Alfred Jodl in the Nuremberg Trials (1946)

Generaloberst Alfred Jodl, former Chief of the Operations Staff of the Armed Forces High Command, at the Nuremberg Trials in 1946. Jodl was arrested by British forces on 23 May 1945 along with the remnants of the Flensburg Government, he was transferred to Nuremberg and became one of the 24 major defendants tried before the International Military Tribunal (IMT) starting in November 1945, facing charges of conspiracy to commit crimes against peace, planning, initiating, and waging wars of aggression, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. The prosecution's case against him centered heavily on his personal responsibility for issuing or transmitting directives such as the Commando Order, which mandated the summary execution of captured Allied commandos, and the Commissar Order, which called for the shooting of Soviet political commissars, alongside his central role in planning aggressive campaigns including the invasions of Poland, France, the Soviet Union, and Yugoslavia, as well as reprisals and scorched-earth policies in occupied territories. During the trial, Jodl mounted a vigorous defense, testifying at length about his duties, claiming he had often acted as a professional soldier merely following superior orders while sometimes attempting to moderate Hitler's more extreme demands, and asserting his personal opposition to certain violations of international law, yet the tribunal rejected these arguments, emphasizing his high-level involvement and knowledge in the criminal enterprise. On 1 October 1946, Jodl was convicted on all four counts and sentenced to death by hanging; he was executed on the morning of 16 October 1946 at Nuremberg Prison, where, showing visible nervousness as he ascended the gallows in his Wehrmacht uniform, he uttered his final words, "My greetings to you, my Germany," before his body was cremated and ashes scattered. His conviction and execution remain subjects of historical debate, particularly regarding the application of superior orders as a defense and the tribunal's judgment of military leaders for state-directed policies.

Source :
https://pixpast.wordpress.com/?query-10-page=3&cst&str=428&id_parent=7898&items=12&vd=downloaded&category=7902&flow=1

Walther Lucht cleaning his Shoes

Walther Lucht cleaning his shoes outside his bunkhouse in a POW camp, 24 November 1945. Ritterkreuzträger Walther Lucht (26 February 1882 – 18 March 1949), a General der Artillerie of the Wehrmacht, spent the final years of his life as a prisoner of war following Germany’s defeat in the Second World War. After serving as commander of LXVI. Armeekorps and later briefly leading the 11. Armee during the desperate final campaigns of 1945, Lucht surrendered to American forces in May 1945. As one of Germany’s senior generals and a holder of both the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes and Eichenlaub, he was placed in Allied captivity during the occupation period. Unlike many German officers captured by the Soviet Union, Lucht remained in Western Allied hands, where conditions were generally less severe and where he was subjected primarily to interrogation and administrative detention rather than long-term punitive imprisonment. During his captivity he witnessed the collapse of the military system to which he had devoted more than four decades of service, beginning in the Imperial German Army and continuing through the Reichswehr and Wehrmacht. Released from American captivity in 1948, he returned to civilian life in post-war Germany, but his freedom was short-lived. On 18 March 1949, less than a year after his release, Lucht was killed in a motor vehicle accident near Heilbronn.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Walther_Lucht_cleaning_his_shoes_outside_his_bunkhouse_in_POW_camp_(cropped).jpg

Hans von Obstfelder and Walther von Reichenau

From left to right: General der Infanterie Hans von Obstfelder (Kommandierender General XXIX. Armeekorps) and Generalfeldmarschall Walther von Reichenau (Oberbefehlshaber 6. Armee). The picture was taken in the summer 1941 during Unternehmen Barbarossa by Kriegsberichter Harschneck, and was first published on 17 September 1941.

Source :
https://www.ea-militaria.com/ritterkreuztrager-geneneral-von-reichenau-von-obstfelder-press-photo.html

Otto von Knobelsdorff and Walter Mecke

Generalleutnant Otto von Knobelsdorff (left, Kommandeur 19. Panzer-Division) briefs Major Walter Mecke (Kommandeur I.Abteilung / Panzer-Regiment 27 / 19.Panzer-Division). The picture was taken in Belarus during Unternehmen Barbarossa (German Invasion of the Soviet Union) in the summer 1941. At that time 19. Panzer-Division were part of Heeresgruppe Mitte. 

