Matthias Kleinheisterkamp (22 June 1893 – 29 April 1945) was a high-ranking 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 ...

. Reaching the rank of SS-Obergruppenführer, he commanded the SS Division Totenkopf,

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 o ...

, SS Division Das Reich,

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 ...

, VII SS Panzer Corps, IV SS Panzer Corps, XII SS Army Corps and the XI SS Army Corps in

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 ...

. 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 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 ...

. During his service in the war, he was awarded both classes of 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 ...

and a silver grade

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 ...

. Following the war, Kleinheisterkamp joined the paramilitary group

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 ...

and then served 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 ...

. He joined the Allgemeine-SS in November 1933, membership number 132,399. He transferred to the SS-Verfügungstruppe on 1 April 1935 and was assigned to the SS training school as an infantry instructor. In 1934, he joined the Inspectorate of the SS-VT as a senior staff officer, serving under

Paul Hausser Paul Hausser, also known by his birth name Paul Falk post war (7 October 1880 – 21 December 1972), was a German general and, together with Sepp Dietrich, one of the two highest ranking commanders in the Waffen-SS. He played a key role in the ...

. On 20 April 1937, Kleinheisterkamp joined the

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 ...

, membership number 4,158,838. His career stalled when in June 1938 he experienced serious legal and disciplinary troubles. He was reprimanded by the SS Court Main Office and placed on leave until August 1938. Upon his return to active duty, he was assigned to the ''SS-Standarte Deutschland'', which later became the SS Division Das Reich.

World War II

With this unit, Kleinheisterkamp took part in the

Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

, where he commanded the Group Kleinheisterkamp responsible in part for the evacuation of German citizens and diplomatic personnel from

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. In May 1940, he was put in charge of an infantry regiment within the SS Division Totenkopf under the overall command of

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 com ...

. After Eicke was injured in July 1941, Kleinheisterkamp was, for a short time, commander of the ''Totenkopf'', before being replaced by Georg Keppler. He was then transferred first to SS-Führungshauptamt (SS Leadership Main Office) and later to the SS Division Das Reich. For his leadership of Das Reich during the operations on Eastern Front, Kleinheisterkamp was awarded the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 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 ...

. In June 1942, he took over command of the

, leading the unit until December 1943, when he was transferred to 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 ...

reserves. In January 1944, he was assigned to command the VII SS Panzer Corps,

, IV SS Panzer Corps and the XI SS Army Corps.

Arrest and suicide

Kleinheisterkamp was taken prisoner by the Soviet forces on 28 April 1945 near the village of Halbe, south-east of

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. He committed suicide a day later while in captivity. Other accounts state he died on 2 May in the Battle of Halbe.Fellgiebel 2000, p. 104. Posthumously, Kleinheisterkamp was awarded ''Oak Leaves'' to his ''Knight's Cross''.

Summary of SS career

;Dates of rank * SS- Hauptsturmführer: 20 April 1935 * 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 ...

: 1 June 1935 * SS- Obersturmbannführer: 20 April 1937 * 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 ...

: 18 May 1940 * 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 ...

: 19 July 1940 * 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 ...

und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS: 9 November 1941 * 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 ...

und Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS: 1 May 1943 * SS-

Obergruppenführer (, ) was a paramilitary rank in Nazi Germany that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA) and adopted by the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) one year later. Until April 1942, it was the highest commissioned SS rank after ...

und General der Waffen-SS: 1 August 1944 ;Awards *

Clasp to the Iron Cross Clasp, clasper or CLASP may refer to: * Book clasp, fastener for a book cover * Folding clasp, a device used to close a watch strap * Lobster clasp, fastener for jewellery * Wrist clasp, a dressing accessory * Medal bar, an element in militar ...

(1939) ** 2nd Class (13 September 1939)Thomas 1997, p. 374. ** 1st Class (2 October 1939) *

on 31 March 1942 as SS-''

'', ''

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 and commander of the SS-Division "Das Reich" * 871st Oak Leaves on 9 May 1945 (posthumously) as SS-''

'', ''

Generalleutnant () is the German-language variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO ...

'' of the Waffen-SS and commanding general of the XI. SS-Panzerkorps *

Order of the Cross of Liberty The Order of the Cross of Liberty (; ) is one of three official state Order (decoration), orders in Finland, along with the Order of the White Rose of Finland and the Order of the Lion of Finland. The awards of the Order of the Cross of Liberty ...

1st Class with swords

Notes

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kleinheisterkamp, Matthias 1893 births 1945 suicides 1945 deaths 20th-century Freikorps personnel Military personnel from Wuppertal People from the Rhine Province German Army personnel of World War I SS-Obergruppenführer Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Liberty, 1st Class Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class Nazis who died by suicide in prison custody Nazi Party officials Nazis who died by suicide in Nazi Germany German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union German people who died in Soviet detention Prussian Army personnel Waffen-SS personnel killed in action