| Fritz Knöchlein | |
|---|---|
| 27 May 1911 — 21 January 1949 (aged 37) | |
pictured on May 27 1941
|
|
| Place of birth | München |
| Place of death | Hamburg (Executed) |
| Allegiance |  Nazi Germany |
| Service/branch |  Waffen SS |
| Years of service | 1934-1945 |
| Rank | SS-Obersturmbannführer |
| Commands held | 3rd SS Division Totenkopf 16th SS Panzergrenadier Division Reichsführer-SS |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross German Cross in Gold EK I EK II |
Fritz Knöchlein (May 27, 1911 in Munich - January 21, 1949) was a SS Obersturmbannführer during the Second World War who was subsequently convicted and executed for war crimes
Contents |
Biography
Fritz Knöchlein joined the SS in 1934. Events 927 - Simeon the Great, Tsar of Bulgaria, dies 1120 - Richard III of Capua is anointed Year 1911 ( MCMXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Events 1189 - Philip II of France and Richard I of England begin to assemble troops to wage the Third Crusade. Year 1949 ( MCMXLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 927 - Simeon the Great, Tsar of Bulgaria, dies 1120 - Richard III of Capua is anointed Munich (München; Minga is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. Hamburg (English, German: ˈhambʊɐk local pronunciation Low German / Low Saxon: Hamborg) is the second-largest city in Germany Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers The Waffen-SS ( German for "Armed SS" literally "Weapons SS" was the Combat arm of the Schutzstaffel ("Protective Squadron" Obersturmbannführer was a Paramilitary Nazi Party rank used by both the SA and the SS. SS Division Totenkopf ("Death's Head" or "Skull" is also known as 3 World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross ( German language: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes, often simply Ritterkreuz) was a grade of the Iron Cross The German Cross (Deutsches Kreuz was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 16 November 1941 as an award ranking higher than the Iron Cross First Class For other meanings please see Iron Cross (disambiguation The Iron Cross ( was a Military decoration of the Kingdom of Prussia For other meanings please see Iron Cross (disambiguation The Iron Cross ( was a Military decoration of the Kingdom of Prussia Events 927 - Simeon the Great, Tsar of Bulgaria, dies 1120 - Richard III of Capua is anointed Year 1911 ( MCMXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Events 1189 - Philip II of France and Richard I of England begin to assemble troops to wage the Third Crusade. Year 1949 ( MCMXLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The ( German for "Protective Squadron" abbreviated SS - or ( Runic)- was a major Nazi organization under Adolf Hitler and the Obersturmbannführer was a Paramilitary Nazi Party rank used by both the SA and the SS. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including War crimes are "violations of the laws or customs of war" including but not limited to "murder the ill-treatment or deportation of civilian residents of an occupied The ( German for "Protective Squadron" abbreviated SS - or ( Runic)- was a major Nazi organization under Adolf Hitler and the Upon the formation of the 3rd SS Division ("Totenkopf") (then organized as a motorized infantry division) at the SS training area near Dachau[1] he was promoted to the rank of Hauptsturmführer and appointed to the command of No. SS Division Totenkopf ("Death's Head" or "Skull" is also known as 3 Dachau is a town in Bavaria, in the southern part of Germany It is a major district town—a Große Kreisstadt —of the administrative Hauptsturmführer was a Nazi rank of the SS which was used between the years of 1934 and 1945 3 Kompanie, I. A company is a Military unit, typically consisting of 75-200 Soldiers Most companies are formed of three to five Platoons although the exact number may vary Abteilung (of which he was also the deputy commander), 2. Abteilung (shortened Abt) is a German language word often used when referring to German or Swiss military formations (although the Germans use Regiment ("Brandenberg") of the Totenkopf Division and fought as part of the division during the Battle of France in May-June 1940. A regiment is a Military unit, composed of a variable number of Battalions – commanded by a Colonel. In World War II, the Battle of France, also known as the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries [2]
Massacre
It was in his capacity as a company commander that he gained notoriety, being responsible for the 27 May 1940 massacre of British prisoners-of-war at Le Paradis in the Pas-de-Calais. The Le Paradis massacre was a War crime committed by members of the 14th Company SS Division Totenkopf, under the command of Hauptsturmführer Events 927 - Simeon the Great, Tsar of Bulgaria, dies 1120 - Richard III of Capua is anointed Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Lestrem is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais département in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France. Pas-de-Calais is a department in northern France. Its name is the French language equivalent of the Strait of Dover, which it borders Ninety-nine members of the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Norfolk Regiment who had surrendered to his unit in a cattle shed were stood in front of the barn wall, and Knöchlein ordered two machine-guns turned on them, followed by bayoneting and shooting any apparent survivors. A battalion is a Military unit of around 500-1500 men usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel The Royal Norfolk Regiment, originally formed as the Norfolk Regiment, was an infantry Regiment of the British Army. For other uses of the phrase see Machine Gun (disambiguation. Two of the prisoners, privates Albert Pooley and William O'Callaghan, managed to escape the massacre, but the remaining 97 were hastily buried along the barn wall.