Source :
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-events-second-world-war-wwii-soviet-union-operation-barbarossa-german-58527157.html?imageid=C0108391-BB75-42A5-A179-E9FC42D98EE1&pn=1&searchId=fb1935bbd610da093b2398b1ba19953d&searchtype=0

Ernst Busch and Wilhelm Wegener

Generalfeldmarschall Ernst Busch (center, Oberbefehlshaber 16. Armee) and Generalleutnant Wilhelm Wegener (left, Führer L. Armeekorps) on the Eastern Front, taken in September 1943. On 23 September 1943, National Socialist news coverage wrote on the back of the picture, "During the fighting south of Lake Ilmen. Eichenlaubträger Generalfeldmarschall Busch and Eichenlaubträger Generalleutnant Wegener during defensive fighting at a command post in the section south of Lake Ilmen." Photo: Berliner Verlag Archiv Collection / Elle.

Source :
https://www.topfoto.co.uk/asset/7194656/

Otto Baum and Theodor Eicke

SS-Hauptsturmführer Otto Baum (Kommandeur III.Bataillon / SS-Totenkopf-infanterie-Regiment 3 / SS-Division "Totenkopf") with SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS Theodor Eicke (Kommandeur SS-Division "Totenkopf")) in a war exercise ahead of the German invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa), spring 1941. This photo was taken shortly after Baum was transferred from Leibstandarte to Totenkopf (5 March 1941). Eicke - known for being stingy with praise and hard to impress - was always a tough commander and suspicious of newcomers assigned to his unit. He preferred to rely on direct judgment with his own eyes rather than on evaluations from other commanders. Therefore, it is the greatest pride when he considers Baum as one of his best commanders in terms of bravery and leadership!

Source :
https://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2015/02/foto-otto-baum.html

Max Wünsche and Kurt Meyer in Kharkov

SS-Sturmbannführer Max Wünsche (Kommandeur I.Abteilung / SS-Panzer-Regiment 1 / SS-Panzergrenadier-Division "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler") and SS-Obersturmbannführer Kurt Meyer (Kommandeur SS-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 1 / SS-Panzergrenadier-Division "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler") at Alekseyevka village, Pervomaysky district, Kharkov, March 1943.

Source :
https://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2012/09/album-foto-pertempuran-kharkov.html

Ritterkreuz Award Ceremony for Ludwig Kepplinger

Ritterkreuz award ceremony for SS-Untersturmführer Ludwig Kepplinger (Zugführer in 11.Kompanie / III.Bataillon / SS-Infanterie-Regiment "Der Führer" / SS-Verfügungstruppe), 4 September 1940. Awarded the medal is SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS Paul Hausser (Kommandeur SS-Verfügungstruppe).

The Austrian SS-Hauptscharführer Ludwig Kepplinger was the first NCO in the Waffen-SS to be awarded the Knight's Cross. On May 10 1940 Kepplinger was part of a 18 man unit of SS-Standarte Der Führer that was given the task of capturing the Dutch fort of Westervoort and an important rail and road bridge across the IJssel river near Arnhem. Finding the bridge that was his primary objective blown, he and his men stormed over the tangled remains and attacked the enemy positions on the opposite bank. Kepplinger and two other SS men managed to reach the other side of the bridge and attacked the enemy bunker with machine pistols and hand grenades. Part of Kepplinger's Knight's Cross recommendation reads as follows:

