Christoph Diehm (1 March 1892 – 21 February 1960) was a German 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 ''

Generalmajor is the Germanic languages, Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central Europe, Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and R ...

'' of the

Waffen-SS The (; ) was the military branch, combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscr ...

and police, who served as the

SS and Police Leader The title of SS and Police Leader (') designated a senior Nazi Party official who commanded various components of the SS and the German uniformed police (''Ordnungspolizei''), before and during World War II in the German Reich proper and in the o ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

during the

Second World War 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 ...

Early life

Diehm, son of a farmer, was educated in '' volksschule'' and secondary school through 1909, and then in 1911 joined the

Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the leadership of Kingdom o ...

's 120th Infantry Regiment, based in Ulm. He fought in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

from August 1914 with that unit, and with the 247th and 478th Infantry Regiments. He was wounded four times, earning the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

1st and 2nd class and the

Wound Badge The Wound Badge () was a German military decoration first promulgated by Wilhelm II, German Emperor on 3 March 1918, which was first awarded to soldiers of the Imperial German Army, German Army who were wounded during World War I. Between the worl ...

in Silver. After the end of the war, Diehm joined the ''

Freikorps (, "Free Corps" or "Volunteer Corps") were irregular German and other European paramilitary volunteer units that existed from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. They effectively fought as mercenaries or private military companies, rega ...

'' from January 1919 for two years and was then a professional soldier in the ''

Reichswehr ''Reichswehr'' (; ) was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first two years of Nazi Germany. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshaped ...

'', serving with Infantry Regiment 13 in a machine gun company. He attended the army college, attained the rank of '' Leutnant'' and left the military in 1925. He then worked in agriculture until 1929. From October 1926 to January 1928 Diehm belonged to the ''

Stahlhelm The ''Stahlhelm'' (German for "''steel helmet''") is a term used to refer to a series of German steel combat helmet designs intended to protect the wearer from common battlefield hazards such as shrapnel. The armies of the great powers began ...

'', the army veterans' organization.

Peacetime SA and SS career

Diehm joined the SA in 1928. From 1929 to 1931, he was the

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

in SA ''Untergruppe'' "Württemberg" and, from 1931, commander of the ''Gruppe'' "Südwest." He joined the

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

on 1 March 1930 (membership number 212,531) and transferred from the SA to the SS on 22 March 1932 (SS number 28,461) with the rank of '' SS-Oberführer''. Diehm became the first commander of SS-''Abschnitt'' (District) X, based in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

, from March 1932 to July 1933. In mid-July 1933, he was transferred to be the first commander of newly-established SS-''Abschnitt'' XIX in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

where he would remain until 15 March 1936. He was promoted to SS-''Brigadeführer'' on 21 March 1934. When he left Karlsruhe in March 1936, he became the commander of the prestigious SS-''Abschnitt'' I, based in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, the headquarters of the Nazi Party. He would remain there until 1 March 1939. He was next assigned to a staff position with SS-''Oberabschnitt'' (Main District) "West," based in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

. Becoming involved in politics, Diehm was elected as a Nazi member to the ''

Landtag A ''Landtag'' (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence ...

'' of

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...

where he sat from 24 April 1932 to 20 November 1933. Then at the November 1933 parliamentary election, he was elected as a deputy to the national '' Reichstag'' from electoral constituency 32,

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...

, and he retained this seat until the end of the Nazi regime.

Second World War

Diehm had joined the ''

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

'' as a ''Leutnant'' of Reserves in 1936 and, after the outbreak of the

, he served with Infantry Regiment 61 in the Polish campaign. Following the conquest of Poland, he was made chief of police in Gotenhafen (today,

Gdynia Gdynia is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With an estimated population of 257,000, it is the List of cities in Poland, 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in the Pomeranian Voivodeship after Gdańsk ...

) from the end of September 1939 to October 1941. During his tenure there, the '' Intelligenzaktion Pommern'' took place in the surrounding area when thousands of Polish intellectuals and social elites were murdered by SS and police personnel. Diehm was next transferred to be the Police President of

Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; Rhenish Franconian: ''Sabrigge'' ; ; ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of cities and towns in Germany, city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken has 181,959 inhabitants and is Saarland's administrative, commerci ...

and

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

until September 1943, attaining the rank of ''Generalmajor'' of Police on 1 April 1942. In September 1943, Diehm was transferred to the office of the Higher

(HSSPF) "Russland-Süd" Hans-Adolf Prützmann for additional police training and served from January 1944 to the end of February 1944 as the last SS and Police Leader (SSPF) " Shitomir" as the Red Army offensive pushed the Germans out of the area. He was then reassigned and became the last SSPF "

Lemberg Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

" of the Government General. While there, he ruthlessly hunted down

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

refugees in the forests of Galicia. He left that post on 16 September 1944 after 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 ...

overran the District of Galicia. He was then briefly the SSPF " Kattowitz" in

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( ; ; ; ; Silesian German: ; ) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located today mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic. The area is predominantly known for its heav ...

. In August and September, Diehm was charged with trying to expand the Kaminski Brigade into the 29th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Russian National Liberation Army (1st Russian), but it was never fully operationalized and the effort was abandoned. From 16 September 1944 to 18 January 1945, Diehm served as the Acting HSSPF '' "Belgien-Nordfrankreich"'' while the permanent holder of that post, Friedrich Jeckeln, was still in Russia. Appointed a ''

'' in the

on 9 November 1944, he served as a divisional commander. From January 1945 he also was the Inspector "Südwest" for the ''

Volkssturm The (, ) was a ''levée en masse'' national militia established by Nazi Germany during the last months of World War II. It was set up by the Nazi Party on the orders of Adolf Hitler and established on 25 September 1944. It was staffed by conscri ...

'', the Nazi

paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

militia.

Postwar

Serving as a combat commander with the 6th Army, Diehm was taken prisoner by the Red Army on 8 May 1945 near

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. He never faced formal prosecution for his role in the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

in Poland. However, he was kept in Soviet captivity for nine years until mid-January 1954. He then returned to Germany, where he lived for a short time in Zuffenhausen, then again with his family in Rottenacker until his death in 1960.

Awards

Diehm earned the following awards and decorations: *

(1914) 2nd and 1st class *

(1918) in silver * Iron Cross Clasp 2nd and 1st class * War Merit Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st class with swords * Wound Badge (1939) in silver * Golden Party Badge

References

Sources

* *
full text digitally available, in German
. * *

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diehm, Christoph 1892 births 1960 deaths 20th-century Freikorps personnel German Army personnel of World War I German people imprisoned abroad German police chiefs German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union Holocaust perpetrators in Poland Holocaust perpetrators in Ukraine Members of the Reichstag 1933–1936 Members of the Reichstag 1936–1938 Members of the Reichstag 1938–1945 Nazi Party politicians People from Alb-Donau-Kreis People from the Kingdom of Württemberg SS-Brigadeführer Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class Recipients of the War Merit Cross Reichswehr personnel SA-Oberführer SS and police leaders Stahlhelm members Volkssturm personnel Waffen-SS personnel