Showing posts with label 8 Uniform Black SS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 8 Uniform Black SS. Show all posts

Saturday, July 13, 2024

Herbert Otto Gille with SS-Standarte Germania


Members of the SS-Standarte "Germania" with their commanders sat at the front. From left to right: SS-Obersturmbannführer Werner Dörffler-Schuband (Kommandeur I.Sturmbann / SS-Standarte "Germania", based in Hamburg-Veddel), SS-Sturmbannführer Herbert Otto Gille (Kommandeur II.Sturmbann / SS-Standarte "Germania", headquartered in Arolsen), SS-Standartenführer Karl Maria Demelhuber (Kommandeur SS-Standarte "Germania"), and SS-Obersturmbannführer Heinrich Koeppen (Kommandeur III.Sturmbann / SS-Standarte "Germania", headquartered in Radolfzell). This photo was taken by Heinz Hillebrecht in Nuremberg on 5-12 September 1938 during the Reichsparteitag (Reich Party Day). This was the second participation of SS-Standarte "Germania" in the annual event, after the first one a year earlier. Now this photo is in the private collection of Markus Wolter.


Source :
http://antiquariat-wolter.de/188114.html

Sunday, January 14, 2024

Bio of Major d.R. Max Wandrey (1910-1945)

Max Albert Adolf Christian Wandrey

Date of Birth: 08.04.1910 - Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg (German Empire)
Date of Death: 21.02.1945 - in a Lazarett near Kruschwitz, Rothenburg/Oberlausitz, Sachsen (Germany). Mortally wounded near Sprottisch-Waldau on 20.02.1945 when his Kubelwagen ran over a mine.
Buried: Friedhof von Krauschwitz, Muskau, Oberlausitz (Germany)

Battles and Operations: Invasion of Poland (1939), Battle of France (1940), Operation Barbarossa (1941), Battle of Smolensk (1941), Battle of Moscow (1941-1942), Battles of Rzhev (1942-1943), Dodecanese Campaign (1943), Battle of Leros (1943), Battle of Memel (1944), and Vistula–Oder Offensive (1945)

NSDAP-Number: 125 004 (Joined 01.01.1929)
SS-Number: 50 313 (Joined 00.00.1932)
Religion: Gottgläubig (Believe in God)
Mother: Martha Wandrey
Spouse: Hel. Seyfarth (21.11.1910)
Children: Erika and Gerhard Wandrey

Promotions:
00.12.1928 SA-Mann
00.02.1932 SS-Mann
00.00.1932 Unterführeranwärter
00.00.1933 Gefreiter der Reserve
00.00.1935 Feldwebel der Reserve
20.04.1935 SS-Untersturmführer der Allgemeine-SS
20.04.1936 SS-Obersturmführer der Allgemeine-SS
30.01.1937 SS-Haupsturmführer der Allgemeine-SS
01.06.1940 Leutnant der Reserve
01.06.1942 Oberleutnant der Reserve
30.01.1943 SS-Sturmbannführer der Allgemeine-SS
09.01.1944 Hauptmann der Reserve
01.10.1944 Major der Reserve

Career:
00.06.1925 - 00.08.1928 Wehrverband Hindenburg
00.12.1928 - 00.02.1932 member of SA (Sturmabteilung)
00.00.1935 member of 28. SS-Standarte (Hamburg)
31.08.1936 - 25.10.1936 Ergänzungs-Bataillon / Infanterie-Regiment 69
25.10.1936 - 13.05.1937 member of Infanterie-Regiment 69
00.00.1937 full time member of SS-Abschnitt XV (Hamburg)
14.09.1939 called up again after the mobilisation
14.09.1939 - 12.11.1940 Zugführer in 9.Kompanie / Infanterie-Regiment 26 / 20.Infanterie-Division
00.11.1940 transferred to Infanterie-Regiment 254 / 110.Infanterie-Division
10.12.1940 -  04.10.1942 Adjutant II.Bataillon / Infanterie-Regiment 254 / 110.Infanterie-Division
00.00.1943 Führer II.Bataillon / SS-Standarte 28 (Hauptamtlicher SS-Führer der Allgemeinen SS)
00.11.1943 Chef 11.Kompanie / Jäger-Regiment 1 "Brandenburg"
01.10.1944 Kommandeur II.Bataillon / Jäger-Regiment 1 "Brandenburg"

Awards and Decorations:
00.02.1934 Ehrenwinkel der Alten Kämpfer
16.12.1935 Julleuchter der SS
01.12.1936 DRL Sportabzeichen in Bronze
01.12.1936 SS-Ehrenring
01.12.1937 SA-Sportabzeichen in Bronze
01.04.1939 Dienstauszeichnung der NSDAP 10 Jahre
01.04.1939 Dienstauszeichnung der NSDAP 15 Jahre
01.06.1940 Eisernes Kreuz II.Klasse (document signed by Divisionskommandeur Kurt von Briesen)
29.07.1940 Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen in Silber
01.10.1940 Verwundetenabzeichen in Schwarz
07.08.1941 Eisernes Kreuz I.Klasse (document signed by Divisionskommandeur Ernst Seifert)
13.05.1942 Deutsches Kreuz in Gold
00.00.1942 Medaille "Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/42" (Ostmedaille)
00.00.194_ Ärmelband Panzer-Grenadier-Division "Brandenburg"
00.00.1943 Nahkampfspange in Bronze
09.01.1944 Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes, as Oberleutnant der Reserve and Chef 11.Kompanie / III.Bataillon / Jäger-Regiment 1 "Brandenburg" / Kampfgruppe "Müller" (22. Infanterie-Division). Awarded for his contribution to the German conquest of Leros in November 1943. Landing on the island on the 16th of that month, Wandrey's Kompanie commander was quickly wounded and so Wandrey stepped in to fill this role. At around 15:00 that day Wandrey stormed the dominant Hill 204 with about 50 men, and located the British HQ there. With 20 soldiers, Wandrey stormed the command post and took the British General Tilney prisoner.
16.03.1945 Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub #787 (posthumously), as Major der Reserve and Kommandeur II.Bataillon / Jäger-Regiment 1 "Brandenburg" / Panzergrenadier-Division “Brandenburg”. Awarded for the major role he played in the breakout of Gruppe von Saucken in early 1945. Around mid-February, as commander of an inexperienced Bataillon of the Panzergrenadier-Division "Brandenburg", Wandrey led a stubborn defense east of Sprottisch-Waldau. The leadership of Saucken's moving pocket thus oriented their breakout efforts towards this point, pushing north from the Primkenauer forest and linking up with Wandrey's forces on the 11-12.02.1945.

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Max Wandrey joined the 69th Infantry Regiment in 1936, where he completed his one-year military service. In 1937 he was a full-time SS leader in Hamburg and was called up to Infantry Regiment 69 at the start of the war.

On June 1, 1940, he was promoted to Leutnant der Reserve and joined the 254 Infantry Regiment in November 1940. From July 1941 he took part in the Russian campaign and was awarded the German Cross in Gold on May 13, 1942. On June 1, 1942, he was promoted to Oberleutnant der reserve and at the beginning of 1943 became chief of the 11th company of the 1st “Brandenburg” (Jäger) Regiment.

With the elite unit he took part in the disarmament of Italian units (→ Axis case) in Greece and the Aegean. After his decisive role in the conquest of the island of Leros by the “Müller” combat group during Operation “Leopard” in mid-November 1943, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes (Knight's Cross of the Iron Crosses) on January 9, 1944. At the same time he was promoted to Hauptmann der reserve. With a 20-man strike force, he surprisingly attacked and eliminated the British-Italian position system on Monte Meraviglia on Leros from the east. Wandrey was personally responsible for the capture of British Forces Commander Brigadier Robert Tilney on November 16, 1943.

On October 1, 1944, he was promoted to major in the reserve and commander of the 2nd Battalion of the 1st Jäger Regiment “Brandenburg”. With this he fought in the defense of the Danube position in the Esseg area in the fall of 1944, in southern Hungary at the end of 1944 and then moved to the Lodz area in Poland at the beginning of 1945. The Panzergrenadier-Division “Brandenburg” has now been subordinated to the Panzerkorps "Grossdeutschland".

On February 16, 1945, Wandrey and his unit once again particularly distinguished themselves when they achieved a defensive success against the Soviet 23rd Guards Rifle Division with the 2nd Battalion in the fighting in the southern part of the Sagan Forest/Silesia. On the orders of regimental commander Erich von Brückner, Wandrey and his battalion had to withdraw; there were heavy retreats from the Litzmannstadt area via Petrikau to the Neisse. On February 20, 1945, the Red Army's 12th Guards Tank Brigade surrounded Wandrey's battalion. It was able to take out eight T-34/85s before an attempt was made to break out on armored personnel carriers. During this outbreak - Wandrey was on the last vehicle - suffered a serious wound when he hit a mine on February 20, 1945, from which he died on February 21, 1945 in the hospital in Krauschwitz in Lower Silesia. He was posthumously awarded the Eichenlaub to his Ritterkreuz on 16 March 1945.



Max Wandrey in M32 black Allgemeine-SS uniform.



Max Wandrey in civilian uniform, probably before he joined the Wehrmacht.


A studio portrait of Leutnant der Reserve Max Wandrey before he received the Ritterkreuz. Interestingly, he is wearing both the Ribbon bar for the NSDAP Service Award of 10 and 15 Years!



Oberleutnant der Reserve Max Wandrey with the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold which he received on 13 May 1942 as Leutnant der Reserve and Adjutant II.Bataillon / Infanterie-Regiment 254 / 110.Infanterie-Division. He was promoted to Oberleutnant d.R. on 9 January 1944.



Oberleutnant der Reserve Max Wandrey with the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold which he received on 13 May 1942 as Leutnant der Reserve and Adjutant II.Bataillon / Infanterie-Regiment 254 / 110.Infanterie-Division. He was promoted to Oberleutnant d.R. on 9 January 1944.



Oberleutnant der Reserve Max Wandrey with the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold which he received on 13 May 1942 as Leutnant der Reserve and Adjutant II.Bataillon / Infanterie-Regiment 254 / 110.Infanterie-Division. He was promoted to Oberleutnant d.R. on 9 January 1944.



Ritterkreuz award ceremony for Oberleutnant der Reserve Max Wandrey (Chef 11.Kompanie / III.Bataillon / Jäger-Regiment 1 "Brandenburg" / Division "Brandenburg") which was held in Crete Island, Greece, January 1944. Flanking Wandrey (center) were Major Wilhelm Walther (Kommandeur Jäger-Regiment 1 "Brandenburg" / Division "Brandenburg") who wore the same tropical colored stahlhelm as Wandrey, and General der Flieger Hellmuth Felmy (Kommandierender General LXVIII. Armeekorps) wearing a tropical Luftwaffe uniform complete with his "Hermann Meyer" cap. Wandrey was awarded the Ritterkreuz on 9 January 1944 for his performance in the attack on the island of Leros during Operation Leopard. Later he would also receive the Eichenlaub #787 posthumously on 16 March 1945 as Major der Reserve and Kommandeur II.Bataillon / Jäger-Regiment 1 "Brandenburg". Other pictures from this ceremony can be seen HERE.



The grave of Max Wandrey.



SS-Dienstlaufbahn of Max Wandrey.





SS file of Max Wandrey.



Data of Max Wandrey from SS-Oberabschnitt Nordsee.



Data of Max Wandrey from SS-Oberabschnitt Nordsee.



Grouping from the estate of Major der Reserve Max Wandrey, The 787th recipient of the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes. This grouping were auctioned by Andreas Thies with the price of 13.000 €. Other pictures from this grouping can be seen HERE.


Source :
Michael D. Miller photo collection
"Jump Into Hell: German Paratroopers in World War II" by Franz Kurowski
https://www.andreas-thies.de/auctions/67-750747
https://de.metapedia.org/wiki/Wandrey,_Max
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=250569&p=2280593&hilit=wandrey#p2280593
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Personenregister/W/WandreyM.htm
https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Max_Wandrey
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/20271/Wandrey-Max-Brandenburg.htm
https://www.volksbund.de/erinnern-gedenken/graebersuche-online/detail/881fb1042e1473b7d3f78e61b592a9b9
https://web.archive.org/web/20111228124146fw_/http://www.ritterkreuztraeger-1939-45.de/Infanterie/W/Wandrey-Max.htm

Sunday, September 17, 2023

Bio of SS-Sturmbannführer Adolf Pittschellis (1914-1945)

Adolf Hans Pittschellis

Date of Birth: 28.10.1914 - Homberg, Hesse-Nassau (German Empire)
Date of Death: 26.01.1945 - Vereb, Fejér (Hungary)
Buried: Deutsche Kriegsgräberstätte Veszprém (Plot: 5. Row: 20. Grave: 558)

NSDAP Number: 1 492 016 (04.11.1932)
SS Number: 52 819 (04.11.1932)

Promotions:
04.11.1932 SS-Anwärter
18.03.1933 SS-Mann
09.07.1934 SS-Sturmmann
15.10.1934 SS-Rottenführer
01.10.1936 SS-Scharführer
16.02.1937 SS-Hauptscharführer
20.04.1937 SS-Untersturmführer
09.11.1938 SS-Obersturmführer
09.11.1940 SS-Hauptsturmführer (Waffen-SS)
09.11.1943 SS-Sturmbannführer (Waffen-SS )

Career:
04.11.1932 Allgemeine SS
04.11.1932 NSDAP
00.00.1936 SS-Junkerschule Braunschweig
00.00.1938 SS-Totenkopf-Standarte 3 in Thüringen
00.05.1940 Chef 1.Batterie / SS-Artillerie-Regiment 3 "Totenkopf"
00.10.1941 Kommandeur IV.Abteilung (Schwere) / SS-Artillerie-Regiment 3 "Totenkopf"
00.00.1942 - 00.00.1943 7.Batterie / III.Abteilung / SS-Artillerie-Regiment 3 "Totenkopf"
00.01.1944 - 00.00.1944 Kommandeur SS-Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 3 / 3.SS-Panzer-Division "Totenkopf"
00.00.1944 - 04.01.1945 Kommandeur SS-Panzerjäger-Abteilung 3 / 3.SS-Panzer-Division "Totenkopf"
04.01.1945 - 26.01.1945 Kommandeur SS-Panzer-Regiment 3 / 3.SS-Panzer-Division "Totenkopf"