“With only two men Kepplinger clambered over the destroyed Ijssel bridge with the aim of taking possession of the village of Westervoort, which was bristling with MGs... During the crossing of the river Kepplinger and his two men came under strong fire. Even though the probability of this operation's success was considerably small, maybe impossible, Kepplinger was able to enter the village in a terrific charge by using every bit of available cover. Then a tough battle began between the 90-man garrison and the three German troops. Kepplinger was able to force the surrender of one part of Westervoort after another. This was only possible by a ruthless disregard of his own life... At 10:00 the village of Westervoort was in the hands of the three SS men. The soldiers of the village, heavily fortified with MGs, had previously held a position that rendered a crossing of the 100 metre wide Ijssel essentially impossible. Now they laid down their arms before a force that was laughably inferior in numbers and equipment. It should be noted that the German artillery had neither conducted a preparatory barrage nor supported the attack of the three SS men... An attack of the Bataillon across the Ijssel without control of Westervoort would likely have resulted in a great many soldiers losing their lives... In the following battles, which saw the Grebbe position reached, Kepplinger once again distinguished himself in an outstanding way as a Zugführer. Wounded several times, Kepplinger made the choice to remain on the battlefield and once again stormed at the head of his Zug...“

Kepplinger was shot once in the hand, twice in the upper thigh and twice in the lower abdomen during the attacks on Dutch bunkers and fortified positions. After recovering from his wounds he was given command of the 10th Company of SS-Regiment Westland of the SS-Division Wiking. Kepplinger subsequently rose to the rank of SS-Sturmbannführer and commanded SS-Panzer-Abteilung 17 of the 17.SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Götz von Berlichingen during the Normandy Invasion in 1944. On August 6 1944 the Knight's Cross holder Kepplinger was ambushed and murdered by French partisans in Villiers-Charlemagne in Normandy. His body was found 35 years later.

Source :
https://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/2012/01/ludwig-kepplinger-first-waffen-ss-nco.html

Officers of 8. SS-Kavallerie-Division

Officers of 8. SS-Kavallerie-Division in April-May 1943. The three men on the left is, from left to right: SS-Standartenführer August Zehender (Kommandeur SS-Kavallerie-Regiment 3), SS-Sturmbannführer Hans Diergarten (Ia 8. SS-Kavallerie-Division), and SS-Oberführer Hermann Fegelein (Kommandeur 8. SS-Kavallerie-Division).

SS-Oberführer Hermann Fegelein (Kommandeur 8. SS-Kavallerie-Division) and SS-Sturmbannführer Hans Diergarten (Ia 8. SS-Kavallerie-Division) behind him.

Source :
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewforum.php?f=5

Hitler at Berghof with Gerhard Engel and Sepp Dietrich

This photo was taken at the Berghof Obersalzberg on March 27, 1943, and it shows, from left to right: Oberstleutnant Gerhard Engel (Adjutant des Heeres beim Führer und Oberster Befehlshaber der Wehrmacht), SS-Untersturmführer Otto Günsche (Persönlicher Adjutant Adolf Hitler), Adolf Hitler (Führer und Oberster Befehlshaber der Wehrmacht), SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS Josef "Sepp" Dietrich (Kommandeur SS-Panzergrenadier-Division "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler), and NSKK-Gruppenführer Albert Bormann (Chef Hauptamt I: Leiter der Privatkanzlei des Führers in Führerkanzlei)

Source :
https://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2011/09/album-foto-berghof.html

Picture of Hans Neumeier

 

I received this email from otohafanderclub@gmail.com :

My grandparents were friends with / knew this guy while the Germans were in Kharkov. I've been trying to figure out his identity and I have a belief that it is Hans Neumeier in April 1942, just before the Second Battle of Kharkov. I dunno anything about panzer uniforms, but I saw online that Neumeier got the Ritterkreuz in the 16. Panzer-Division who were stationed in kharkov at the time, any chance you can shed some light into this?

Divisionskommandeur Alexander Conrady with His Men in the Rest Village

German soldiers take recreation leave on Eastern Front. Animated map of Eastern Front from Narva to Jassy. Present lull allows two soldiers to leave trench for few days at Relaxation Camp behind lines. Facilities at log-cabin camp include sauna (sign), showers (End of Reel 1), barber, meals served by girls (Russian?) to Divisionskommandeur Generalmajor Alexander Conrady (36. Infanterie-Division) sitting eating with his men, extra rations and an open-air Variété performance with trapeze artiste, dancers (scanned by one soldier through his artillery periscope) and trick cyclists.

