|
Georg Keppler
Georg Keppler (7 May 1894 – 16 June 1966) was a high-ranking Waffen-SS commander during World War II. He commanded the SS Division Das Reich, SS Division Totenkopf, I SS Panzer Corps, III SS Panzer Corps and the XVIII SS Army Corps. Career Georg Keppler joined the army in 1913 and took part in World War I. Between 1920 and 1934, Keppler was a police officer commanding city and state police units. In 1935, he joined the paramilitary force of the Nazi Party, ''SS-Verfügungstruppe'' (SS-VT), eventually leading a battalion in the ”Deutschland” regiment. In September 1938, after the ''Anschluss'', Keppler was promoted to command the newly raised “Der Führer” regiment, becoming a component of the SS-Verfügungs Division. Keppler served as Der Führer‘s regimental commander throughout the invasion of France, Balkans Campaign and in Operation Barbarossa. In August 1940, Keppler was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. On 15 July 1941, he took over for injur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mainz
Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in the Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region—Germany's second-largest metropolitan region after Rhine-Ruhr—which also encompasses the cities of Frankfurt am Main, Wiesbaden, Darmstadt, Offenbach am Main, and Hanau. Mainz is located at the northern end of the Upper Rhine Plain, on the left bank of the Rhine. It is the largest city of Rhenish Hesse, a region of Rhineland-Palatinate that was historically part of Grand Duchy of Hesse, Hesse, and is Rheinhessen (wine region), one of Germany's most important wine regions because of its mild climate. Mainz is connected to Frankfurt am Main by the Rhine-Main S-Bahn rapid transit system. Before 1945, Mainz had six boroughs on the other side of the Rhine (see: :de:Rechtsrheinische St ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anschluss
The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "German Question, Greater Germany") arose after the unification of Germany, 1871 unification of Germany excluded Austria and the German Austrians from the Prussian-dominated German Empire. It gained support after the Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Empire fell in 1918. The new Republic of German-Austria attempted to form a union with Germany, but the 1919 Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1919), Treaty of Saint Germain and Treaty of Versailles forbade both the union and the continued use of the name "German-Austria" (); they also stripped Austria of some of its territories, such as the Sudetenland. This left Austria without most of the territories it had ruled for centuries and amid economic crisis. By the 1920s, the proposal had strong support in both Austria and Germany, particularly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herbert-Ernst Vahl
__NOTOC__ Herbert-Ernst Vahl was a German SS functionary during the Nazi era. In World War II, he commanded the SS Division Das Reich and the SS Polizei Division. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. In February 1943, Vahl was promoted to ''Oberführer'', and given command of the SS Division Das Reich which was stationed in the Soviet Union. While in command during the Third Battle of Kharkov he was seriously wounded and awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. After recovering from his wounds he became the Inspector of Panzer troops in the ''SS Führungshauptamt'' (SS Leadership Main Office). In July 1944 Vahl returned to active service with the SS Polizei Division which was stationed in Thessalonika, Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
6th SS Mountain Division Nord
The 6th SS Mountain Division Nord () was a World War II mountain infantry division of the Waffen-SS, the military wing of the German Nazi Party, primarily consisting of ethnic Germans along with some Norwegian and Swiss volunteers. It was the only Waffen-SS division to operate in the Arctic Circle. It was founded in early 1941 as the SS Battle Group Nord (German: ''SS-Kampfgruppe Nord'') in southern Norway before being upgraded and renamed the SS Division Nord in preparation for Operation Barbarossa. Its original personnel came from Allgemeine-SS paramilitary units and had low combat effectiveness. In the second half of 1941 the division was effectively destroyed by the Red Army during Operation Arctic Fox, when it advanced into Soviet territory alongside the Finnish Army and the Wehrmacht. After taking massive losses in its first operation the Nord Division was entirely rebuilt starting from late 1941. The SS Division Nord remained in Finland and northern Russia, where most ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karl-Maria Demelhuber
Karl Maria Demelhuber (26 May 1896 – 18 March 1988) was a German SS functionary during the Nazi era. Reaching the rank of ''Obergruppenführer'' (general) in the Waffen-SS during World War II, he commanded the SS-Standarte Germania, 6th SS Mountain Division Nord, XII SS Corps and XVI SS Corps The XVI SS Army Corps was a short-lived corps of the ''Waffen-SS'', which was formed in January 1945 in Pomerania. The core of the corps was the 1st Latvian SS Division. It fought in the Piła (''Schneidemühl'') - Bydgoszcz (''Bromberg'') area a .... See also * List SS-Obergruppenführer References * Holder of the SS Führerdegen {{DEFAULTSORT:Demelhuber, Karl-Maria 1896 births 1988 deaths People from Freising Military personnel from the Kingdom of Bavaria SS-Obergruppenführer German Army personnel of World War I Gebirgsjäger of World War II Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Liberty, 1st Class Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class Rec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
3rd SS Division Totenkopf
