Heinz Macher
Heinz Macher | |
|---|---|
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves |
Heinz Macher (31 December 1919 – 21 December 2001) was a mid-ranking
Career
Macher was born in the town of
Macher was appointed the second assistant to Heinrich Himmler in 1944, followed by
During the last few days of the war, Himmler, Macher and Grothmann traveled from Lübeck to
Dismissed from his posts and unwanted by his former colleagues, Himmler attempted to go into hiding in order to avoid capture. Himmler equipped himself with a forged paybook under the name of Sergeant Heinrich Hitzinger of the Geheime Feldpolizei (Secret Field Police), which was a mistake since members of this organization were sought after by the liberation forces. Macher and Grothmann were both dressed as army privates.[4] Macher, Himmler and Grothmann were stopped at a checkpoint, which had been set up by former Soviet POWs, on 21 May and detained. The three men were taken to an Allied barracks in Lüneburg on 23 May.[4] During a routine interrogation, Himmler admitted who he was; thereafter, at the headquarters of the Second British Army, during an attempted medical examination Himmler bit into a hidden cyanide pill and died.[5] After Himmler's suicide, Macher and Grothmann were arrested.[6]
Macher appeared publicly in April 1966, along with other former SS officers, at the funeral of
Awards
- Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (24 September 1941) & 1st Class (25 March 1942)[9]
- German Cross in Gold on 7 August 1944 as SS-Obersturmführer in the 16.(Pi.)/SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 3 "Deutschland"[10]
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
- Knight's Cross on 3 April 1943 as SS-Untersturmführer and leader of the 16.(Pi.)/SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment "Deutschland"[11]
- 554th Oak Leaves on 19 August 1944 as SS-Obersturmführer and chief of the 16.(Pi.)/SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 3 "Deutschland"[12]
References
Citations
- ^ "Wewelsburg Castle". Archived from the original on 2011-05-21. Retrieved 2013-09-09.
- ^ Longerich 2012, pp. 733–734.
- ^ Manvell & Fraenkel 2007, pp. 239, 243.
- ^ a b Weale 2010, p. 410.
- ^ Weale 2010, pp. 410, 411.
- ^ Photograph of Heinz Macher next to Himmler
- ^ Photograph of the funeral of Sepp Dietrich
- ^ This article incorporates information from the corresponding article in the Spanish Wikipedia
- ^ Thomas 1998, p. 49.
- ^ Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 290.
- ^ Fellgiebel 2000, pp. 300, 497.
- ^ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 87.
Bibliography
- Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
- ISBN 978-0-19-959232-6.
- Manvell, Roger; Fraenkel, Heinrich (2007) [1965]. Heinrich Himmler: The Sinister Life of the Head of the SS and Gestapo. London; New York: Greenhill; Skyhorse. ISBN 978-1-60239-178-9.
- Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
- Thomas, Franz (1998). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2: L–Z [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 2: L–Z] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2300-9.
- ISBN 978-1408703045.