Awards and Decorations:
00.00.1929 HJ-Ehrenzeichen
00.02.1934 Ehrenwinkel der Alten Kämpfer
00.00.1936 SS-Dienstauszeichnung IV.Stufe (4 Jahre)
00.00.193_ SS-Ehrenring
01.12.1937 DRL Sportabzeichen in Bronze
01.12.1937 SA-Sportabzeichen in Bronze
01.12.1937 Ehrendegen des Reichsführers-SS
26.01.1939 Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 1. Oktober 1938
26.10.1939 Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 13. März 1938
31.05.1940 Eisernes Kreuz II.Klasse
16.07.1941 Eisernes Kreuz I.Klasse
20.12.1941 Allgemeines-Sturmabzeichen
00.00.1942 Dienstauszeichnung der NSDAP 10 Jahre
12.07.1942 Medaille "Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/42" (Ostmedaille)
23.10.1942 Deutsches Kreuz in Gold
31.08.1943 Verwundetenabzeichen in Gold
31.12.1943 Demjankschild
00.00.194_ Nahkampfspange in Bronze
23.08.1944 Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes, as SS-Sturmbannführer and Kommandeur SS-Panzerjäger-Abteilung 3 / 3.SS-Panzer-Division "Totenkopf". Pittschellis’s Ritterkreuz recommendation reads as follows: “On the 19.07.1944 SS-Sturmbannführer Pittschellis received the order to assemble a force from his 7 available Sturmgeschützen and 2 Infanterie-Kompanien from the assembly area at Kielbaski. With this force he was to block the supply bridges over the Niemen that were supporting the enemy forces on the west side of the river and push the enemy towards the northwest. Despite heavy enemy pressure and a desperate defense, Sturmbannführer Pittschellis succeeded in fighting his way northwards from the Kielbaski area, and he used an Infanterie-Kompanie to block the supply bridge leading to the enemy forces that had infiltrated onto the west bank of the Niemen. In all this time he showed great battlefield skill. In spite of the darkness that had by now set in, Pittschellis decided to continue attacking towards the northwest towards Sopockinie on his own initiative with 7 Sturmgeschützen and an Infanterie-Kompanie. In a critical situation, and while operating in extremely difficult terrain conditions, Pittschellis inspired his weary soldiers forwards with his own outstanding example and fearless attacking spirit. He and his troops crushed a strong enemy Pakfront and threw back the enemy from the commanding heights on the eastern village edge southeast of Spockinie. At 00:30 they reported that the village was in friendly hands. With this the enemy forces that had fought their way to the west (in strength of 3 Guards cavalry divisions and 2 rifle divisions) were cut off from their rearward connections, and a further influx of enemy forces operating in the direction of Augustow was prevented. In the process numerous weapons and other war materiel was captured. I hold SS-Sturmbannführer Pittschellis as one who is worthy of being awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes for his heroic devotion to duty and his decisive success.”

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At the beginning of the 20th century, three family members of the Pittschellis family gradually came to Homberg from East Prussia. Ernst, Adolf's father, started things off. He came to Homberg at the end of the first decade of the 20th century. The Pittschellis in turn founded families here and also had their children in northern Hesse.

Adolf was the son of the cutter Ernst Franz Pittschellis (born February 25, 1886 in Groß Klingbeck, Heiligenbeil district) and his wife Martha Elisabeth, née Schlott, who married on April 15, 1911 in Homberg (born December 12, 1884 in Homberg). His grandparents were the court master Heinrich Pittschellis and Maria (Marie), née Klotzky (both of whom died when their parents married in Groß Klingbeck) as well as the master butcher Kraft Schlott and Marie Mathilde Friederike, née Breithut. He had several uncles and aunts, including Anna Auguste Blümke, née Pittschellis (1893–1956).

The Pittschellis brothers, Adolf and Ernst, were, like their father, committed National Socialists. The boys were in the Hitler Youth and joined the SS at the first opportunity. Ernst Junior survived the war and captivity, founded a butcher's shop in Bad Arolsen in 1950 (his son Reinhard Pittschellis took over in 1976, grandson Oliver Pittschellis has run the family business since January 1, 2000) and preserved the family history (including family registers) which continues by his daughter, Charlotte Brinkmann, née Pittschellis, who unfortunately commit suicide with her husband Klaus on January 22, 2015. In her last will, she gave the family history to the student council, where she has been a teacher at the Federal President Theodor Heuss School in Homberg/Efze since 2001 for the subjects of art, history, geography and Politics and economics, and also to historian and author Thomas Schattner (1964 in Wabern, in the Schwalm-Eder district, Hesse), who published it as a book in 2016.

Adolf Pittschellis fell at the head of his regiment on January 26, 1945 in Vereb in the Stuhlweiß district during the third relief attempt at the Battle of Budapest. The operation with the code name "Konrad 3" (January 12 to 27, 1945) was based in the Stuhlweißenburg area. He left behind his wife, whom he had married on May 26, 1939 in Meringhausen, and at least one child.

He rests in the war cemetery in Weißbrunn (Veszprem); Final grave location: Block 5, row 20, grave 558.




Adolf Pittschellis from Homberg as SS-Junker. Thomas Schattner photo collection.



Photograph of the Pittschellis family in the 1930s, at which time son Ernst (right) and Adolf (the latter Ritterkreuzträger) was already joined the SS. Father Ernst Franz Pittschellis was born on 25 February 1886 in Groß Klingbeck, Heiligenbeil district, and married with Martha Elisabeth Schlott (born 12 December 1884 in Homberg) on 15 April 1911 in Homberg. Ernst Senior was most recently a member of the Volkssturm and fell in the final battle for Germany when he died of his war wounds on 10 April 1945 in the Nordschule reserve hospital in Hersfeld, southeast of Homberg. More about Adolf Pittschellis family can be seen HERE.



Portrait of young Adolf Pittschellis, possibly in his SA-Sportabzeichen urkunde (document).


Rare picture of Adolf Pittschellis smiling, here as an SS-Scharführer (promoted 1 October 1936).



Adolf Pittschellis as SS-Untersturmführer (promoted 20 April 1937).



Adolf Pittschellis as SS-Obersturmführer (promoted 9 November 1938).



SS-Totenkopf-Artillerie-Regiment training in France in the late summer or early autumn 1940. Standing in the middle is probably SS-Sturmbannführer Dr.jur. Eduard Deisenhofer (Kommandeur I.Bataillon / SS-Totenkopf-Infanterie-Regiment 1), while the officer holding stick at right is SS-Obersturmführer Adolf Pittschellis (Chef 1.Batterie / SS-Totenkopf-Artillerie-Regiment). Other pictures from this sequence can be seen HERE.



SS-Hauptsturmführer Adolf Pittschellis with his wife and daughter.



SS-Sturmbannführer Adolf Pittschellis after he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 23 August 1944 as Kommandeur of SS-Panzerjäger-Abteilung 3 / 3.SS-Panzer-Division "Totenkopf". Divisionskommandeur Karl Ullrich nominated him for the bravery medal on 25 July 1944 for an extraordinary feat of arms on the Eastern Front.



SS-Sturmbannführer Adolf Pittschellis and comrades.



