Fritz Witt
Fritz Witt | |
---|---|
![]() Witt (centre) with Max Wünsche (left) and Kurt Meyer (right). France, 1944 | |
Born | Hohenlimburg, German Empire | 27 May 1908
Died | 14 June 1944 Venoix, Occupied France | (aged 36)
Buried | |
Allegiance | ![]() |
Service/ | ![]() |
Years of service | 1933–44 |
Rank | SS-Brigadeführer |
Service number | NSDAP #816,769 SS #21,518 |
Commands | SS Division Hitlerjugend |
Battles/wars | Invasion of Normandy † |
Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves |
Fritz Witt (27 May 1908 – 14 June 1944) was a German Waffen-SS commander during the Nazi era. During World War II, he served with the SS Division Leibstandarte before taking command of the SS Division Hitlerjugend. He was killed in action in June 1944.
Early life and career
Born in 1908 into a family of a merchant, Witt worked in the textile industry until he lost his job in June 1931.[1] Witt joined the Nazi Party (NSDAP) (Nr. 816,769) in December 1931 and the SS (Nr. 21,518).[2] In March 1933, Witt became a member of the SS-Stabswache "Berlin", a bodyguard unit to protect Adolf Hitler. It was renamed to SS-Sonderkommando "Berlin" in September and in the following month, Witt was appointed a platoon leader.[1] This unit was the nucleus of the later SS Division Leibstandarte (LSSAH).[3] In January 1935, Witt was appointed company commander in the SS-Standarte "Deutschland", a unit that later became part of the SS Division Das Reich.[1]
World War II
Witt participated in the Invasion of Poland in September 1939 as a member of the motorized infantry regiment "Deutschland", which was subordinated to Panzer Division Kempf, a combined arms unit commanded by General Werner Kempf. Witt's unit took part in the Battle of the Border and then in the fighting at Zakroczym where men from Panzer Division Kempf committed the Massacre in Zakroczym on 28 September 1939.[1][4] During the campaign, Witt was awarded both classes of the Iron Cross.[5]
On 19 October 1939, Witt was appointed battalion commander in the SS-Regiment "Deutschland", leading the battalion in the Battle of the Netherlands and the Battle of France.[5] On 4 September 1940, Witt was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. He was then transferred to the LSSAH on 16 October 1940 as battalion commander.[5]
As battalion commander in the LSSAH, Witt participated in the Battle of Greece (6–30 April 1941), the Axis invasion of the Allied Kingdom of Greece. On 11–12 April 1941, Witt's battalion participated in the assault on the Klidi Pass, sustaining heavy casualties in the attack. On 14 April 1941, the battalion fought against British forces in the Battle of Kleisoura Pass. There, Witt's brother, a member of the same unit, was killed in action.[6]
Divisional command
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/30/Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-297-1740-10A%2C_Frankreich%2C_SS-Division_%22Hitlerjugend%22%2C_Rundstedt.jpg/260px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-297-1740-10A%2C_Frankreich%2C_SS-Division_%22Hitlerjugend%22%2C_Rundstedt.jpg)
On 1 July 1943, Witt was promoted to SS-Oberführer and was appointed commander of the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend, the majority of its enlisted men were drawn from members of the Hitler Youth. His previous command of the SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 1 was given to Albert Frey. In the following months, Witt oversaw the formation and training of Hitlerjugend division at Beverloo Camp, Belgium.[7]
In expectation of the Allied invasion, 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend was ordered to relocate to France in March 1944. On 1 April 1944, elements of the division committed the Ascq massacre in Ascq, France. In command of those troops was SS-Obersturmführer Walter Hauck, a company commander in the Hitlerjugend division.[8]
On 20 April 1944, Witt was promoted to SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor of the Waffen-SS.[9] On 6 June 1944, the Western Allies launched the Invasion of Normandy. During the Normandy Campaign, Kurt Meyer, commander of the Hitlerjugend 25th Panzer Grenadier Regiment, used the Ardenne Abbey for his regimental headquarters.[10] On 7 June, members of the division under Kurt Meyer illegally executed Canadian soldiers in what became known as the Ardenne Abbey massacre.[11]
On 14 June 1944, Witt was killed in action by a Royal Navy naval artillery barrage which hit the divisional command post at Venoix. He was initially buried at Venoix and later reinterred at Champigny—Saint-André-de-l'Eure, France.[12]
Awards
- Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (17 September 1939) & 1st Class (26 September 1939)[13]
- German Cross in Gold on 8 February 1942 as SS-Obersturmbannführer in the SS-Division Leibstandarte[14]
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
- Knight's Cross on 4 September 1940 as SS-Sturmbannführer and commander of the I./SS-Standarte "Deutschland".[15]
- Oak Leaves on 1 March 1943 as SS-Standartenführer and commander of SS-Regiment Leibstandarte[15]
References
Citations
- ^ a b c d Stockert 2012, p. 389.
