Fritz von Scholz (9 December 1896 – 28 July 1944) was a high-ranking member of the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

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 ...

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 a recipient of the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords 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 order of precedence, lower in preceden ...

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

Nazi military career

Born in 1896, Fritz von Scholz served in

World War I 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 ...

with the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army, also known as the Imperial and Royal Army,; was the principal ground force of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. It consisted of three organisations: the Common Army (, recruited from all parts of Austria-Hungary), ...

in 1914. Discharged from the army in 1919, Scholz was a member of the paramilitary ''

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 ...

'' since 1921. He joined the Austrian branch of 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 ...

(NSDAP) in 1932 (Nr. 1304071), and then the Austrian SA. Following his involvement in street violence, Scholz fled to

in late 1933 to avoid arrest. He joined the SS on 10 June 1933 (Nr. 135638), serving with the Austrian SS Legion. Scholtz started World War II as a battalion commander in the SS-Regiment ''Der Führer'', taking part in the Western campaign of 1940 and later taking command of the SS Regiment Nordland, which in 1941 became part of a new

SS Division Wiking The 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking () or SS Division Wiking was an infantry and later an armoured division among the thirty-eight Waffen-SS divisions of Nazi Germany. During World War II, the division served on the Eastern Front. It surrendere ...

. Attached to

Army Group South Army Group South () was the name of one of three German Army Groups during World War II. It was first used in the 1939 September Campaign, along with Army Group North to invade Poland. In the invasion of Poland, Army Group South was led by Ge ...

, the division took

Tarnopol Ternopil, known until 1944 mostly as Tarnopol, is a city in western Ukraine, located on the banks of the Seret (river), Seret River. Ternopil is one of the major cities of Western Ukraine and the historical regions of Galicia (Central Europe ...

in Galicia in late June, 1941. In early 1943, he took command of the

1st SS Infantry Brigade The 1st SS Infantry Brigade () was a unit of the German Waffen SS formed from former concentration camp guards for service in the Soviet Union behind the main front line during the Second World War. They conducted Nazi security warfare in the re ...

, attached to

Army Group Centre Army Group Centre () was the name of two distinct strategic German Army Groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created during the planning of Operation Barbarossa, Germany's invasion of the So ...

, then

2nd SS Infantry Brigade The 2nd SS Infantry Brigade (mot.) () was formed on the 15 May 1941, under the command of Karl Fischer von Treuenfeld with the 4th and 5th SS Infantry (formerly ''Totenkopf'') Regiments and began its operational service in September in the Arm ...

composed of mostly Latvian recruits, under

Army Group North Army Group North () was the name of three separate army groups of the Wehrmacht during World War II. Its rear area operations were organized by the Army Group North Rear Area. The first Army Group North was deployed during the invasion of Pol ...

. On 20 April, Scholz was appointed commander of a new

SS Division Nordland The 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland () was a Waffen-SS division primarily raised with Germans and ethnic Germans from Romania, but also foreign volunteers from Western Europe. It saw action, as part of Army Group North, in ...

. The division was soon moved to

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

where it saw action against

Yugoslav partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian language, Macedonian, and Slovene language, Slovene: , officially the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska i partizanski odr ...

. In January 1944, the division was transferred to the Oranienbaum front near

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

and attached to the

III SS Panzer Corps The III (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps (''III. (germanisches) SS-Panzerkorps'') was a ''Waffen-SS'' armoured corps which saw action on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front during World War II. The ''(Germanische)'' (lit. Germanic) part of i ...

under Army Group North. The division retreated to

Narva Narva is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in the Ida-Viru County, at the Extreme points of Estonia, eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva (river), Narva river which forms the Estonia–Russia border, E ...

and participated in the battles for the Narva bridgehead. Scholz was awarded the Oakleaves to the Knight's Cross on 12 March 1944. In late July, after the launch of the Soviet Narva Offensive, the Corps retreated from the city of

and the

Narva river The Narva, formerly also Narwa or Narova, flows north into the Baltic Sea and is the largest Estonian river by discharge. A similar length of land far to the south, together with it and a much longer intermediate lake, Lake Peipus, all togeth ...

in general, to the Tannenberg defences at the

Sinimäed Hills The Sinimäed Hills (or Blue Hills; ) are three linked hills in northeastern Estonia. The heights which are aligned west–east, consist of Tornimägi, Põrguaugu mägi (also known as Grenadierimägi) and Pargimägi (also known as Lastekodumägi). ...

. On 27 July 1944, Scholz was wounded in an artillery barrage and died the next day. He was posthumously awarded the Swords to the Knight's Cross on 8 August 1944.

Awards

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 ...

2nd Class (17 May 1940) & 1st ClassThomas 1998, p. 282. *

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 22 November 1941 as SS-

Standartenführer __NOTOC__ ''Standartenführer'' (short: ''Staf'', , ) was a Nazi Party (NSDAP) paramilitary rank that was used in several NSDAP organizations, such as the SA, SS, NSKK and the NSFK. First founded as a title in 1925, in 1928 it became one of ...

in SS-Regiment "Nordland" *

**Knight's Cross on 18 January 1942 as SS-''

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 geograph ...

'' and commander of SS-Regiment "Nordland"Scherzer 2007, p. 681.Fellgiebel 2000, p. 387. **423rd Oak Leaves on 12 March 1944 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 ...

'' of the Waffen-SS and commander of the 11. SS-Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Division "Nordland" **85th Swords on 8 August 1944 (posthumously) as SS-''

Gruppenführer __NOTOC__ ''Gruppenführer'' (, ) was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP), first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA. Since then, the term ''Gruppenführer'' is also used for leaders of groups/teams of the police, fire d ...

'' of the Waffen-SS and commander of the 11. SS-Panzergrenadier-Division "Nordland"

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Scholz, Fritz Von 1896 births 1944 deaths People from Plzeň German Bohemian people SS-Gruppenführer 20th-century Freikorps personnel Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I Austrian Waffen-SS personnel killed in action Edlers of Austria Austro-Hungarian Army officers

Nazi military career

Awards

See also

References

Citations

Bibliography