1. Bruno Gesche rose to the rank of Obersturmbannfuhrer in the SS in Nazi Germany.
11 Facts About Bruno Gesche
1. 2.
Bruno Gesche joined what was then a fringe political movement, the NSDAP, and its paramilitary wing, the Sturmabteilung in 1922.
3.
In 1927 Bruno Gesche left the SA to join what was then its subordinate branch, the Schutzstaffel.
4.
The first incident arose when Bruno Gesche levied criticism against Himmler for the security detail provided by another SS unit during a Hitler campaign speech in Selb on 14 October 1932.
5.
Bruno Gesche responded by enlisting the help of the commander of Hitler's personal bodyguard regiment, Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, Sepp Dietrich, who managed to have Himmler's order reversed.
6.
In early 1942, after another session of heavy drinking, Bruno Gesche pulled his pistol and threatened a fellow SS officer.
7.
Bruno Gesche was dismissed from his command of the Fuhrerbegleitkommando and again required to abstain from drinking for three years.
8.
Bruno Gesche was transferred to the Eastern Front and the Waffen-SS, 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking.
9.
The 5th SS, from the moment Bruno Gesche arrived in the summer of 1942, engaged in bitter battles with Soviet forces for control of the oil-rich Caucasus.
10.
Bruno Gesche was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class and Wound Badge in black.
11.
Bruno Gesche was instead assigned to the 16th SS Panzergrenadier Division Reichsfuhrer-SS, 5.