- ^ Westfälische Forschungen, p. 370.
- ^ Cook & Bender 1994, pp. 17, 19.
- ^ Datner 1961, pp. 60–61.
- ^ a b c Stockert 2012, p. 390.
- ^ Stockert 2012, p. 391.
- ^ Stockert 2012, p. 394.
- ^ Westemeier 2013, p. 300.
- ^ Stockert 2012, p. 395.
- ^ Margolian 2000, p. 44.
- ^ Birn 2006, p. 567.
- ^ Stockert 2012, p. 396.
- ^ Thomas 1998, p. 450.
- ^ Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 518.
- ^ a b Scherzer 2007, p. 791.
Bibliography
- Birn, Ruth Bettina (2006). "Spät, aber gründlich. Die Ermittlungen gegen Kriegsverbrecher in Kanada". In Frei, Norbert (ed.). Transnationale Vergangenheitspolitik. Der Umgang mit deutschen Kriegsverbrechern in Europa nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg. Göttingen: Wallstein. ISBN 978-3-89244-940-9.
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(help) - Cook, Stan; Bender, Roger James (1994). Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler: Uniforms, Organization, & History. San Jose, CA: James Bender Publishing. ISBN 978-0-912138-55-8.
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(help) - Datner, Szymon (1961). Zbrodnie Wehrmachtu na jeńcach wojennych armii regularnych w II wojnie światowej (in Polish). Warszawa, Poland: Wydawnictwo Ministerstwa obrony narodowej. OCLC 491616631.
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suggested) (help) - Margolian, Howard (2000) [1998]. Conduct Unbecoming: The Story of the Murder of Canadian Prisoners of War in Normandy. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-0802083609.
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(help) - Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
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suggested) (help) - Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
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suggested) (help) - Stein, George H. (1984). The Waffen SS: Hitler's Elite Guard at War, 1939–1945. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0-8014-9275-4.
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(help) - Stockert, Peter (2012) [1997]. Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2 (in German) (4th ed.). Bad Friedrichshall, Germany: Friedrichshaller Rundblick. ISBN 978-3-9802222-9-7.
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suggested) (help) - Thomas, Franz (1998). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2: L–Z (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2300-9.
{{cite book}}
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suggested) (help) - Stollberg-Rilinger, Barbara, ed. (2003). Westfälische Forschungen, Band 53. Münster, Germany: Aschendorff. ISBN 978-3-402-09232-3.
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suggested) (help) - Westemeier, Jens (2013). Himmlers Krieger: Joachim Peiper und die Waffen-SS in Krieg und Nachkriegszeit. Paderborn, Germany: Ferdinand Schöningh. ISBN 978-3-506-77241-1.
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- 1908 births
- 1944 deaths
- Nazi Party members
- SS-Brigadeführer
- Hitler Youth
- German military personnel killed in World War II
- Recipients of the Gold German Cross
- Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
- Recipients of the Star of Romania Order
- People from the Province of Westphalia
- Waffen-SS personnel
- Burials at Champigny-Saint-André German war cemetery