In 1942, the bodies were exhumed by the French authorities and reburied in a local cemetery which eventually became the Le Paradis War Cemetery. Year 1942 ( MCMXLII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. During this time, Albert Pooley made it a personal mission to hunt down Knöchlein and bring him up on charges of war crimes after the war. War crimes are "violations of the laws or customs of war" including but not limited to "murder the ill-treatment or deportation of civilian residents of an occupied
Eastern Front
After the French campaign Knöchlein was appointed commander of 5. Kompanie, and to command of an antiaircraft artillery battery in the Totenkopf Division flak battalion. Anti-aircraft warfare, or air defense, is any method of engaging hostile military Aircraft in defence of ground objectives, ground or naval forces In Military organizations an artillery battery is a unit of Guns mortars or Rockets so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield . He served in this capacity on the Russian Front until the summer of 1942 when he was promoted to Sturmbannführer and appointed commander of the I. The Eastern Front of World War II (die Ostfront 1941-1945, der Rußlandfeldzug 1941-1945 (Russian campaign or der Ostfeldzug 1941-1945 (Eastern Campaign Year 1942 ( MCMXLII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Sturmbannführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party which was used by both the Sturmabteilung (SA and the Schutzstaffel Abteilung of the 3. Regiment, Totenkopf Division, and in October 1943 became commander of I. Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Abteilung, No. 36 Regiment, of the newly formed 16th SS Panzer Grenadier Division ("Reichsführer-SS"). He was promoted to Obersturmbannführer and appointed commander of a Norwegian SS volunteer unit, the No. Obersturmbannführer was a Paramilitary Nazi Party rank used by both the SA and the SS. 23 Panzergrenadier Regiment ("Norge") of the 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division ("Nordland") from March 14, 1944 to January 1, 1945. [3] Knöchlein received the following decorations during the war: the Iron Cross First and Second Class; the German Cross in Gold (15 November 1942)[4], and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (November 1944). For other meanings please see Iron Cross (disambiguation The Iron Cross ( was a Military decoration of the Kingdom of Prussia The German Cross (Deutsches Kreuz was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 16 November 1941 as an award ranking higher than the Iron Cross First Class The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross ( German language: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes, often simply Ritterkreuz) was a grade of the Iron Cross [5]
Trial
In August of 1948, he was formally arraigned on charges of war crimes, to which he pleaded not guilty. Year 1948 ( MCMXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. War crimes are "violations of the laws or customs of war" including but not limited to "murder the ill-treatment or deportation of civilian residents of an occupied
- The accused Fritz Knochlein, a German national, in the charge of the Hamburg Garrison Unit, pursuant to Regulation 4 of the Regulations for the Trial of War Criminals, is charged with committing a war crime in that he in the vicinity of Paradis, Pas-de-Calais, France, on or about 27 May 1940, in violation of the laws and usages of war, was concerned in the killing of about ninety prisoners-of-war, members of The Royal Norfolk Regiment and other British Units.
His trial began in No. 5 Court of the Curiohaus, Altona, on Monday 11 October 1948 - and both Albert Pooley and William O'Callaghan were called to testify against him. Altona (ˈaltona is the westernmost urban borough ( Bezirk) of the German city state of Hamburg, on the right bank of the Elbe Events 1138 - A massive earthquake struck Aleppo, Syria. 1531 - Huldrych Zwingli is killed Knöchlein's defence attorney, Dr. An attorney at law (or attorney-at-law) in the United States is a practitioner in a court of law who is legally qualified to prosecute Uhde, claimed that Knöchlein had not been present on the day of the battle, and challenged that the British forces had used the illegal dumdum bullets. Upon being found guilty, he applied for clemency indicating that he had a wife and four children that depended on him, but was sentenced to be hanged, a verdict that was carried out on January 28, 1949. Events 1077 - Walk to Canossa: The Excommunication of Henry IV Holy Roman Emperor is lifted
Summary of his military career
Dates of rank
- SS-Obersturmführer - 1940
- SS-Hauptsturmführer - ?
- SS-Sturmbannführer - 1942
- SS-Obersturmbannführer - March 14, 1944
Notable decorations
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross - November 16, 1944
- German Cross in Gold - November 15, 1942
- Iron Cross of First Class
- Iron Cross of Second Class
References
- ^ Mitcham, Samuel W. Obersturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi party that was used by the Schutzstaffel and also as a rank of the SA. Hauptsturmführer was a Nazi rank of the SS which was used between the years of 1934 and 1945 Sturmbannführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party which was used by both the Sturmabteilung (SA and the Schutzstaffel Obersturmbannführer was a Paramilitary Nazi Party rank used by both the SA and the SS. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross ( German language: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes, often simply Ritterkreuz) was a grade of the Iron Cross The German Cross (Deutsches Kreuz was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 16 November 1941 as an award ranking higher than the Iron Cross First Class For other meanings please see Iron Cross (disambiguation The Iron Cross ( was a Military decoration of the Kingdom of Prussia For other meanings please see Iron Cross (disambiguation The Iron Cross ( was a Military decoration of the Kingdom of Prussia , Jr. Hitler's Legions: The German Army Order of Battle, World War II.
- ^ "Ritterkreuzträger Fritz Knöchlein," http://www.ritterkreuztraeger-1939-45.de/Waffen-SS/K/Knoechlein-Fritz.htm
- ^ "SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 23 'Norge'," http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gliederungen/PanzergrenadierregimenterSS/PGRSS23.htm
- ^ Patzwall
- ^ "Ritterkreuzträger Fritz Knöchlein," http://www.ritterkreuztraeger-1939-45.de/Waffen-SS/K/Knoechlein-Fritz.htm
- Patzwall, Klaus D. and Scherzer, Veit. Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 - 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II. Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall, 2001. ISBN 3-931533-45-X.
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic