15 Facts About Richard Kaaserer

Richard Kaaserer was an Austrian SS-Oberfuhrer and Oberst of Police who served in the Waffen-SS, and as an SS and Police Leader in Serbia and Norway during the Second World War.

Richard Kaaserer, the son of a gendarmerie officer, was born in Trento, then in the Austrian Tyrol.

Richard Kaaserer was posted as a Special Duties Officer in SS-Oberabschnitte "Sudwest," based in Stuttgart, and then in the Political Preparedness Department in Wurttemberg.

Richard Kaaserer returned to Austria in July 1934, took part in the failed July Putsch and was imprisoned in Austria from July 1934 to October 1937, for which he was later awarded the Nazi Party's Blood Order.

On his release from prison, Richard Kaaserer returned to Germany and was assigned from December 1937 to June 1938 to SS-Oberabschnitt "Ost" with headquarters in Berlin, heading the regional SS Race and Settlement Main Office staff there.

Richard Kaaserer was promoted to SS-Standartenfuhrer on 21 June 1938 and then spent several months working in the RuSHA headquarters in Berlin.

On 20 June 1942, Richard Kaaserer joined the Waffen-SS as an SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer of reserves and was sent to the Balkans as commander of the 1st Battalion of the SS 2nd Mountaineer Regiment, 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen.

In October 1942, Richard Kaaserer led his battalion in Operation Kopaonik, an anti-Chetnik campaign in which hundreds of Serbian civilians in the village of Kriva Reka were killed and their houses burned.

Richard Kaaserer served with his unit until February 1943 when he was court-martialed due to brutality and degrading treatment of recruits.

Richard Kaaserer was transferred out of the division, charged before the Supreme SS and Police Court in Munich and received a severe reprimand from Reichsfuhrer-SS Heinrich Himmler.

Richard Kaaserer was appointed Polizeigebeitsfuhrer of Knin in Dalmatia from 27 July 1943 to 20 May 1944.

On 21 June 1944, Richard Kaaserer was transferred to the office of the HSSPF "Serbia, Sandzak and Montenegro," SS-Gruppenfuhrer Hermann Behrends.

Richard Kaaserer was promoted to SSPF "Sandzak," the only person to hold this position.

Richard Kaaserer's last posting came on 28 November 1944 when he was transferred to the newly created post of SSPF "Mitte-Norwegen" in Bergen which he held until the end of the war in Europe on 8 May 1945.

Richard Kaaserer was tried for war crimes by the Supreme Military Court in Belgrade, sentenced to death on 22 December 1946, and executed by hanging on 24 January 1947.