich commanded 8th SS Cavalry Division Florian Geyer, that was tasked with anti-partisan operations (Bandenbekämfung) in the Soviet Union. On 9 July 1942 Bittrich attended a conference called to convey the principles of the Bandenbekämfung to senior police and security leaders. Organized by Heinrich Himmler, the conference included Kurt Daluege, Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski, Odilo Globocnik, Bruno Streckenbach and others. The policies included collective punishment against villages suspected of supporting partisans, automatic death penalty for immediate families of suspected partisans, deportation of women and children, and confiscation of property for the state.[1]

Later he assumed command over the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich and the 2nd SS Panzer Corps (Hohenstaufen & Frundsberg Divisions). Bittrich also commanded a corps against the Soviet Vienna Offensive from 2 April to 13 April 1945.

Bittrich died in Wolfratshausen, Bavaria on 19 April 1979.

Bittrich was a source for Cornelius Ryan in researching A Bridge Too Far.

Purported denunciation of the Nazi Party

Wilhelm Bittrich (far right) at the quarry at Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp during tour with Heinrich Himmler (center) and other SS officers, June 1941.

Following operation Market-Garden in 1944, Albert Speer visited the frontlines and met General Bittrich. Speer later claimed in his controversial memoirs:[2]

Other visits (to the front) showed me that efforts were being made on the Western Front to arrange agreements with the enemy upon special problems. At Arnhem, I found General Bittrich of the Waffen-SS in a state of fury. The day before, his Second Tank Corps had virtually wiped out a British airborne division. During the fighting the general had made an arrangement permitting the enemy to run a field hospital behind the German lines. But party functionaries had taken it upon themselves to kill captured British and American pilots, and Bittrich looked like a liar. His violent denunciation of the party was all the more striking since it came from an SS general.

Postwar Prosecution

After his arrest on 8 May 1945 he was extradited to France on charges of having ordered the execution of 17 members of the Resistance in Nîmes. The trial revealed that Bittrich had not given such an order and had even opened procedures against the responsible officers. As the commander in charge of the culprits, he was held responsible for the misconduct of his subordinate troops and sentenced to five years in prison. The sentence was considered as served after a long pretrial detention. He was put on trial for a second time in 1953 and sentenced to five years in prison for countenancing hangings, pillage and arson,[3] but was acquitted by the French court in Bordeaux again and released in 1954 .

Activities within HIAG

Main article: HIAG

Around 1957, Bittrich became active in HIAG, a revisionist organization of former Waffen-SS members. In the 1970s, he served as the organization's chairman.[4]

In media

Summary of SS career

Notable decorations

Promotions

15 October 1915: Leutnant (second lieutenant)[11]
1 July 1932: SS-Anwärter
15 July 1932: SS-Mann
10 September 1932: SS-Oberscharführer[11]
31 October 1932: SS-Sturmführer[11]
12 April 1934: SS-Obersturmführer[11]
17 June 1934: SS-Hauptsturmführer[11]
1 October 1936: SS-Sturmbannführer[11]
30 January 1938: SS-Obersturmbannführer[11]
1 June 1939: SS-Standartenführer[11]
1 September 1940: SS-Oberführer[11]
19 October 1941: SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS[11]
1 May 1943: SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS[11]
1 August 1944: SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS[11]

Notes

NSDAP #: 829 700 - He joined the NSDAP on 1 December 1932
SS #: 39 177 - He joined the SS on 1 July 1932

Footnotes

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Blood 2006, p. 75.
  2. ↑ Speer 1970, p. 399.
  3. ↑ New York Times, June 24, 1953:6:6
  4. ↑ Chairoff 1977, p. 460.
  5. 1 2 Thomas 1997, p. 47.
  6. 1 2 Scherzer 2007, p. 224.
  7. ↑ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 134.
  8. ↑ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 87.
  9. ↑ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 48.
  10. ↑ Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 44.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Thomas & Wegmann 1992, p. 87.
  12. ↑ Scherzer 2007, p. 121.

Bibliography

  • Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt der Bundeswehr (Hrsg.): Das Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg. 10 Bände. Stuttgart 1991-2005.
  • Berger, Florian (1999). Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern. Die höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges [With Oak Leaves and Swords. The Highest Decorated Soldiers of the Second World War] (in German). Vienna, Austria: Selbstverlag Florian Berger. ISBN 978-3-9501307-0-6. 
  • Blood, Phillip W. (2006). Hitler's Bandit Hunters: The SS and the Nazi Occupation of Europe. Potomac Books. ISBN 978-1597970211. 
  • Chairoff, Patrice (1977). Dossier Néo-nazisme (in French). Ramsay. ISBN 978-2859560300. 
  • Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6. 
  • Hohne, Heinz (1966): The Order of the Death's Head. Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-139012-3
  • Kershaw, Robert J. (1994): It never snows in September. Ian Allen Ltd. ISBN 0-7818-0287-3.
  • Krätschmer, Ernst-Günther (1999). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Waffen-SS [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Waffen-SS]. Coburg, Germany: Nation Europa Verlag. ISBN 978-3-920677-43-9. 
  • Mühleisen, Horst (2000). Wilhelm Bittrich. Paderborn: Ronald Smelser / Enrico Syring (Hrsg.): Die SS, Elite unter dem Totenkopf. ISBN 3-506-78562-1
  • Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8. 
  • Ryan, Cornelius (1974): A Bridge too Far. Coronet Books/Hodder and Stoughton. ISBN 0-340-19941-5.
  • Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2. 
  • Speer, Albert (1970): Inside the Third Reich. Translated by Richard and Clara Winston. Macmillan. Library of Congress #70-119132
  • Thomas, Franz; Wegmann, Günter (1992). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Deutschen Wehrmacht 1939–1945 Teil III: Infanterie Band 2: Bi–Bo [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the German Wehrmacht 1939–1945 Part III: Infantry Volume 2: Bi–Bo] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-1734-3. 
  • Thomas, Franz (1997). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 1: A–K [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 1: A–K] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2299-6. 

External links

Military offices
Preceded by
SS-Oberstgruppenführer Paul Hausser		 Commander of 2. SS-Panzer Division Das Reich
15 October 1941 – 31 December 1941 		Succeeded by
SS-Obergruppenführer Matthias Kleinheisterkamp
Preceded by
SS-Gruppenführer Hermann Fegelein		 Commander of 8. SS-Kavallerie-Division Florian Geyer
August 1942 – 15 February 1943 		Succeeded by
SS-Brigadeführer Fritz Freitag
Preceded by
none		 Commander of 9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen
15 February 1943 – 29 June 1944 		Succeeded by
SS-Standartenführer Thomas Müller
Preceded by
SS-Oberstgruppenführer Paul Hausser		 Commander of II. SS-Panzer Corps
29 June 1944 – 8 May 1945 		Succeeded by
dissolved on 8 May 1945
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