- Sepp Dietrich
Infobox Military Person
name= Josef Dietrich
lived=birth date|1892|5|28|df=y — death date and age|1966|4|21|1892|5|28|df=y
placeofbirth=Hawangen ,Bavaria
placeofdeath=Ludwigsburg ,Germany
nickname="Sepp," "Ujac"
allegiance=Germany
serviceyears=1911–1945
rank=Oberstgruppenführer und Generaloberst der Waffen-SS
commands=
unit=
battles=
awards=Ritterkreuz des Eisernes Kreuz mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern, und Brillanten
laterwork=Josef "Sepp" Dietrich (
May 28 ,1892 –April 21/22, 1966) was a GermanWaffen-SS general, an SS-Oberstgruppenführer, and one of the closest men toAdolf Hitler . For his wartime services, he was one of only 27 men to be awarded theKnight's Cross with Oak leaves, Swords, and Diamonds.Early life and career
Sepp Dietrich was born in
Hawangen , nearMemmingen inBavaria onMay 28 ,1892 , son of Palagius Dietrich and his wife Kreszentia. He worked as butcher and hotel servant. In 1911 he joined the Bavarian Army for a short time. Volunteering at the beginning of the First World War, he served with theartillery , as apaymaster sergeant and later in the first German tank troops.After the war, Dietrich served briefly in a
Freikorps against theBavarian Soviet Republic , May, 1919. Thereafter, he migrated from one job to another, including waiter, policeman, foreman, farm laborer, gas station attendant and customs officer. He joined the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in 1928 and became commander of Hitler'sSchutzstaffel (SS) bodyguard. He accompanied Hitler on his tours around Germany and received the nickname "Chauffeureska" from Hitler. Later Hitler arranged other jobs for him, including various SS posts, and let him live in the chancellery.1930s and World War II
In 1930, Dietrich was elected to the Reichstag as a delegate for
Lower Bavaria . By 1931, he had become SS-Gruppenführer. When theNSDAP took over in 1933, Dietrich rose swiftly through the Nazi hierarchy. He rose to the rank of SS-Obergruppenführer, commander of Leibstandarte SS "Adolf Hitler", General of theWaffen-SS and member of thePrussia n state council.In 1934, Dietrich played an active role in the
Night of the Long Knives . Hitler told him to take six men and go to the Ministry of Justice to execute a number ofSturmabteilung (SA) leaders. Shortly thereafter, he was promoted to SS "Obergruppenführer ". Although, there is a lack of sufficient proof of Dietrich's exact actions to clearly define him as guilty in the eyes of public opinion.When
World War II began, Dietrich led the "Leibstandarte" in attacks onParis and Dunkirk. Dietrich remained in command of the "Leibstandarte" throughout the campaigns inGreece andYugoslavia before being promoted to command of the 1.SS-Panzerkorps, attached toArmy Group Center , on the Eastern Front. In 1943, he was sent toItaly to recoverBenito Mussolini 's mistressClara Petacci . He received numerous German military medals but also became notorious for his mistreatment of prisoners of war.Dietrich commanded the I.SS-Panzerkorps in the
Battle of Normandy . Because of his success, Hitler promoted him to command of the 6.SS-Panzer-Armee as well. Dietrich commanded the 6.SS-Panzer-Armee in theBattle of the Bulge in 1944. He had been assigned to that task because, due to theJuly 20 Plot , Hitler distrustedWehrmacht officers. OnDecember 17 , SS units under his command killed between 77 and 82 U.S. prisoners of war nearMalmedy ,Belgium , in what is known as theMalmedy massacre . His knowledge of the massacre is disputed. Fact|date=February 2007At this point, Dietrich began to protest Hitler's unwillingness to let officers act upon their own initiative. In April 1945, after the failure of Hitler's planned Spring Awakening Offensive at
