__NOTOC__ August Zehender (28 April 1903 – 11 February 1945) was a German SS commander during the

Nazi era Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

. He led the SS Division Maria Theresia during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and was a recipient of the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. While it was lower in precedence than the Grand C ...

. He killed himself in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

in the closing months of the war.

Life

Zehender was posted to the ''

SS-Verfügungstruppe (SS-VT, ) was formed in 1934 as combat troops for the Nazi Party (NSDAP). On 17 August 1938 Adolf Hitler decreed that the SS-VT was neither a part of the (order police) nor the , but military-trained men at the disposal of the . In time of wa ...

'' in 1935 (his

NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor, the German Workers ...

party number was 4,263,133 and his SS service number 224,219). He was given command of a motorcycle battalion in the

SS Division Das Reich The 2nd SS Panzer Division ''Das Reich'' () or SS Division ''Das Reich'' was an armored division of the of Nazi Germany during World War II. Initially formed from regiments of the ''SS-Verfügungstruppe'' (SS-VT), ''Das Reich'' initially served ...

. At the end of June 1941, Zehender was wounded on the Eastern Front at Losza. After his recovery he was posted to the

SS Cavalry Brigade The SS Cavalry Brigade (''SS-Kavallerie-Brigade'') was a cavalry brigade unit of the German Waffen-SS during World War II that specialized in artillery observer, cavalry reconnaissance, close combat, crowd control and riot control, counterinsurge ...

. He subsequently served with the

8th SS Cavalry Division Florian Geyer The 8th SS Cavalry Division "Florian Geyer" was a German Waffen-SS cavalry division during World War II. It was formed in 1942 from a cadre of the SS Cavalry Brigade which was involved in the ''Bandenbekämpfung'' ("bandit-fighting") operations b ...

. In the spring of 1944, he was given command of the newly formed

22nd SS Volunteer Cavalry Division The 22nd SS Volunteer Cavalry Division ()Official designation in German language as to „Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv" in Freiburg im Breisgau, stores of the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS. () was a German Waffen-SS cavalry division which was active o ...

"Maria Theresia", with which he fought at the

Siege of Budapest The siege of Budapest or battle of Budapest was the 50-day-long encirclement by Soviet and Romanian forces of the Hungarian capital of Budapest, near the end of World War II. Part of the broader Budapest Offensive, the siege began when Budapes ...

later that year. With his unit encircled by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

, Zehender was severely

wounded in action Wounded in action (WIA) describes combatants who have been wounded while fighting in a combat zone during wartime, but have not been killed. Typically, it implies that they are temporarily or permanently incapable of bearing arms or continuing ...

on 11 February 1945 in

and killed himself.

Awards

German Cross The War Order of the German Cross (), normally abbreviated to the German Cross or ''Deutsches Kreuz'', was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941. It was awarded in two divisions: in gold for repeated acts of bravery or military leade ...

in Gold on 16 October 1942 as SS-''

Sturmbannführer __NOTOC__ ''Sturmbannführer'' (; ) was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank equivalent to Major (rank), major that was used in several Nazi organizations, such as the Sturmabteilung, SA, Schutzstaffel, SS, and the National Socialist Flyers Corps, NSFK ...

'' in SS-Kavallerie-Regiment 2Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 528. *

** Knight's Cross on 10 March 1943 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 ' was juni ...

'' and commander of the SS-Kavallerie-Regiment 2.Scherzer 2007, p. 802. ** 722nd Oak Leaves on 1 February 1945 as SS-''

Brigadeführer ''Brigadeführer'' (, ) was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) that was used between 1932 and 1945. It was mainly known for its use as an SS rank. As an SA rank, it was used after briefly being known as '' Untergruppenführer'' in ...

'' and commander of the 22. SS-Freiwilligen-Kavallerie-Division "Maria Theresia"

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zehender, August 1903 births 1945 deaths 1945 suicides Nazis who died by suicide People from Aalen People from the Kingdom of Württemberg Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves SS-Brigadeführer Waffen-SS personnel killed in action

Life

Awards

See also

References

Citations

Bibliography