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Josef "Sepp" Dietrich
Dietrich as an SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer
Nickname(s)	Sepp, Ujac
Born	(1892-05-28)28 May 1892 Hawangen, Bavaria, German Empire
Died	21 April 1966(1966-04-21) (aged 73) Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918) Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany
Years of service	1911–19 1928–45
Rank	SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer und Generaloberst der Waffen-SS
Service number	NSDAP #89,015 SS #1,117
Commands	Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler 1st SS Panzer Corps 5th Panzer Army 6th Panzer Army
Battles / wars	Battles/Campaigns World War I Battle of Caporetto World War II Invasion of Poland Battle of France Battle of Dunkirk Balkans Campaign Invasion of Yugoslavia Battle of Greece Operation Barbarossa Invasion of Normandy Battle of the Bulge Operation Spring Awakening Budapest Offensive Siege of Budapest
Awards	Awards Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves with Swords with Diamonds Iron Cross (1914), Second Class (1917) First Class (1918) Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939) Second Class (1939) First Class (1939) Bavarian Military Merit Order 3rd class with swords (1918) Blood Order (#10) (1933) Pilot/Observer Badge in Gold with Diamonds (1943)
Spouse(s)	Barbra (née Seidl) 1921-1937 Ursula (née Monigner) 1942-1966

Josef "Sepp" Dietrich (28 May 1892 – 21 April 1966) was a member of the Weimar Reichstag, soldier, and Waffen-SS officer, who participated in both World Wars. He was the first and longest serving commander of the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler. He commanded both Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS troops at the filed army level and, along with Paul Hausser, was one of only two Waffen-SS officers to reach the rank of SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer. An early member of the SS, he was Adolf Hitler's chauffeur and bodyguard until 1929; thereafter he was appointed to the Waffen-SS where he received rapid promotion. Dietrich was one of Hitler's most trusted subordinates and he played a key role in the Night of the Long Knives purge of 1934. At the Dachau trials he was found guilty of war crimes by the United States after being found culpable for the Malmedy massacre and was later tried and imprisoned by Germany for killings he coordinated during the 1934 purge.

Early life and career

Sepp Dietrich was born on 28 May 1892 in Hawangen, near Memmingen in the Kingdom of Bavaria, German Empire. He was the illegitimate son of Kreszentia Dietrich, who later married Pelagius Milz, a coachman. Before the outbreak of World War I Dietrich worked as hotel boy, servant and coachman.

In 1911 he joined the Bavarian Army with the 4th Bavarian Field Artillery Regiment in Augsburg, but one month later he was discharged due to injuries received after being thrown from a horse. In the First World War, he again served with the Bavarian Field artillery. He was promoted Gefreiter in 1917 and awarded the Iron Cross 2nd class. In 1918 he was promoted Unteroffizier and member of the Bavarian Army's Sturmpanzerwagenabteilung 13, one of the first German tank units. By the end of the war Dietrich was awarded the Iron Cross 1st class and Bavarian Military Merit Order IIIrd class with swords.

Interwar period

Following the armistice, Dietrich joined the Freikorps Oberland and fought against the Bavarian Soviet Republic. Thereafter he took several jobs, including waiter, policeman, foreman, farm laborer, petrol station attendant, and customs officer. Dietrich was introduced to Nazism by Christian Weber, who was his employer at the Tankstelle-Blau-Bock filling station in Munich. He joined the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in 1928 and got a job at Eher Verlag, the NSDAP publisher. He then became commander of Hitler's Schutzstaffel (SS) bodyguard, where he accompanied Hitler on his tours around Germany. Later Hitler arranged other jobs, including various SS posts, and let him live in the Reich Chancellery. On 5 January 1930, Dietrich was elected to the Reichstag as a delegate for Lower Bavaria.

By 1931, he had been appointed an SS-Gruppenführer. When the Nazi Party came to power in 1933, Dietrich rose swiftly through the hierarchy. He became the first commander of the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, a general of the Waffen-SS, and a member of the Prussian state council. As one of Hitler's intimates, Dietrich was often able to disregard his SS superior, Heinrich Himmler, at one time even banning Himmler from the Leibstandarte barracks. Under DIertrich's command, the LSSAH eventually grew into an elite division of the Waffen-SS. Although nominally under Himmler, Dietrich was the real commander and handled day-to-day administration.