Polish Front, January 1945: While holding a wolchowstock (the walking stick for German officers and non-commissioned officers typical of the Eastern Front), SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS Herbert Otto Gille (Kommandierender General IV. SS-Panzerkorps) chatted with SS- Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS Hellmuth Becker (Kommandeur 3. SS-Panzer-Division "Totenkopf") who was under his command. Far left behind Gille is SS-Sturmbannführer Adolf Pittschellis (Führer SS-Panzer-Regiment 3 / 3.SS-Panzer-Division "Totenkopf") who would later be killed in battle on January 26, 1945, just a few days after this photo was taken! BTW, the Ärmelstreifen (cufftitle) attached to Becker's arm is different from the ärmelstreifen commonly worn by other Totenkopf Division personnel. The ärmelstreifen bearing the skull was a sign that the wearer was a former member of the SS-Totenkopfstandard "Oberbayern" in Dachau, and they were allowed to keep it on their arm even after moving to another unit as a form of pride in their old unit.



The last picture of SS-Sturmbannführer Adolf Pittschellis, in black Panzer uniform with all his awards, during his brief command of SS-Panzer-Regiment 3 "Totenkopf" in January 1945. The original was sent to his family by the photographer (which unfortunately unknown) after the war concluded. Mark C. Yerger photo collection.


The grave of Adolf Pittschellis at Deutsche Kriegsgräberstätte Veszprém (Weißbrunn), Plot: 5. Row: 20. Grave: 558. He fell at the head of his regiment (SS-Panzer-Regiment 3 "Totenkopf") on January 26, 1945 in Vereb in the Stuhlweiß district during the third relief attempt at the Battle of Budapest. The operation with the code name "Konrad 3" (January 12 to 27, 1945) was based in the Stuhlweißenburg area. He left behind his wife, whom he had married on May 26, 1939 in Meringhausen, and at least one child. Veszprém Communal Cemetery itself contains a German plot with 4,110 graves from the Second World War. Of these, 1500 were buried here during the Second World War. The other graves were brought here from the surroundings.



Pittschellis family in the book by Thomas Schattner: "Die Familie Pittschellis: Geschichten aus Homberg/Efze zur Zeit des Nationalsozialismus". From the author: The Pittschellis family members originally came from East Prussia. Ernst, Berta and Anna Auguste were born there at the end of the 19th century. Other family members remained in East Prussia. At the beginning of the 20th century, three family members gradually came to Homberg. Ernst was the first. He came to Homberg at the end of the first decade of the 20th century. The Pittschellis in turn founded families here and also had their children in northern Hesse. These were born between 1912 and 1920. The Pittschellis children experienced the National Socialist era as teenagers and young adults. Their biographies have had an impact up to the present day. On February 13, 2015, I received a letter from a lawyer for SOS Children's Villages in Munich with completely frightening news. Klaus and Charlotte Brinkmann from Bad Arolsen were no longer alive. They died on January 22, 2015, according to the contents of the letter. It also emerged from this that the two of them had left me a suitcase. A little later, contact was made with the couple's estate administrator. During conversations and phone calls, it quickly became clear that the two had left their lives voluntarily. Charlotte's family history probably played a major role in this suicide, because, firstly, none of Klaus and Charlotte's families wanted to attend her funeral. Only her executor and the author expressed interest in it. And when I was handed the suitcase in February and was able to open it, the contents spoke volumes. Secondly, this consisted of the two's Nazi library plus the family archive of Charlotte's ancestors including family books. I understood this legacy in such a way that I should publish about Charlotte's ancestors, from which the present book emerged. From the archive materials inherited from Klaus and Charlotte Brinkmann, who lived in Bad Arolsen until the beginning of the year (they had material from very different archives. Charlotte's ancestors were collected from the Federal Archives, the former Berlin Document Center, the Bad Arols City Archives, etc.) and three biographies could be developed in detail. These are the biographies of Ernst Senior (Charlotte's grandfather) and his sons Ernst Junior (Charlotte's father) and Adolf (Charlotte's uncle). These three not only came to terms with the National Socialists, but were deeply involved in them. Both sons had great careers in the SS. Ernst Senior and Adolf lost their lives at the end of the Second World War as convinced National Socialists. The biography of Ruth Pittschellis (Charlotte's aunt), a cousin of Ernst Junior and Adolf, was also added. This biography shows that members of the Pittschelli family, despite their sympathy for National Socialism, were always able to evade it to a certain extent. You can order the book HERE.



Adolf Pittschellis as a cover in the book "Totenkopf: The Structure, Development and Personalities of the 3.SS-Panzer-Division: Volume 2" by Mark C. Yerger and Ignacio Arrondo. In "Totenkopf" volume II Mark C. Yerger begins with a lengthy chapter on the SS officer and Waffen-SS combat arms schools. Especially relevant to the earliest divisions, many "Totenkopf" officers were trained by this system with divisional veterans found serving with their ever-changing faculties. Starting with the prewar Junkerschulen and their expansion, both the wartime created academies are included. Overlooked despite their significance, the arms schools that produced SS officers among their variety of specialist training programs from mid-1942 to nearly the end of hostilities are detailed. Facilities examined include the SS-Pionierschule "Hradsichko," SS-Panzergrenadierschule "Kienschlag," SS-Artillerieschule II, SS-Nachrichtenschule, and the assault gun school in Bukowan that became the SS-Panzerjäger(Sturmgeschütz)Schule "Janowitz." The final 53 German Cross in Gold recipients are examined next with unpublished details for all ranks. Among them are men also awarded the Knight's Cross, material being included from the personal photo albums of two such officer recipients with dozens of other new images along with over 30 proposal texts relating the combats resulting in these decorations. A chapter examines those entered in the Roll of Honor (later Honor Clasp holders), including narratives resulting in that distinction. With the most of any Waffen-SS division, the 33 Close Combat Clasp in Gold holders are detailed. A lengthy chapter on the formation preparing for Russia opens with text details on its essential but often overlooked support units. The March-April 1941 transfers and final component are added, in total showing all divisional command and staff personnel. Men found elsewhere are noted, with priority service specifics given for nearly 250 more officers of the division. That data includes specifics of officer school graduates, reflecting on the stated significance of the opening chapter. Rather than faceless statistics, the massive casualties in 1941-1942 that comprised individuals becomes humanly grasped as was the continued tenacity of the division in Demjansk despite those losses. Order of Battle charts are compared to actual composition of the division. An addendum adds to volume I with an index for the nearly 800 personnel within this volume. Lavishly illustrated with primarily unpublished photographs in larger size, other images that have been seen were traced to original prints and negatives for previously unseen reproductive clarity. Appendix, glossary and bibliography. 367 pages, 230 illustrations. You can order the book HERE.



Source :
Mark C. Yerger photo collection
Thomas Schattner photo collection
http://www.2kompanie.org/adolf-pittschellis.html
http://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2016/02/foto-hellmuth-becker.html
https://de.metapedia.org/wiki/Pittschellis,_Adolf
https://www.dws-xip.com/reich/biografie/52819.html
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=120230&hilit=pittschellis
https://www.muzej-nz.si/en/collections/fotographic-collections/927-The-German-Italian-Collection-1939-1945
https://reibert.info/media/adolf-pittschellis-jpg.356091/
https://www.seknews.de/2017/06/05/taeter-und-opferbiographien-in-norhessen/adolf-pitschellis-170605a/
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/13772/Pittschellis-Adolf-Hans-Waffen-SS.htm
https://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/forum/wehrmacht-era-militaria/photos-and-paper-items-forum/658969-some-nice-photos-allgemeine-ss-waffen-ss#post5521213
https://ww2gravestone.com/people/pittschellis-adolf-hans/

Friday, September 15, 2023

Adolf Pittschellis Family


Photograph of the Pittschellis family in the 1930s, at which time son Ernst (right) and Adolf (the latter Ritterkreuzträger) was already joined the SS. Father Ernst Franz Pittschellis was born on 25 February 1886 in Groß Klingbeck, Heiligenbeil district, and married with Martha Elisabeth Schlott (born 12 December 1884 in Homberg) on 15 April 1911 in Homberg. Ernst Senior was most recently a member of the Volkssturm and fell in the final battle for Germany when he died of his war wounds on 10 April 1945 in the Nordschule reserve hospital in Hersfeld, southeast of Homberg.