Source :
Die Deutsche Wochenschau No. 720 - 21 June 1944
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-DzDJmt5F8

Wilhelm Bach Visits Italian Positions in the Halfaya Pass

Hauptmann Wilhelm Bach, freshly awarded with the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 9 July 1941 and temporary commander of I.Bataillon / Schützen Regiment 104, visits Italian positions in Halfaya Pass on 22 August 1941. This picture shows Hauptmann Bach inspects an Italian battery adjacent to his own.

Hauptmann Wilhelm Bach, freshly awarded with the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 9 July 1941 and temporary commander of I.Bataillon / Schützen Regiment 104, visits Italian positions in Halfaya Pass on 22 August 1941. This picture shows Hauptmann Bach inspects an Italian battery adjacent to his own.

Hauptmann Wilhelm Bach, freshly awarded with the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 9 July 1941 and temporary commander of I.Bataillon / Schützen Regiment 104, visits Italian positions in Halfaya Pass on 22 August 1941. This picture shows Hauptmann Bach inspects an Italian battery adjacent to his own.

Source :
https://imagesdefense.gouv.fr/fr/le-capitaine-bach-commandant-d-une-batterie-du-schutzen-regiment-104-visite-des-positions-italiennes-halfayapass-2.html

Heinz Guderian Inside Sd.Kfz. 251

General der Panzertruppe Heinz Guderian (Kommandierender General XIX. Armeekorps) inside a Sd.Kfz. 251/3 halftrack. This vehicle was a familiar sight, widely associated with the German infantry during all of World War Two.The halftrack was one of the several solutions given to the problem of low off-road capabilities of trucks and associated “special purpose vehicles” (Sonderkraftfahrzeug). The picture was taken by Kriegsberichter Erich Borchert in May 1940 during German military campaign in France.

Source :
Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-769-0229-15A
https://www.bridgemanimages.com/en/noartistknown/heinz-guderian/photo/asset/2556960

Wilhelm Keitel and Heinz Guderian

Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel (left, Chef der Oberkommando der Wehrmacht) chats with Generaloberst Heinz Guderian (Chef des Generalstabes des Heeres). The picture was taken by Walter Frentz at the Führerhauptquartier Wolfsschanze in Rastenburg, East Prussia, in the summer of 1944. Guderian wished to have nothing to do with the July Conspiracy in 1944. Many of his erstwhile colleagues were successfully accused of complicity in the bomb plot against the Führer, which led to the execution of most of The Leader’s best commanders, including Rommel, who was forced to take poison.

Source :
https://general-history.com/guderian-keitel-von-rundstedt-ii-world-war-generals/
https://www.walter-frentz-collection.de/fotoarchiv/personenarchiv-a-z/personen-g-h/#&gid=1&pid=62

Herbert Otto Gille Awarded Medal to Estonian Volunteer

SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS Herbert Otto Gille (Kommandeur 5. SS-Panzer-Division "Wiking") awarded the Eisernes Kreuz II.Klasse to Waffen-Untersturmführer der SS Hando "Tou" Ruus (16 May 1917 - 31 March 1945) of Bataillon "Narwa". Born Harald-Ferdinand Ruhs, he was a former member of the Estonian military who preferred to escape to the forest rather than join the Red Army shortly after his country was annexed by the Soviet Union. The German invasion of his country's invader was an opportunity for Ruus to join the SS-Freiwilligen Panzergrenadier Bataillon Narwa. He fought bravely in every action his unit undertook, including when he became commander of Battalion "Narwa" after all of the officers above him were killed or wounded! In September 1944 he was captured by the enemy after his battalion was surrounded. Later he was sent to Leningrad and was reportedly executed there on March 31, 1945. With the final rank of Waffen-Hauptsturmführer der SS (August 1944), Ruus was the only Estonian Wehrmacht volunteer to be awarded the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold (December 30, 1944).

