Wilhelm Bittrich was a high-ranking Waffen-SS commander of Nazi Germany.
17 Facts About Wilhelm Bittrich
2.
Between August 1942 and February 1943, Bittrich commanded the SS Cavalry Division Florian Geyer, in rear security operations in the Soviet Union.
3.
From July 1944 until the end of the war Wilhelm Bittrich commanded the 2nd SS Panzer Corps in Normandy, during Market Garden and in Hungary.
4.
In 1916, Wilhelm Bittrich transferred to the Luftstreitkrafte and trained as a pilot.
5.
Wilhelm Bittrich served with several units, including the 37th Fighter Squadron.
6.
In 1923, Wilhelm Bittrich was accepted into the Reichswehr of the Weimar Republic.
7.
From August 1934, Wilhelm Bittrich was a commander of the Politische Bereitschaft in Hamburg.
8.
Wilhelm Bittrich was given command of a battalion in the SS-Regiment "Deutschland".
9.
In May 1939, Wilhelm Bittrich was posted to the headquarters unit of the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler and was promoted to Standartenfuhrer in June 1939.
10.
Wilhelm Bittrich took part in the invasion of Poland, assigned as LSSAH Chief of Staff to Sepp Dietrich.
11.
On 9 July 1942 Wilhelm Bittrich attended a conference called to convey the principles of the Bandenbekampfung to senior police and security leaders.
12.
Wilhelm Bittrich assumed temporary command of the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich from 14 October 1941 through 12 December 1941, after Paul Hausser had been wounded.
13.
Wilhelm Bittrich then was given command over the 9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen effective February 1943 until 1 July 1944.
14.
At the request of the British Divisional Medical Officer, Wilhelm Bittrich authorized a three-hour cease-fire on September 24,1944, to evacuate more than 2,000 wounded British from the encirclement, and place them in the infirmary of his divisions.
15.
Wilhelm Bittrich was listed as a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords by the Association of Knight's Cross Holders, although no record of the award could be found in the German archives due to the irregular nature of its presentation.
16.
The trial revealed that Wilhelm Bittrich had not given such an order and even opened procedures against the responsible officers.
17.
Wilhelm Bittrich was put on trial for a second time in 1953 and sentenced to five years in prison for tolerating hangings, pillage and arson, and was released the same year.