Ernst Pittschellis, Adolf's brother who were also served in the SS. He was born in 13 May 1912. SS number 184 465. Ernst was with RSHA III in Berlin before he was posted as Leiter, SD-Aussenstelle St Avold (under BdS Lothringen-Saarpfalz, Metz) in 1941. He remained at St Avold until at least July 1944 (in 1944 he had a short period at nearby SD-Ast Diedenhofen before returning to St Avold). There is no information after July 1944. The picture was taken in 1942 when Ernst was SS-Obersturmführer.



SS-Hauptsturmführer Adolf Pittschellis with his wife and daughter.



Pittschellis family in the book by Thomas Schattner: "Die Familie Pittschellis: Geschichten aus Homberg/Efze zur Zeit des Nationalsozialismus". From the author: The Pittschellis family members originally came from East Prussia. Ernst, Berta and Anna Auguste were born there at the end of the 19th century. Other family members remained in East Prussia. At the beginning of the 20th century, three family members gradually came to Homberg. Ernst was the first. He came to Homberg at the end of the first decade of the 20th century. The Pittschellis in turn founded families here and also had their children in northern Hesse. These were born between 1912 and 1920. The Pittschellis children experienced the National Socialist era as teenagers and young adults. Their biographies have had an impact up to the present day. On February 13, 2015, I received a letter from a lawyer for SOS Children's Villages in Munich with completely frightening news. Klaus and Charlotte Brinkmann from Bad Arolsen were no longer alive. They died on January 22, 2015, according to the contents of the letter. It also emerged from this that the two of them had left me a suitcase. A little later, contact was made with the couple's estate administrator. During conversations and phone calls, it quickly became clear that the two had left their lives voluntarily. Charlotte's family history probably played a major role in this suicide, because, firstly, none of Klaus and Charlotte's families wanted to attend her funeral. Only her executor and the author expressed interest in it. And when I was handed the suitcase in February and was able to open it, the contents spoke volumes. Secondly, this consisted of the two's Nazi library plus the family archive of Charlotte's ancestors including family books. I understood this legacy in such a way that I should publish about Charlotte's ancestors, from which the present book emerged. From the archive materials inherited from Klaus and Charlotte Brinkmann, who lived in Bad Arolsen until the beginning of the year (they had material from very different archives. Charlotte's ancestors were collected from the Federal Archives, the former Berlin Document Center, the Bad Arols City Archives, etc.) and three biographies could be developed in detail. These are the biographies of Ernst Senior (Charlotte's grandfather) and his sons Ernst Junior (Charlotte's father) and Adolf (Charlotte's uncle). These three not only came to terms with the National Socialists, but were deeply involved in them. Both sons had great careers in the SS. Ernst Senior and Adolf lost their lives at the end of the Second World War as convinced National Socialists. The biography of Ruth Pittschellis (Charlotte's aunt), a cousin of Ernst Junior and Adolf, was also added. This biography shows that members of the Pittschelli family, despite their sympathy for National Socialism, were always able to evade it to a certain extent. You can order the book HERE.

Source :
Thomas Schattner photo collection
https://de.metapedia.org/wiki/Pittschellis,_Adolf
https://www.seknews.de/2015/11/30/die-pittschellis-neues-buch-von-thomas-schattner/schattner-151129/

Sunday, June 18, 2023

Bio of SS-Brigadeführer Hinrich Schuldt (1901-1944)

Rudolf Hinrich Schuldt

Date of Birth: 14.06.1901 - Blankenese, Hamburg (German Empire)
Date of Death: 15.03.1944 - Ostrov, Pskov Oblast (Soviet Union)
Burial: 1 Meza kapi, Riga (Latvia)

Battles and Operations: Polenfeldzug 1939, Westfeldzug 1940, Ostfront 1941-1944 (including SS-Totenkopf units in Russia, Don-Front near Stalingrad, actions at Meschkoff, breakout near Nowo-Jerochin, defense at Woroschilow and Shiroky, counterattacks at Nikitowka-Bachtewitsch, Peipus Lake, Ilmen Lake, Wolchow bridgehead, flank attacks at Podbereshje)

NSDAP-Nr.: 975 664 (Joined 01.02.1932)
SS-Nr.: 242 677 (Joined 12.12.1933)

Parents: Rudolf Schuldt and Meta Hinrichsen

Promotions:
01.04.1922 Offiziersanwärter
00.09.1922 Seekadett
01.04.1924 Fähnrich zur See
00.04.1926 Oberfähnrich zur See
00.10.1926 Leutnant zur See
12.12.1933 SS-Sturmführer
10.01.1935 SS-Obersturmführer (with RDA from 01.01.1935)
08.03.1935 SS-Hauptsturmführer (with RDA from 10.03.1935)
09.11.1938 SS-Sturmbannführer
01.09.1941 SS-Obersturmbannführer der Waffen-SS
01.08.1942 SS-Standartenführer der Waffen-SS
24.12.1943 SS-Oberführer der Waffen-SS (with RDA from 09.11.1943)
25.03.1944 SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS (posthumously)

Career:
01.04.1922 joined the Reichsmarine (Crew 22) as Offiziersanwärter
00.04.1922 - 00.09.1922 basic training as a Seekadett at the 2. Korporalschaft in Kiel-Holtenau
00.10.1922 - 00.03.1924 on-board training at the ships Braunschweig, Niobe and Berlin
00.01.1928 left the Reichsmarine after a racist remark
00.00.1929 - 00.12.1933 maritime and military teacher at the Hanseatic Yacht School in Sierksdorf
12.12.1933 - 00.01.1934 Zugführer in SS-Standarte "Adolf Hitler"
00.00.1934 - 00.06.1934 serving in the Marinestürme der SA
11.06.1934 - 00.10.1934 Zugführer in Leibstandarte SS "Adolf Hitler"
00.10.1934 - 00.11.1938 Führer 3.Sturm / I.Sturmbann / LSSAH
00.10.1938 took part in the annexation of the Sudetenland
01.11.1938 - 00.06.1939 Stabsoffizier I.Sturmbann / SS-Standarte "Germania" in Hamburg
00.06.1939 - 00.09.1939 Kommandeur I.Sturmbann / SS-Standarte "Deutschland"
00.09.1939 Kommandeur Kampfgruppe "Schuldt" / SS-Standarte "Deutschland"
00.09.1939 - 00.12.1939 reassigned to SS-Regiment "Germania"
01.01.1940 - 31.03.1940 Kommandeur Polizei-Aufklärungs-Abteilung
01.04.1940 - 30.04.1940 Stabsoffizier 4. SS-Totenkopfstandarte "Ostmark"
30.04.1940 Kommandeur I.Bataillon / 4.SS-Totenkopfstandarte "Ostmark"
15.07.1941 Kommandeur I.Bataillon / SS-Infanterie-Regiment 5
13.09.1941 - 20.04.1942 Kommandeur SS-Infanterie-Regiment 4
20.04.1942 - 01.12.1942 Kommandeur SS-Schnelle-Schützen-Regiment "Langemarck"
21.12.1942 - 15.03.1943 Kommandeur SS-Brigade "Schuldt" / Kampfgruppe "Schuldt"
23.02.1943 wounded by shrapnel in Nikitowka-Bakhtevich area
26.02.1943 wounded again by shrapnel in Nikitowka-Bakhtevich area
00.03.1943 - 30.06.1943 taken to the SS hospital in Berlin-Lichterfelde for his wounds
01.09.1943 - 15.03.1944 Kommandeur 2. Lettische SS-Freiwilligen-Brigade
15.03.1944 fatally hit by a direct anti-tank hit near the village of Petschane