Source :
http://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2014/03/album-foto-herbert-otto-gille.html
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1310315579885594&set=pb.100027214946973.-2207520000&type=3

Visit of Vidqun Quisling to SS Wiking

From left to right: Prime Minister Vidkun Quisling (leader of the German-formed Norwegian puppet government), SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Polizei Wilhelm Rediess (Höhere SS und Polizeiführer "Nord"), SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS Felix Steiner (Kommandeur SS-Division "Wiking"), and SS-Oberführer Herbert-Otto Gille (Kommandeur SS-Artillerie-Regiment 5 / SS-Division "Wiking"). Barely visible behind Quisling is Sverre Parelius Riisnæs (Norwegian Minister of Justice). This picture was taken at Kalinovo, Uspenskaya, May 1942. Quisling had traveled all the way from Norway to get a close-up look at the conditions of his country's SS volunteers in the SS-Infanterie-Regiment "Nordland" / SS-Division "Wiking" (motorisiert). He walks through a Soviet village to the Norwegian volunteers' assembly point.

Source :
http://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2014/03/album-foto-herbert-otto-gille.html
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vidkun_Quisling_hos_norske_frivillige_p%C3%A5_%C3%B8stfronten._(8616188540).jpg

Herbert Otto Gille with Wiking Officers in 1945

From left to right: SS-Obersturmbannführer Hans Bünning (Kommandeur SS-Panzer-Artillerie-Regiment 5 / 5.SS-Panzer-Division "Wiking"), SS-Standartenführer Karl Ullrich (Kommandeur 5. SS-Panzer-Division "Wiking"), and SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS Herbert Otto Gille (Kommandierender General IV. SS-Panzerkorps). The picture was taken in Hungary in 1945. John P. Moore photo collection.

Source :
https://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/forum/wehrmacht-uniforms-and-equipment/tony-barto-ss-uniforms-and-insignia-forum/215735-unusual-wiking-sleeve-band-story#post2459092

Brillanten Award Ceremony for Herbert Otto Gille

Brillanten award ceremony for SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS Herbert Otto Gille (Kommandeur 5. SS-Panzer-Division "Wiking"). Gille formally received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub, Schwerter und Brillanten #12 on 19 April 1944, while the ceremony with Hitler itself was held in the Führerhauptquartier Wolfsschanze, Rastenburg, on 29 April 1944. Gille’s Brillanten recommendation reads as follows: "The weeks-long, heroic defense of the totally encircled Fortress Kovel despite the greatest of supply difficulties and significant losses against a much superior enemy is solely attributable to the determined leadership and great personal bravery of the General [Gille]. This recommendation is being sent as a radio message due to the situation at the front. A written submission will follow.” The Vorschlag dated 9 April 1944 and signed by Korpskommandeur General der Infanterie Friedrich Hossbach; Countersigned by Armee Oberbefehlshaber Generaloberst Walter Weiβ, Heeresgruppe Oberbefehlshaber Generalfeldmarschall Ernst Busch, and on 19 April 1944 by by Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler.

Source :
"Die SS-Panzer-Division Wiking" by Jean Mabire
https://forum.axishistory.com/search.php?keywords=gille&t=46430&sf=msgonly
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/223/Gille-Herbert-Otto-Papa.htm

Ritterkreuz Award Ceremony for Martin Mitschke

Ritterkreuz award ceremony for Feldwebel Martin Mitschke (Zugführer in 2.Kompanie / I.Bataillon / Panzergrenadier-Regiment 200 / 90.Panzergrenadier-Division), which were held in Rimini, Italian Front, October 1944. Awarded the medal is Generalleutnant Ernst-Günther Baade (Kommandeur 90. Panzergrenadier-Division). Mitschke formally received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 16 October 1944. The following letter of commendation (written on 10 October 1944 by Generalleutnant Baade) describes the action that would lead to Mitschke receiving the coveted medal: “On the night of 27-28 September 1944 Feldwebel Mitschke launched an attack with his Zug (platoon) on his own initiative against the enemy forces that had penetrated into Savignano. Although the enemy resisted here with heavy fire, they were eventually driven out. As a result of his bravery and decisiveness, this key position (of importance to the whole Division) was thereby held.”

Source :
https://www.ebay.de/itm/362622679001
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/40246/Mitschke-Martin-GrenRgtmot-200.htm