Waldemar Wappenhans
Waldemar Wappenhans | |
|---|---|
| Born | 21 October 1893 SS and Police Leader, "Wolhynien-Brest-Litovsk;" "Nicolajew;" "Dnjepropetrowsk-Krivoi Rog" |
| Battles/wars | World War I World War II |
| Awards | Iron Cross, 1st and 2nd class War Merit Cross, 1st and 2nd class with Swords |
Waldemar Wappenhans (21 October 1893 - 2 December 1967) was an SS-Gruppenführer and Generalleutnant of police who served as an SS and police leader (SSPF) in the Reichskommissariat Ukraine.
Early years
Wappenhans was born in
At the outbreak of the
SS peacetime career
Wappenhans was then assigned to SS-
Second World War
In January 1936, Wappenhans had entered the
From October 1943, Wappenhans was an SSPF for special assignment to the Supreme SS and Police Leader (HöSSPF) "Ukraine," Hans-Adolf Prützmann, and was commander of a Kampfgruppe (battle group) until January 1944. After that he was placed on medical leave due to illness. In January 1945, Wappenhans was transferred to the staff of Generalfeldmarschall Walter Model on the western front. Towards the very end of the war he received orders to report to Berlin but, unable to reach the encircled city, instead made his way to Hahnenklee, where his family lived.[1]
Postwar life
Wappenhaus went underground under the false name "Hans Seemann," working as a farm hand, and then as a property management administrator for the British occupation authorities in Hanover. At the time, Wappenhans was reported to be the fourth highest Nazi on the Allies "most-wanted" list. In November 1949, his true identity was discovered by Wolfe Frank, a reporter for the New York Herald Tribune who had served as the chief interpreter at the Nuremberg trials.[6] He was interrogated and signed a statement, but denied all involvement in criminal acts. He underwent a denazification process in Bielefeld but was not brought to criminal trial. He then worked for Heimbs Kaffee, a coffee roasting company in Braunschweig, and died in Hanover in December 1967.[1]
Military, SS and police ranks
| Wappenhan's military and SS ranks[1] | |
|---|---|
| Date | Rank |
| July 1914 | Leutnant |
| 1923 | Oberleutnant |
| July 1932 | SS-Sturmbannführer
|
| December 1932 | SS-Standartenführer
|
| November 1934 | SS-Oberführer
|
| January 1936 | Leutnant of reserves |
| May 1937 | Hauptmann of reserves |
| October 1940 | Major of reserves |
| September 1941 | SS-Brigadeführer and Generalmajor of police
|
| November 1943 | SS-Gruppenführer and Generalleutnant of police
|
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e Yerger 1997, p. 61.
- ^ Schiffer Publishing Ltd. 2000, p. 16.
- ^ Yerger 1997, p. 61; 132; 163-164; 179; 182; 198.
- ^ Yerger 1997, pp. 61–64.
- ^ Holocaust in Ukraine in the Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine retrieved 26 March 2022
- ^ Wolfe Frank (15 December 1949). "A High Nazi Officer is Run to Earth". New York Herald Tribune (European Edition). p. 4.
Sources
- Klee, Ernst (2007). Das Personenlexikon zum Dritten Reich. Wer war was vor und nach 1945. Frankfurt-am-Main: Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-596-16048-8.
- Schiffer Publishing Ltd. (2000). SS Officers List: SS-Standartenführer to SS-Oberstgruppenführer (As of 30 January 1942). Schiffer Military History Publishing. ISBN 0-7643-1061-5.
- Yerger, Mark C. (1997). Allgemeine-SS: The Commands, Units and Leaders of the General SS. Schiffer Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-7643-0145-4.
Further reading
- Frank, Wolfe (2019). The Undercover Nazi Hunter: Exposing Subterfuge and Unmasking Evil in Post-War Germany. Frontline Books. ISBN 978-1-526-73873-8.