Walter Harzer (September 29, 1912 – May 29, 1982) was a German SS commander during the Nazi era. He commanded the

SS Division Hohenstaufen The 9th SS Panzer Division "Hohenstaufen" (german: 9. SS-Panzerdivision "Hohenstaufen") was a Waffen-SS armoured division of Nazi Germany during World War II. It participated in battles on both the Eastern and Western Fronts. The division was a ...

and

SS Polizei Division The 4th SS Polizei Panzergrenadier Division (4. SS-Polizei-Panzergrenadier-Division) or SS Division Polizei was one of the thirty-eight division (military), divisions fielded as part of the Waffen-SS during World War II. Formation The division wa ...

. After the war, Harzer became active in HIAG, a lobby group established by senior

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...

men in 1951 in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. He acted as the organisation's official historian, coordinating the writing and publications of revisionist unit histories, which appears in German via the Munin Verlag imprint.

World War II

Born in 1912, Harzer joined the SS in 1931. In March 1934 Harzer joined SS-Verfügungstruppe and was assigned to the

Sicherheitsdienst ' (, ''Security Service''), full title ' (Security Service of the '' Reichsführer-SS''), or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Established in 1931, the SD was the first Nazi intelligence organization ...

and later the SS Division Das Reich. He participated in the

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

. From mid-1942 until April 1943 Walter served as a staff officer first with the LVII.Panzer Corps and later with the SS Division Frundsberg. In April 1943, Harzer was assigned to the

. As ''Hohenstaufen'' was ordered for a refit in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, Harzer became its fifth commander, taking over for

Friedrich-Wilhelm Bock __NOTOC__ Friedrich-Wilhelm Bock (6 May 1897 – 11 March 1978) was a German Waffen-SS commander during World War II who led three SS divisions, the SS Division Hohenstaufen, 4th SS Polizei Division, Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (2nd Latv ...

. On Sunday 17 September 1944, the Allies launched Operation Market Garden and Harzer’s division was engaged in the

Battle of Arnhem The Battle of Arnhem was a battle of the Second World War at the vanguard of the Allied Operation Market Garden. It was fought in and around the Dutch city of Arnhem, the town of Oosterbeek, the villages Wolfheze and Driel and the vicinity f ...

.Himmlers Krieger: Joachim Peiper und die Waffen-SS in Krieg und Nachkriegszeit, von Jens Westermeier, Page 572, Verlag Ferdinand Schöningh GmbH; (11. Dezember 2013), Harzer was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for his actions during these battles. In October 1944 Harzer became the Chief of Staff of V SS Mountain Corps before receiving the command of the

4th SS Polizei Division The 4th SS Polizei Panzergrenadier Division (4. SS-Polizei-Panzergrenadier-Division) or SS Division Polizei was one of the thirty-eight divisions fielded as part of the Waffen-SS during World War II. Formation The division was formed in Octobe ...

at the end of November 1944. Together with the rest of this division Harzer surrendered to the American Army on 8 May 1945.

Post-war activities

After the war Harzer worked as an official historian for HIAG, an organization of former Waffen-SS members. He helped coordinate the writing of numerous tendentious unit histories and memoirs by former Waffen-SS officers. Harzer died in 1982.

Awards

* Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 21 September 1944 as SS-

Obersturmbannführer __NOTOC__ ''Obersturmbannführer'' (Senior Assault-unit Leader; ; short: ''Ostubaf'') was a paramilitary rank in the German Nazi Party (NSDAP) which was used by the SA ('' Sturmabteilung'') and the SS (''Schutzstaffel''). The rank of ''Oberstu ...

and Ia (operations officer) of the 9. SS-Panzer-Division "Hohenstaufen"

References

Citations

Bibliography

* *''A Bridge Too Far: The Classic History of the Greatest Battle of World War II'' by Cornelius Ryan (Simon & Schuster; Reprint edition (1 May 1995), , ). * {{DEFAULTSORT:Harzer, Walter 1912 births 1982 deaths Writers from Stuttgart SS-Standartenführer Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross People from the Kingdom of Württemberg Waffen-SS personnel Military personnel from Stuttgart German military writers