Lake Balaton , spearheaded by Dietrich's troops, a frustrated Hitler ordered Dietrich and his men to give up their unit cuff titles, but Dietrich refused to pass on the order.Dietrich commanded tank troops in
Vienna but failed to prevent Soviet troops from taking the city. Accompanied by his wife, Dietrich surrendered onMay 9 ,1945 to Master-Sergeant Herbert Kraus of the U.S. 36th Infantry Division atKrems an der Donau north of St. Pölten inAustria .Post war
Dietrich was tried as Defendant No. 11 by U.S. Military Tribunal at Dachau ("United States of America vs. Valentin Bersin et al", Case No. 6-24), from
May 16 ,1946 untilJuly 16 ,1946 . OnJuly 16 ,1946 , he was sentenced to life imprisonment in theMalmedy massacre trial for ordering the execution of U.S. prisoners of war in Malmedy. Due to testimony in his defense by other German officers, his sentence was shortened to 25 years. He was imprisoned at U.S. War Criminals Prison No. 1 atLandsberg am Lech in Bavaria. Dietrich served only ten years and was released on parole onOctober 22 ,1955 . However, he was rearrested inLudwigsburg in August 1956. He was charged by the Landesgericht München I and tried fromMay 6 ,1957 untilMay 14 ,1957 for his role in the killing of SA leaders in 1934. OnMay 14 ,1957 , he was sentenced to nineteen months for his part in the Night of the Long Knives and imprisoned at Landsberg. He was released due to a heart condition and circulation problems in his legs onFebruary 2 ,1958 . By then he had already served almost his entire 19-month sentence. He then settled inLudwigsburg where he devoted himself toHIAG activities and hunting. Dietrich was sentenced to death in absentia by a Soviet court in connection with alleged war crimes committed by "Leibstandarte" in Kharkov in 1943.In 1966 Dietrich died of a heart attack in Ludwigsburg at age 73. Seven thousand of his wartime comrades came to his funeral. He was eulogized by former SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS
Wilhelm Bittrich .Personal life
* Dietrich was married twice. His first wife was Barbra "Betti" Seidl (b.
April 24 ,1896 ). They were married onFebruary 17 ,1921 and were divorced in April 1937. OnJanuary 19 ,1942 , Dietrich married Ursula Moninger-Brenner (bornMarch 26 ,1915 and died in 1983), a former spouse of SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der PolizeiKarl-Heinrich Brenner (they had married in 1935). Dietrich and Ms. Moninger-Brenner had a son, Wolf-Dieter Dietrich, who was born out of wedlock inKarlsruhe in 1939, before Brenner’s divorce was finalized. The two SS generals nonetheless remained friends. A second son, Lutz, was born in Karlsruhe onMarch 20 ,1943 . (Heinrich Himmler was his godfather.) Dietrich's third son, Götz-Hubertus, was born in Karlsruhe onNovember 23 ,1944 . (Himmler was again a godfather.)ummary of his SS career
Dates of rank
* SS-Sturmführer:
June 1 ,1928
* SS-Sturmbannführer:August 1 ,1928
* SS-Standartenführer:September 18 ,1929
* SS-Oberführer:October 10 ,1930
* SS-Gruppenführer:December 18 ,1931
* SS-Obergruppenführer:July 1 ,1934 und General der Waffen-SS:November 19 ,1940
* SS-Oberstgruppenführer und Panzer-Generaloberst der Waffen-SS:August 1 ,1944 Notable decorations
*
Eastern Front Medal (1942)
*Panzer Badge 1918 in Silver (1921)
*Iron Cross Second (1917) and First (1918) Classes
* SS-Honour Ring (?)
* Clasp to the Iron Cross Second (1939) and First (1939) Classes
*Golden Party Badge (1933)
*Knight's Cross (1940)
* Oak Leaves (1941)
* Swords (1943)
* Diamonds (1944)
*Blood Order -(Nr. 10) (1933)
*Sudetenland Medal (?) with Prague Castle bar (?)
*Anschluss Medal (?)
*Wound Badge (?)
*Combined Pilots-Observation Badge in Gold with Diamonds(?)
