27 Facts About Sepp Dietrich

Josef "Sepp" Dietrich was a German politician and a general in the Schutzstaffel during the Nazi era.

Sepp Dietrich joined the Nazi Party in 1928 and was elected to the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic in 1930.

Josef "Sepp" Dietrich was born on 28 May 1892 in Hawangen, near Memmingen in the Kingdom of Bavaria, German Empire.

Sepp Dietrich was promoted to Gefreiter in 1917 and awarded the Iron Cross 2nd class.

Sepp Dietrich joined the Freikorps and fought against Polish insurgents during the Silesian Uprisings, but lost his job as a police officer due to his suspected involvement in the Beer Hall Putsch.

Sepp Dietrich joined the Nazi Party in 1928, then was hired at Eher Verlag, the NSDAP publisher, and became commander of Hitler's Schutzstaffel bodyguard.

Sepp Dietrich had been introduced to Nazism by Christian Weber, who had been his employer at the Tankstelle-Blauer-Bock filling station in Munich.

Later, at approximately 17:00 hours, Sepp Dietrich received orders from Hitler for the Leibstandarte to form an "execution squad" and go to Stadelheim prison, where certain Sturmabteilung leaders were being held.

However, on the following day, in defiance of Hitler's orders, Sepp Dietrich ordered his III Battalion to cross the canal and take the heights beyond, where British artillery observers were putting the regiment at risk.

Sepp Dietrich remained in command of the Leibstandarte throughout the campaigns in Greece and Yugoslavia before being promoted to command of the 1st SS Panzer Corps, attached to Army Group Center, on the Eastern Front.

Sepp Dietrich commanded the 1st SS Panzer Corps in the Battle of Normandy.

Sepp Dietrich rose to command 5th Panzer Army during the later stages of this campaign.

Shortly thereafter, Sepp Dietrich's troops were forced to retreat from Vienna by Soviet Red Army forces.

Sepp Dietrich, accompanied by his wife, surrendered on 9 May 1945 to the US 36th Infantry Division in Austria.

Sepp Dietrich had the complete confidence of Hitler because of his loyalty; the old political fighter was one of Hitler's favorites.

Sepp Dietrich therefore enjoyed much lavish publicity, numerous decorations and a rapid series of promotions.

Sepp 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 Sepp Dietrich was promoted to a Corps command he was at least assisted by competent staff officers transferred from the army; still, the army command had to take some pains to keep him in line.

Sepp Dietrich reportedly had never been taught how to read a military map.

Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt considered him to be "decent but stupid" and was especially critical of Sepp Dietrich's handling of the 6th Panzer Army in the Ardennes.

Sepp Dietrich was reported by a fellow general to have "railed against the Fuhrer and [his] entourage" with promises to let Hitler know that he was "leading us all to destruction".

In 1943, Sepp Dietrich was sentenced to death in absentia by the Soviet Union for war crimes committed by his men in Kharkiv.

Sepp Dietrich was imprisoned at the Landsberg Prison in Bavaria.

Sepp Dietrich served only ten years and was released on parole on 22 October 1955.

Sepp Dietrich was sentenced to 18 months for his part in that purge, after being convicted as an accessory to manslaughter for providing a firing squad for the executions of six SA men.

Sepp Dietrich was released due to a heart condition and circulation problems in his legs on 6 February 1959.

Sepp Dietrich was married twice: he was divorced from his first wife in 1937 and remarried in 1942.