The 3rd SS Panzer Division "Totenkopf" () was an elite division of the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany during World War II, formed from the Standarten of the SS-TV. Its name, '' Totenkopf'', is German for "death's head"the skull and crossbones symboland it is thus sometimes referred to as the Death's Head Division. The division was formed through the expansion of ''Kampfgruppe Eicke'', a battle group named – in keeping with German military practice – after its commander, Theodor Eicke. Most of the battle group's personnel had been transferred to the Waffen-SS from concentration camp guard units, which were known collectively as ''SS-Totenkopfverbände''; others were former members of '' Selbstschutz'': ethnic German militias that had committed war crimes in Poland. The division became notorious for its brutality, and committed numerous war crimes, including the Le Paradis and Chasselay massacres. The remnants of the division surrendered on 9 May 1945 to American ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matthias Kleinheisterkamp
Matthias Kleinheisterkamp (22 June 1893 – 29 April 1945) was a high-ranking German SS commander during the Nazi era. Reaching the rank of SS-Obergruppenführer, he commanded the SS Division Totenkopf, SS Division Nord, SS Division Das Reich, III SS Panzer Corps, VII SS Panzer Corps, IV SS Panzer Corps, XII SS Army Corps and the XI SS Army Corps in World War II. Kleinheisterkamp died by suicide in the Battle of Halbe after being captured by the Soviets. Pre-war career Born in 1893, Matthias Kleinheisterkamp enlisted in the Prussian Army in 1914 and served on both the Western and the Eastern Fronts of World War I. During his service in the war, he was awarded both classes of the Iron Cross and a silver grade Wound Badge. Following the war, Kleinheisterkamp joined the paramilitary group Freikorps and then served in the Reichswehr. He joined the Allgemeine-SS in November 1933, membership number 132,399. He transferred to the SS-Verfügungstruppe on 1 April 1935 and was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oberführer
__NOTOC__ ''Oberführer'' (short: ''Oberf'', , ) was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) dating back to 1921. An ''Oberführer'' was typically an NSDAP member in charge of a group of paramilitary units in a particular geographical region. From 1921 to 1925, the phrase ''Oberführer'' was used as a title in the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA), but became an actual Ranks and insignia of the Sturmabteilung, SA rank after 1926. ''Oberführer'' was also a Ranks and insignia of the Schutzstaffel, rank of the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS, at that time a branch of the SA), established in 1925 as ''Gauführer'', a rank for SS officers in charge of SS personnel in the several ''Gaue'' throughout Germany; in 1928 the rank was renamed ''Oberführer'', and used of the commanders of the three regional ''SS-Oberführerbereiche''. In 1930, the SS was reorganized into ''SS-Gruppen'' and ''Brigaden'', at which time ''Oberführer'' became subordinate to the higher rank of ''Brigadeführer''. By ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day (military term), D-Day) with the Normandy landings (Operation Neptune). A 1,200-plane Airborne forces, airborne assault preceded an amphibious warfare, amphibious assault involving more than 5,000 vessels. Nearly 160,000 troops crossed the English Channel on 6 June, and more than two million Allied troops were in France by the end of August. The decision to undertake cross-channel landings in 1944 was made at the Washington Conference (1943), Trident Conference in Washington, D.C., Washington in May 1943. American General Dwight D. Eisenhower was appointed commander of Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force, and British General Bernard Montgomery was named commander of the 21st Army Group, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SS Division Nord
The 6th SS Mountain Division Nord () was a World War II mountain infantry division of the Waffen-SS, the military wing of the German Nazi Party, primarily consisting of ethnic Germans along with some Norwegian and Swiss volunteers. It was the only Waffen-SS division to operate in the Arctic Circle. It was founded in early 1941 as the SS Battle Group Nord (German: ''SS-Kampfgruppe Nord'') in southern Norway before being upgraded and renamed the SS Division Nord in preparation for Operation Barbarossa. Its original personnel came from Allgemeine-SS paramilitary units and had low combat effectiveness. In the second half of 1941 the division was effectively destroyed by the Red Army during Operation Arctic Fox, when it advanced into Soviet territory alongside the Finnish Army and the Wehrmacht. After taking massive losses in its first operation the Nord Division was entirely rebuilt starting from late 1941. The SS Division Nord remained in Finland and northern Russia, where most ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theodor Eicke
Theodor Eicke (17 October 1892 – 26 February 1943) was both a senior SS functionary and a Waffen-SS divisional commander in Nazi Germany. He was a key figure in the development of Nazi concentration camps. Eicke served as the second commandant of the Dachau concentration camp from June 1933 to July 1934, and together with his adjutant Michael Lippert, was one of the executioners of SA Chief Ernst Röhm during the Night of the Long Knives purge of 1934. He continued to expand and develop the concentration camp system as the first Concentration Camps Inspector. In 1939, Eicke became commander of the SS Division Totenkopf of the Waffen-SS, leading the division during the Second World War on the Western and Eastern fronts. Eicke was killed on 26 February 1943, when his plane was shot down during the Third Battle of Kharkov. Early life and World War I Theodor Eicke was born on 17 October 1892, in Hampont (renamed ''Hudingen'' in 1915) near Château-Salins, then in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along a front, with the main goal of capturing territory up to a line between Arkhangelsk and Astrakhan, known as the A-A line. The attack became the largest and costliest military offensive in history, with around 10 million combatants taking part in the opening phase and over 8 million casualties by the end of the operation on 5 December 1941. It marked a major escalation of World War II, opened the Eastern Front—the largest and deadliest land war in history—and brought the Soviet Union into the Allied powers. The operation, code-named after the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa ("red beard"), put into action Nazi Germany's ideological goals of eradicating communism and conquering the western Soviet Union to repopulate it w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
