Image by mygraphx on Pixabay · Pixabay License
Wilhelm Bittrich
Sign in to saveGerman general (1894-1979
Key facts
- Born
- ( 1894-02-26 ) 26 February 1894, Wernigerode , German Empire
- Died
- 19 April 1979 (1979-04-19) (aged 85), Wolfratshausen , West Germany
- Allegiance
- German Empire Weimar Republic Nazi Germany
- Branch
- Prussian Army Luftstreitkräfte Reichswehr Waffen-SS
- Service years
- 1914–1945
- Rank
- SS- Obergruppenführer
- Service number
- NSDAP #829,700, SS #39,177
- Commands
- SS Cavalry Division Florian Geyer
- Conflicts
- See battles World War I Western Front Italian Front World War II Invasion of Poland Battle of France Eastern Front Operation Market Garden Battle of the Bulge
- Awards
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords Clasp to the Iron Cross
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- Wilhelm
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- Germany
- Place of birth
- Wernigerode
- Place of death
- Wolfratshausen
- Occupation
- military officer
- Position held
- commanding officer
- Political party
- Nazi Party
- Languages spoken
- German
- Conflict
- World War II
- Military branch
- Waffen-SS
- Military rank
- general
- Image
- Bundesarchiv Bild Wilhelm Bittrich.jpg
- Convicted of
- war crime
Show 8 more facts
- Commons category
- Wilhelm Bittrich
- date of birth
- 1894-02-26
- date of death
- 1979-04-19
- member of
- Schutzstaffel
- allegiance
- Nazi Germany
- start of work period
- 1932-00-00
- P8168
- Hoyt Yeatman
- end of work period
- 1945-00-00
Sources (3)
via Wikidata · CC0
~8 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Wilhelm Bittrich (26 February 1894 – 19 April 1979) was a high-ranking Waffen-SS commander of Nazi Germany. Between August 1942 and February 1943, Bittrich commanded the SS Cavalry Division Florian Geyer, in rear security operations (Bandenbekämpfung, literally: "gang fighting") in the Soviet Union. From July 1944 until the end of the war Bittrich commanded the 2nd SS Panzer Corps in Normandy, during Market Garden and in Hungary.
After his arrest in May 1945, Bittrich was extradited to France to stand trial for allegedly ordering the executions of 17 members of the French Resistance. After being convicted of less serious charges in relation to the executions, Bittrich was sentenced to five years in prison. Following his release, he became active in HIAG, a revisionist organization and a lobby group of former Waffen-SS members and served as chairman during the 1970s.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Wilhelm Bittrich” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.