*Cross of Honor (1934)
* Bavarian Military Merit Cross 3rd Class with Swords and Crown (?)
*Austrian Bravery Medal in Bronze (?)
*Silesian Eagle 2nd Class (1934)
*Bavarian Long Service Award 3rd Class (?)
*Armed Forces Long Service Award (?)
*NSDAP Long Service Award in Silver (?)
* ItalianOrder of Saints Maurice and Lazarus , Grand Officer (?)
*Order of the Crown of Italy , Grand Cross (?)
* ItalianMilitary Order of Savoy , Grand Officer (?)
*Order of the Crown of Romania , Grand Officer (?)Recommendations
Outstanding in the defence, especially on the return path to Riga. Refer to the Georgian Staff Corps.
References & Further reading
There are two biographies about Sepp Dietrich: one by Charles Messenger (of which there are two versions [see below] ) and another by the French historian, Jean Mabire. Additional information about Dietrich has to be pieced together from many separate sources, which are mostly in English and in German. The following are among the more relevant and accessible sources. They are obtainable through larger research libraries (and their Interlibrary Loan), or through online vendors.
In English:
*Bradley, Omar N. "A Soldier's Story". New York: Henry Holt, 1951.
*Bruce, Donald Roger. "The Early Career of Sepp Dietrich, 28 May 1892-1 September 1939". Master's Thesis. Tempe, Arizona: Arizona State University, 1977.
*Gisevius, Hans Bernd. "To the Bitter End". Translated by Richard and Clara Winston. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1947.
*Guderian, Heinz. "Panzer Leader". Translated by Constantine FitzGibbon. New York: Dutton, 1952.
*Hanfstaengl, Ernst 'Putzi'. "Hitler: The Missing Years". London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1957.
*Hassell, Ulrich von. "The von Hassell Diaries, 1938-1944: The Story of the Forces Against Hitler Inside Germany, as Recorded by Ambassador Ulrich von Hassell, a Leader of the Movement". New York: Doubleday, 1947.
*Höhne, Heinz. "The Order of the Death's Head: The Story of Hitler's SS". Translated by Richard Barry. New York: Coward-McCann, 1969.
*Messenger, Charles. "Hitler's Gladiator: The Life and Times of Oberstgruppenführer and Panzergeneral-Oberst Der Waffen-SS Sepp Dietrich". No location: Potomac Books, 1988.
*Messenger, Charles. "Hitler's Gladiator: The Life and Wars of Panzer Army Commander Sepp Dietrich". No location: Conway Maritime Press, 2005.
*Reitlinger, Gerald. "The SS: Alibi of a Nation, 1922-1945". London: William Heinamann, 1965.
*Speer, Albert. "Inside the Third Reich: Memories by Albert Speer". New York: Macmillan, 1970.
*Stein, George H. "The Waffen SS: Hitler's Elite Guard at War, 1939-1945". Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1966.
*Weingartner, James J. "Hitler's Guard: The Story of the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, 1933-1945". Carbondale and Edwardsville, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press, 1974.In German:
*"Dienstalterliste der Schutzstaffel der NSDAP".
*Hausser, Paul. "Soldaten wie andere auch".
*-. "Waffen-SS in Einsatz".
*Hitler, Adolf. "Adolf Hitler und seine Kämpfer".
*Hoffmann, Peter. "Die Sicherheit des Dictators".
*Jahncke, Kurt, ed. "Das Archiv".
*Kienast, E., ed. "Der deutsche Richstag, 1936".
*Schirach, Baldur von. "Die Pionere des dritten Reiches".
*-. "Ich glaubte an Hitler".
*Schwarz, Max. "MdR: Biographisches Handbuch der Reichstage".
*Steiner, Felix. "Die Armee der Geächten".
*Wistrich, Robert, and Hermann Weiß. "Wer war wer im Dritten Reich". Frankfurt/Main: Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verlag, 1993. ISBN 3-596-24373-4.In French:
*Mabire, Jean. "Panzers Marsh! Sepp Dietrich, le dernier lansquenet".
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