Awards and Decorations:
00.02.1934 Ehrenwinkel für alte Kämpfer
16.12.1935 Julleuchter der SS
00.00.193_ Totenkopfring der SS
00.00.1937 Deutsches Olympia-Ehrenzeichen II.Klasse
01.12.1937 Ehrendegen des Reichsführers-SS
01.12.1937 SA-Sportabzeichen in Bronze
01.12.1937 Deutsches Reichssportabzeichen in Bronze
00.00.193_ Abzeichen der Deutschen Lebensrettungsgesellschaft (DLRG) in Bronze
00.00.193_ Lebensrettungsmedaille in Silber
00.00.193_ SA-Sportabzeichen in Gold
00.00.19__ SS-Dienstauszeichnungen
24.10.1939 Eisernes Kreuz II.Klasse
00.10.1941 Eisernes Kreuz I.Klasse
00.00.194_ Dienstauszeichnung der NSDAP in Bronze
00.00.194_ Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen in Silber
00.00.194_ Verwundetenabzeichen in Silber
00.00.1942 Medaille “Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/42” (Ostmedaille)
05.04.1942 Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes #949, as SS-Obersturmbannführer and Kommandeur SS-Infanterie-Regiment 4 "Reichsführer-SS". Awarded the or the following actions: 1) The rapid seizure of a vital piece of high ground near Schopina. This objective had been suggested by XXXXIII. Armee-Korps, but not ordered due to Schuldt's own weak forces. He nonetheless recognized a favourable situation and was able to capture the place even so. In doing this he created a flank guard for the Army, which forced the enemy to delay his encirclement of the Kaluga position for several days. 2) Creating the preconditions for the closure of the gap that had formed north of 4. Panzerarmee, and later covering the flank of the unit (17. Infanterie-Division) that was assigned for carrying out this task. The closure of this gap proved to be of vital importance to the whole Heeresgruppe.
02.04.1943 Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub #220, as SS-Standartenführer and Kommandeur SS-Brigade Schuldt. Schuldt’s Eichenlaub recommendation reads as follows: "On 19.12.1942 SS-Standartenführer Schuldt with three Leibstandarte Kompanies and one-and-a-half Kompanies from the SS-Polizei Division were moving in the billeting area assigned by the XXIX. Armeekorps in Meschkoff. On the way they met the Italians from Armeeoberkommando 8 falling back and rushing in disorder, closely pursued by the Russians. In a quick and bold resolution. SS-Standartenführer Schuldt switched over from the march to counter attack and took the high ground east and north east of Meschkoff that dominated the entire area. The Russians were thrown back in the whole area and the high ground held. Then a report about the failure of the Italian defensive front was sent to the XXIX. Armeekorps (this was the first report that the German Command received about the collapse of the Italian Front). Schuldt displayed a clear and widespread knowledge of the tactical situation. Due to the resolute and energetic leadership of the commander and the bravery of his SS men, the majority of the Italian troops could be saved from being completely annihilated. Under the personal leadership of Schuldt, the positions in Meschkoff were held against strong enemy infantry and tank attacks. Meanwhile two Russian Tank Corps broke through the left flanking unit towards the west and in the course of the following day completely encircled the XXIX. Armeekorps. The entire XXIX. Armeekorps staff with the Korps commander, straggling German troops and Italian units in disorder all found themselves in the cauldron. They were harassed by the tanks of the attacking opponent from all sides. The only significant combat power at hand was in the elements of SS-Kampfgruppe Schuldt . Again it must be credited to the energetic and precise leadership of the Brigade commander that, after hard fighting, the breakout of the Armeekorps to reach the lines of Heeresgruppe Don on 29.12.1942 could be successful. On 15.01.1943, in spite of the strongest defense, parts of the SS-Brigade 'Schuldt' were surrounded at the bridgehead and blocking positions near Nowo-Jerochin and Klitwenezkaja. The order of the XXX. Armeekorps to disengage and fall back to Kamensk did not reach the Kampfgruppe because the radio station was destroyed by a direct hit. In that moment, when the position in Nowo-Jerochin was almost completely surrounded by 15 Russian tanks, the vigorous leadership of SS-Standartenführer Schuldt was proven again. He ordered that all the forces engaged in Nowo-Jerochin should break out towards Kamensk. Schuldt, with a small group of SS men and officers attracted the attention of the enemy to facilitate the escape of our troops. The next morning the commander with one officer and five men finally reached Kamensk, after having gone through the Russian formations already deployed in front of Kamensk. In the night from 31.01. to 01.02.1943 the enemy attacked SS-Brigade 'Schuldt' by surprise with strong forces reinforced with tanks. The area became our defensive front over the Donez. In an extremely hard and bloody fight the positions in Woroschilow and Shiroky were held for two days and two nights. They thwarted a complete breakthrough of the opponent that severely hit the Brigade's defensive positions, which had the end goal of reaching Krassnodon. This success must be credited to the energetic and lively leadership of the commander and his personal performance. After the withdrawal of the defensive front to the Wodjanoj position, it was only thanks to the compelling personality of the commander, often by force, that the newly attached elements of the 304th Infantry Division held back the enemy. He forced them to build up their positions so that the massive attacks of the opponent were resisted until the order to withdraw was given. The opponent recognized the Brigade's hard defensive willpower and, with the support of tank forces, tried repeatedly to force a breakthrough either by the right or the left flank. That put the Brigade in extreme danger and in a serious situation. Only through the bravery of the Brigade and attached units under the energetic and prudent leadership of its' commander could the situation be stabilized. In this period. the Brigade destroyed 24 tanks and three armoured attack airplanes of the enemy. To finish off a local enemy break-in to the west of the Olchowaja sector, SS-Brigade 'Schuldt' was transferred on 22.02.1943 into the area of Nikitowka-Bachtewitsch. On 23.02, after moving into the assembly position, they attacked the opponent in Wassjukowa-Schl. with an assault group under the command of the SS-Sturmbannführer Dietrich. They had the objective of enabling the recapture of the main fighting line by Gruppe 'Hunten'. With the attack progressing, the battle developed more and more into close combat by assault detachments at short range. After a hard fight under the personal leadership of the Brigade commander, who in the course of the battle was wounded by a shell splinter above the right eye, the old main fighting line could be reached and occupied. In the meantime, on 24.02.1943, the Russians managed to penetrate the left flank of Gruppe 'Hunten' with strong forces. At that moment, when the whole defensive front in the right sector of Gruppe 'Kreysing' threatened to collapse, this sector was subordinated to SS-Brigade 'Schuldt' with the following words of General Kreysing, "Herr Schuldt, you must do it, I rely on you." The commander of the Brigade, SS-Standartenführer Schuldt, recognized quickly that hills 287.4 and 227.4 were essential for the defense and also as a rallying point for any counterattack. They had to be held at any price. Schuldt's energy, which he stressed to the officers subordinated to him and at the same time was passed along to all of the fighting troops, must be thanked. The heights were again snatched away from the opponent in a surprise counterthrust, and with this the impending breakthrough could be halted as well. After a very hard initial battle, on 26.02.1943, a counterattack (again under the personal leadership of the commander) destroyed the massive enemy forces in the Ssereschina-Schl. in two-and-a-half hours. The day's objective and with it the old main fighting line were reached. During the attack the Commander was wounded for the second time by mortar splinters in the shoulder and back. After that time the assignment of the Kampfgruppe was fulfilled and the disengagement of the Brigade began."
21.04.1943 Deutsches Kreuz in Gold
29.02.1944 Mentioned in Wehrmachtbericht
25.03.1944 Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern #56 (posthumously), as SS-Oberfuhrer and Kommandeur 2. "lettische" SS-Freiwilligen-Brigade. Schuldt’s Schwerter recommendation reads as follows: "Oakleaves holder SS-Oberführer Schuldt has activated and trained the 2. Latvian Volunteer Brigade in the Wolchow bridgehead under the most difficult conditions. The fact he managed to build a combat unit capable of the highest performance in mobile warfare from mostly untrained Latvian volunteers in a dangerous, swampy land in only a few months is due to his organizational talent, high military knowledge and unequalled energy. The brigade is result of his work. In mid-January the Russians, with far superior forces, forced back the right adjacent division. The break-in from Podbereshje threatened to widen to a full break-through. SS-Oberführer Schuldt, recognizing clearly the extreme seriousness of the situation, decided to hit the enemy—which was moving west—with a severe blow in the flank. He inflicted heavy losses on the Russian assault divisions and gained at least forty-eight hours of decisive significance for the battle command of the Korps and for the operations of the Army. The road Kampfgruppe Schuldt kept open allowed an Armeekorps with five subordinate divisions to pull back. To achieve the highest possible concentration of forces for the active defense, SS-Oberführer Schuldt removed men from his line not attacked initially by Spaskaja Powistj so that in every Kompanie sector one NCO and two to four men simulated a complete garrison through noise and movement. This was done although the idea of a strong enemy thrust against this sector seemed completely possible. He gave the order for the retreat of his southern wing that was threatened in the deep flank. This was done only after he accomplished, with the minimal forces available and great difficulty, the recovery of the last stationary positioned weapons. When the advance of the newly committed Russian divisions on the road Raglizy-Sselo-Gorka towards the west was no ionger preventable with diminishing forces, SS-Oberführer Schuldt proposed letting himself become encircled with his Kampfgruppe. He wanted to cause the highest possible damage to the enemy, who was attacking from all sides, and then break through. That this decisive success could be achieved—and Kampfgruppe Schuldt in the ensuing bitter and heavy retreat battles with its left flank almost always open against strong Partisan troops in the rear was successful—is due to SS-Oberführer Schuldt. He reached his objective in strict order and must be thanked. Besides the bravery and hardness of the Latvian volunteers, Schuldt's outstanding personal bravery, power of decision, superior calmness, and almost unique energy is to be credited. SS-Oberführer Schuldt, who was killed on 15.03.1944 amongst his grenadiers, whose name far beyond his unit has served as a standard for the success of even the heaviest and seemingly meaningless undertakings, is considered especially worthy of being awarded the Swords to the Oakleaves of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross."