In the summer of 1934, Dietrich was tasked by Hitler to eliminate part of the Sturmabteilung (SA) leadership in the Night of the Long Knives. On 30 June, Hitler, along with Dietrich and a unit from the Leibstandarte, traveled to Bad Wiessee to personally oversee the arrest of Ernst Röhm. That afternon Dietrich received orders from Hitler for the Leibstandarte to form an execution squad and go to Stadelheim prison, where certain SA leaders were being held. There, in the prison courtyard, the Leibstandarte firing squad shot five SA generals and an SA colonel. Additional SA personnel identified by the regime as traitors were shot in Berlin by another unit of the Leibstandarte after Hitler told Dietrich to take six men and go to the Ministry of Justice to shoot specific SA leaders. In the aftermath of the purge Dietrich was promoted to SS-Obergruppenführer. It was Dietrich's role in the purge which later resulted in a nineteen-month sentence from a postwar German court.

World War II

Early campaigns

Dietrich in Greece, 1941

At the outbreak of World War II, Dietrich led the Leibstandarte during the German invasion of Poland, where he was attached to the 17th Infantry Division and then the 4th Panzer Division. After the invasion of Poland Dietrich's forces were expanded and he was given the vanguard for the invasion of the Netherlands. After the Dutch surrender, the Leibstandarte moved south to France on 24 May 1940. They took up a position 15 miles south west of Dunkirk along the line of the Aa Canal, facing the Allied defensive line near Watten. That night the OKW ordered the advance to halt, with the British Expeditionary Force trapped. The Leibstandarte paused for the night. However, on the following day, in defiance of Hitler's orders, Dietrich ordered a Battalion to cross the canal and take the heights beyond, where British artillery observers were putting the regiment at risk. They assaulted the heights and drove the observers off. Instead of being censured for his act of defiance, Dietrich was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

After the surrender of France, Dietrich remained in command of the Leibstandarte, which was again expanded. In February of 1941 Dietrich was posted to Bulgaria from where he was tasked with following the 9th Panzer Division in the invasion of Greece. On 11 and 12 April Dietrich defeated a combined Greek and British Commonwealth army at the Battle of Vevi. A week later Georgios Tsolakoglou surrendered the entirety of the Epirus Army Section to Dietrich, effectively ending Greek military resistance. In the rush to prevent British Commonwealth troops from escaping Dietrich ordered his men to seize fishing boats and cross the Gulf of Patras. By the end of the month all remaining Commonwealth forces in Greece had been captured or had evacuated.

Eastern Front

In recognition of his success in Greece the Leibstandarte was authorized to expand to a full division, although it was not able to come to full strength before the invasion of the Soviet Union. Dietrich was attached to XIV Panzer Corps for the opening stages of Operation Barbarossa and then moved to a variety of other commands in Army Group South, where he participated in the Battles of Uman and Kiev. Dietich then led the LSSH in the Crimea Campaign and in the capture of Rostov. After wintering in Mius Dietrich participated in Operation Fall Blau before moving his severely depleted division to Normandy for rest and refit. While in Normandy the LSSH was reorganized into a Panzergrenadier Division and assigned to the newly created SS Panzer Corps under the command of Paul Hausser.

After the surrender of the German 6th Army at the Battle of Stalingrad, Dietrich was again sent east. He lead the LSSH in the Third Battle of Kharkov, where he was awarded the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords for his actions there. After taking heavy losses in the house to house fighting in Kharkov Dietrich and the LSSH were again pulled off the line for refit. Hausser's SS Panzer Corps was split, with Dietrich promoted in July to the command of the newly 1st SS Panzer Corps, and Hausser taking command of the 2nd SS Panzer Corps.

In August 1943, he was sent to Italy to recover Benito Mussolini's mistress Clara Petacci, assist in disarming Italian troops, and conduct anti-partisan operations. By December Dietrich's Corps was deemed ready for front line duty and was posted to Brussels early the next year.

Western Front

Dietrich meeting soldiers at the front during the Vistula–Oder Offensive, January 1945

Dietrich commanded the 1st SS Panzer Corps in the Battle of Normandy. He rose to command 5th Panzer Army during the later stages of this campaign. Hitler then gave him the command of the newly created 6th Panzer Armywhich he led in the Battle of the Bulge. He had been assigned to that task due to Hitler's growing distrust of Wehrmacht officers in the aftermath of the 20 July Plot. By this time there were signs that Dietrich had been elevated above his military competence. Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt considered him to be 'decent but stupid' but was especially critical of Dietrich's handling of the 6th Panzer Army in the Ardennes. Dietrich's principal staff officer said that he was 'no strategic genius'. On 17 December, Kampfgruppe Peiper, a unit in Dietrich's command, killed 84 U.S. prisoners of war near Malmedy, Belgium, in what is known as the Malmedy massacre.