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Hinrich Schuldt was the son of the HAPAG captain and later ship owner Rudolf Schuldt and his wife Meta née Hinrichsen. At the age of 21, Hinrich Schuldt joined the Reichsmarine on April 1, 1922 (crew 22) as an officer cadet. The sea cadet completed his basic training from April to September 1922 at the 2nd corporal body in Kiel-Holtenau. He completed the subsequent practical on-board training from October 1922 to the end of March 1924 on the ships Braunschweig, Niobe and Berlin. On board these ships, Schuldt traveled to Italy, Portugal, Spain and France. During this time, Schuld earned his private pilot's license. On April 1, 1924 he was promoted to ensign at sea. In April 1926 he was promoted to Oberfähnrich zur See and in October of the same year he was promoted to Leutnant zur See. In January 1928, Schuldt left the Reichsmarine after a racist remark. The background to this was his statement to a Jewish member of the Imperial Navy that non-Aryans were in principle not fit to be soldiers.
From 1929 to December 1933 he worked as a maritime and military teacher at the Hanseatic Yacht School in Sierksdorf. During this time, Schuldt joined the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP) in December 1931, which confirmed his admission on February 1, 1932 with membership number 975,664. On the same day he also joined the SA as an SA man. With effect from December 12, 1933, Schuldt changed to the rank of SS-Sturmfuhrer for the SS-Standard "Adolf Hitler", but without officially switching to the SS. He then acted as a platoon commander in this SS standard until January 1934. After that he was again in the service of the SA. later he was a training officer in the inspection of the SA naval storms under the SA Untersturmfuhrer and later NSFK Obergruppenfuhrer Alfred Krüger.

On April 25, 1934, Schuldt asked the Reichsfuhrer SS Heinrich Himmler to be accepted into the SS. At the same time, he turned his old crewmate Heydrich on to the matter. On June 11, 1934, Schuldt's wish was granted and he joined the Leibstandarte SS “Adolf Hitler” as an SS man. After that, Schuldt was a platoon commander in the renamed Leibstandarte-SS “Adolf Hitler” until October 1934. After that he was until November 1938 leader of the 3rd storm in the local I. Sturmbann. During this time he was promoted to SS Obersturmfuhrer on January 10, 1935 and to SS Hauptsturmfuhrer in March 1935. In October 1938, Schuldt took part in the annexation of the Sudetenland, where he had an accident with a car and sustained injuries that led to a three-week hospital stay in Plauen, later he had to undergo two more operations. On November 1, 1938, he was posted to the SS Standard "Germania" in Hamburg, where Schuldt was employed on the staff of the I. Sturmbann. There he was promoted to SS-Sturmbannfuhrer on November 9 of the same year. In June 1939 he was transferred to the SS-Standard "Deutschland" in Munich, where he was employed as a battalion commander.

At the beginning of the Second World War, Schuldt was the leader of the "Kampfgruppe Schuldt" named after him in the SS-Standard "Deutschland", which took part in the Polish campaign as part of the Panzer Division Kempf. After the end of the fighting in Poland, Schuldt was assigned to the SS regiment "Germania", where he was in charge of all regiment units. In mid-December 1939, Schuldt was assigned to the police reconnaissance department, which he headed from January 1 to the end of March 1940. He was then transferred to the staff of the 4th SS Totenkopfstandarte "Ostmark" and from April 30, 1940 battalion commander of the 1st Battalion. He took part in the western campaign and was transferred to the SS Infantry Regiment 5 on July 15, 1941, after the start of the Russian campaign, where he took over the leadership of the 1st Battalion. On September 1, 1941, he was promoted to SS Obersturmfuhrer. From September 13 to April 20, 1942 he led the SS Infantry Regiment 4 in the northern section of the Eastern Front. On April 20, 1942, his regiment received the honorary title of Langemarck for its combat merits and was renamed the SS Regiment "Langemarck", which Schuldt continued to command until December 1, 1942, since August 7 SS Standartenfuhrer. By this time the regiment had been transferred to France for refresher training, where Schuldt said goodbye to his regiment in Tessy in November 1942.

On December 1, 1942, Schuldt became leader of the Kampfgruppe Schuldt named after him on the Don Front. His combat group was a mixture of various units of the Waffen SS, including parts of the "Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler", SS police units and other parts of the SS Panzer Grenadier Division "Das Reich". On February 23 and February 26, 1943, Schuldt was wounded twice by shrapnel in the Nikitowka-Bakhtevich area within a few days. For this reason, he was taken to the SS hospital in Berlin-Lichterfelde at the beginning of March 1943, and his group was withdrawn from combat operations the following day. On March 15, 1943, his combat group in Debica was disbanded. On May 11, 1943, Adolf Hitler presented him with the Oak Leaves for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on the Obersalzberg for his past services. Still in the recovery phase, Schuldt wrote on June 29, 1943 to SS-Obergruppenfuhrer Hans Jüttner, requesting that he be transferred to a new front-line operation. Thereupon Reichsfuhrer SS Himmler determined that Schuldt had to take over the 2nd (Latvian) SS Volunteer Brigade of the Latvian SS units after his health had been restored. After Schuldt was released from the hospital in the same month, he was given command of the brigade intended for him with effect from September 1, 1943. On September 5, 1943, he assumed command and on November 9, 1943, Schuldt was promoted to SS Oberfuhrer. The combat area of his unit was in the Peipussee and Ilmensee area and in the Volkhov bridgehead on the northern section of the eastern front. The Brigade Schuldts was renamed twice more in the course of its existence. Once in the 2nd Latvian SS Volunteer Brigade and on 7 January 1944 in the 19th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (Latvian No. 2). From January 1944, the division was subordinate to the XXXVIII. Panzer Corps. On March 15, 1944, Schuldt was fatally hit by a direct anti-tank hit near the village of Petschane. His burial took place in Riga in the local Forest Cemetery II at the Riga Cathedral. On March 16, 1944, Schuldt was posthumously promoted to SS-Brigadefuhrer and nominated by General of the XXXVIII Army Corps Herzog for the award of the Swords to Oak Leaves, which he was awarded on March 25, 1944. On June 1, 1944, Hitler provided Schuldt's mother with a monthly allowance of 150 Reichsmarks, and on January 15, 1945, the 43rd Waffen Grenadier Regiment of the SS (Lat. No. 2) received the honorific "Hinrich Schuldt".



SS-Hauptsturmführer Hinrich Schuldt. In the background is Lichterfelde Barracks courtyard.



From left to right: SS-Obersturmführer Franz Lang and SS-Hauptsturmführer Hinrich Schuldt. This photo was taken during the closing of platoon commander course for the cadets of the Junkerschulen Tölz and Braunschweig in Dachau (Übungslager) during February and March 1937. Chef 1. Sturm (company) was SS-Hstuf. Schuldt, while Chef 2. Sturm was SS-Ostuf. Lang. Hinrich Schuld would receive the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern with the last rank as SS-Brigadeführer, both posthumously after his death (15 March 1944).



Hinrich Schuldt (front) marching with his men.



Hinrich Schuldt with his men. No information about date or place.



The first months of the German occupation in the Netherlands (May to November 1940). Transfer from I.Bataillon / 4.SS-Totenkopfstandarte "Ostmark" to the National Commissioner for DOO RDE occupied Dutch areas, Reichsminister Dr. Seyss-Inquart. The Bataillonskommandeur is SS-Sturmbannführer Hinrich Schuldt (in the picture). The picture was taken on 19 June 1940. The video from this sequence can be seen HERE.



From left to right: SS-Sturmbannführer Jakob "Jopp" Fick (Kommandeur I.Bataillon [Kradschützen] / SS-Schnelle-Schützen-Regiment “Langemarck”. Ritterkreuz on 23 April 1943), unknown SS-Obersturmführer from Totenkopf, and SS-Obersturmbannführer Hinrich Schuldt (Kommandeur SS-Schnelle-Schützen-Regiment “Langemarck”. Ritterkreuz on 5 April 1942, Eichenlaub on 2 April 1943, and Schwerter posthumously on 25 March 1944).



SS-Standartenführer Hinrich Schuldt with the Ritterkreuz.



SS-Standartenführer Hinrich Schuldt with the Eichenlaub.



SS-Standartenführer Hinrich Schuldt with the Eichenlaub.

Officers from SS-Panzergrenadier-Division "Das Reich" in the sportstreffen (sport festival) event of the unit, possibly in the autumn or winter of 1942. From left to right: SS-Hauptsturmführer Walter Kniep (Kommandeur SS-Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 2 "Das Reich". Ritterkreuz on 14 August 1943), SS-Sturmbannführer Jakob "Jopp" Fick (Kommandeur I.Bataillon [Kradschützen] / SS-Schnelle-Schützen-Regiment “Langemarck”. Ritterkreuz on 23 April 1943), and SS-Standartenführer Hinrich Schuldt (Kommandeur SS-Schnelle-Schützen-Regiment “Langemarck”. Ritterkreuz on 5 April 1942, Eichenlaub on 2 April 1943, and Schwerter posthumously on 25 March 1944).



SS-Standartenführer Hinrich Schuldt on the phone in a special train belong to Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, July-August 1943. Smoking beside him is SS-Hauptsturmführer Rupert Dangl. Schuldt is wearing the Eichenlaub on his neck and "Langemarck" sleeve stripes. The picture was taken when the train stopped at Angerburg, East Prussia. Still in the recovery phase after his wounds in previous March, Schuldt wrote on 29 June 1943 to SS-Obergruppenfuhrer Hans Jüttner, requesting that he be transferred to a new front-line operation. Thereupon Reichsfuhrer SS Himmler determined that Schuldt had to take over the 2nd (Latvian) SS Volunteer Brigade of the Latvian SS units after his health had been restored. After Schuldt was released from the hospital in the same month, he was given command of the brigade intended for him with effect from September 1, 1943. Other pictures from the same sequence can be seen HERE.



SS-Oberführer Hinrich Schuldt.


Source :
Bayerische Staatsbibliothek photo archive
Hoffmann collection NARA photo archive
Denis Daum photo collection
Phil Nix photo collection
Sebastian Möller photo collection
Michael D. Miller archive
https://www.akg-images.de/archive/-2UMEBMBUOH9Y5.html
http://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2010/09/daftar-ss-brigadefuhrer-pimpinan.html
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/195965196/hinrich-schuldt
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=120236&hilit=hinrich+schuldt
https://www.generalassaultmilitaria.com/product/ss-officer-kc-holder-press-photo-on-kodak-paper/
https://www.imago-images.de/st/0163960821
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/13926/Schuldt-Hinrich.htm