Hungary

In March 1945, Dietrich's 6th Panzer Army and the LSSAH spearheaded Operation Spring Awakening, an offensive in Hungary near Lake Balaton aimed at securing the last oil reserves still available to Germany. Despite early gains, the offensive was too ambitious in scope and failed. After the failure of the operation the 6th Panzer Army retreated to the Vienna area and renamed the 6th SS Panzer Army in April. As a mark of HItler's displeasure at their failure to achieve his goals, the Waffen-SS units involved in the battle were ordered by Hitler to remove their cuff titles, an order Dietrich refused to relay to his troops. Shortly thereafter, Dietrich's troops were forced to retreat from Vienna by the Soviet Red Army forces. Dietrich, accompanied by his wife, surrendered on 9 May 1945 to the U.S. 36th Infantry Division in Austria.

During the war, Dietrich had held the favor and confidence of the Hitler due to his plain-speaking loyalty. He therefore he had enjoyed lavish publicity, numerous decorations and rapid series of promotions. Dietrich often took gambles, much to the dislike of the OKW, such as when he sent the Leibstandarte division 'charging into Rostov' without orders 'purely to gain a prestige victory'. Once Dietrich was promoted to a Corps command he was assisted by staff officers transferred from the army. Still, the army command had difficulty keeping him in line.

Post war

Photograph of Sepp Dietrich in U.S. military custody

Dietrich was tried as Defendant No. 11 by U.S. Military Tribunal at Dachau, from 16 May 1946 until 16 July 1946. On 16 July 1946, he was sentenced to life imprisonment in the Malmedy massacre trial for “offences against customs and ethics of war” in connection with 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 the U.S. War Criminals Prison No. 1 at Landsberg am Lech in Bavaria. Dietrich served ten years of his sentence and was released on parole on 22 October 1955. However, he was rearrested in Ludwigsburg in August 1956. He was charged by the Landgericht München I and tried from 6 May 1957 until 14 May 1957 for his role in the killing of SA leaders during the Night of the Long Knives. On 14 May 1957, he was sentenced to nineteen months for his part in the purge and returned to the U.S. military prison at Landsberg. He was released due to a heart condition and circulation problems in his legs on 2 February 1958 served almost his entire 19-month sentence.

After his release he settled in Ludwigsburg, where he devoted himself to hunting and the activities of HIAG. When his former soldiers learned that the post-war West German government had denied Dietrich any form of a military pension, thousands of them contributed to a fund which provided him one. In 1966, Dietrich died of a heart attack in Ludwigsburg at age 73. Six thousand of his wartime comrades came to his funeral, where he was eulogized by Wilhelm Bittrich.

Personal life

Dietrich was married twice and had three sons. His first wife was Barbra "Betti" Seidl (b. 24 April 1896). They were married on 17 February 1921 and were divorced in April 1937. On 19 January 1942, Dietrich married Ursula Moninger-Brenner (born 26 March 1915 and died in 1983), a former spouse of SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Polizei Karl-Heinrich Brenner. Dietrich and Moninger-Brenner had a son, Wolf-Dieter Dietrich, who was born out of wedlock in Karlsruhe in 1939, before Brenner’s divorce was finalized. The two SS generals nonetheless remained friends. A second son, Lutz, was born in Karlsruhe on 20 March 1943, with Heinrich Himmler as the boy's godfather. Dietrich's third son, Götz-Hubertus, was born in Karlsruhe on 23 November 1944; Himmler was again the godfather.

References

Bibliography

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• Messenger, Charles (2005). Hitler's Gladiator: The Life and Wars of Panzer Army Commander Sepp Dietrich. ISBN 978-1-84486-022-7.
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• Höhne, Heinz (1969). Der Orden unter dem Totenkopf [The Order of the Death's Head, The Story of Hitler's SS]. Translated by Barry, Richard. Pan Books. ISBN 0-330-02963-0.
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External links

Category:1892 births Category:1966 deaths Category:People from Unterallgäu Category:People from the Kingdom of Bavaria Category:Nazis who served in World War I Category:Military personnel of Bavaria Category:Nazi leaders Category:Nazis convicted of war crimes Category:Nazis sentenced to death in absentia Category:Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds Category:Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class Category:Recipients of the Blood Order Category:Grand Officers of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Category:Grand Officers of the Military Order of Savoy Category:Grand Officers of the Order of the Crown (Romania) Category:Recipients of the Military Merit Cross (Bavaria) Category:Recipients of the Medal for Bravery (Austria-Hungary) Category:SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer Category:20th-century Freikorps personnel Category:Chauffeurs of Adolf Hitler Category:Holocaust perpetrators Category:Members of the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic Category:Members of the Reichstag of Nazi Germany Category:Waffen-SS personnel Category:Operation Overlord people