Max Schimmelpfennig

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Max Schimmelpfennig
SS-Obersturmbannführer Max Schimmelpfennig in Prag on 18.11.1942.jpg
Birth date 25 February 1896
Place of birth Marienwerder, West Prussia, Prussia, German Empire
Death date 12 January 1982 (aged 85)
Place of death Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, West Germany
Allegiance  German Empire
 Weimar Republic
 National Socialist Germany
Service/branch Iron Cross of the Luftstreitkräfte.png Imperial German Army
Polizei in der Weimarer Republik.jpg Police
Balkenkreuz.jpg Heer
Flag Schutzstaffel.png SS
Flag Schutzstaffel.png Waffen SS
Years of service 1914–1918
1919–1940
1939
1940–1942
1942–1945
Rank SS-Standartenführer und Oberst der Polizei
Battles/wars World War I, World War II
Awards Iron Cross, War Merit Cross
Relations ∞ Gerda Herrmannsen; 3 sons

Max Schimmelpfennig (25 February 1896 – 12 January 1982) was a German officer of the Imperial German Army, the Police, the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS, finally SS-Standartenführer und Oberst der Polizei (SS rune.png colonel and colonel of the police). He must not be confused with Oberverwaltungsgerichtsrat (Higher Administrative Court Council) Dr. phil. h. c. Wilhelm Max Schimmelpfennig, honorary senator (Ehrensenator) of the Breslau University.

Life

After his Abitur, Schimmelpfennig joined the Grenadier-Regiment „König Friedrich der Große“ (3. Ostpreußisches) Nr. 4 as a war volunteer. After being commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant of the Reserves, he was in battle with 4. Kompanie/9. Westpreußisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 176 and was later transferred to 8. Kompanie/Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 3. He was wounded at least four times between August 1916 and October 1918 (by now company leader), twice severely.[1] Pictures from WWII show, he never uses his right arm (maybe amputated with prosthesis), but it is unsure, if this is from his wounds in WWI or WWII, where he was allegedly also wounded.

In 1919, he joined th Schutzpolizei (Protection Police). As of 1929, he was a teacher at the police academy "Polizeischule Frankenstein" in Silesia. From 1937 to 1940, he served with the Schutzpolizei in Kiel, although he was commanded to the Infanterie-Regiment 2 in Allenstein as battalion commander from February to December 1939. Other sources states, he also served in the Infanterie-Regiment 2 "Danzig" (Gruppe „Eberhardt“/SS-Heimwehr „Danzig“), which would explain, why he received the "Danzig Cross" fighting for the freedom of the German city of West Prussia in August/September 1939.

He was then transferred to the Polizei-Schützen-Regiment under Christian Schulze[2] and took over command of the 3rd Battalion. He therefore belonged to the Polizei-Division (renamed SS-Polizei-Division in August 1940), which replaced the 205. Infanterie-Division in January 1940 guarding the western defences (Westwall) of Germany against British and French attacks after the Polish campaign.

On 20 April 1940, he joined the SS (SS-Nr.: 422,167; NSDAP-Nr.: 3,683,016), which was now mandatory for police officers (the Reichsführer-SS was als head of the German policeforce or Chef der Deutschen Polizei), as a SS-Mann and was promoted on the same day to SS-Sturmbannführer und Major der Polizei (bureaucratically Führer in der Stammabteilung Weichsel, Bezirk 36). With 33,561 men, the Polizei-Division crossed the border to Luxembourg on 10 May 1940 as a reserve of the 7th Army under Friedrich Dollmann and took part in the Battle for France as of 9 June 1940 as part of the XVII. Armee-Korps[3] at the Canal de l'Oise à l'Aisne. On 14 June 1940, the regiment was able to capture an important bridge during battles in the Argonne Forest. From 2 August 1940 to June 1941, the SS-Polizei-Division remained as an occupying force in the Paris area.

From mid-June 1941, the division was transferred to East Prussia. On 30 June 1941, the division crossed the Lithuanian border and followed the army units north-east. On 14 July 1941, the Düna was crossed at Dryssa. On the night of 24 July 1941, the division crossed Ostrow. In August 1941, during the Operation Barbarossa, the division was tasked with the capture of the city of Luga and the surrounding area (which lay on the road to Leningrad), and the assault began on the 10th of that month. The battle turned into a very bloody fight for the division, with many of its soldiers falling in the battle including the divisional commander, SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Polizei Arthur Ferdinand August Mülverstedt. Finally, the division was ready to attack Luga itself on 23 August 1941. Schulze’s regiment attacked right down the middle towards the city centre, with Schulze himself leading from the front.

When his regiment had to cross the main bridge over the river Luga, Schulze went so far as to remove some of the demolition charges on the bridge personally. By the evening of the second day, his regiment had completed the capture of parts of the city. To avoid being surrounded, the Red Army fled the city on 1 September 1941. Up to this point, the SS-Polizei-Division had suffered around 1,000 dead and 2,000 wounded. The division was then placed under the 50th Army Corps. On 9 September 1941, the battle for Krasnogwardeisk at the gates of Leningrad began. Commander Schulze was wounded severely on 11 September 1941 and Max Schimmelpfennig took over the command until he was relieved by SS-Obersturmbannführer Fritz Freitag[4] on 15 December 1941.

Schimmelpfenning was assigned to the Stab of SS-Polizei-Division until 15 May 1942. He then served with the Inspektion der Infanterie of the SS Main Office (SS-Führungshauptamt). He became commander of NCO-school "SS-Unterführerschule Posen-Treskau" on 1 May 1943 and commander of the NCO-school SS- und Waffen-Unterführerschule Laibach in the autumn of 1943. On 17 February 1945, he became battle commander (Kampfkommandant) of Laibach until Oberst Werner von Seeler[5] took over on 12 April 1945. Schimmelpfenning was now site elder (Standortältester) and took back command of the Unterführerschule

The Korpsgruppe "von Seeler", the former Korps-Gruppe "Roesener" and on von Seeler's own initiative, fought it's way through Austria and the Loibl pass on 8 May 1945. On 9 May 1945, the bridge over the Drau north of Ferlach was crossed. Here the troops were stopped by Yugoslav partisans and after unsuccessful negotiations, the Yugoslav troops were attacked and defeated on the morning of 11 May 1945, destroying two tanks. The bridge was then passed, and the Germans surrendered to British troops being collected in the Viktring camp.

Promotions

Army

  • Leutnant der Reserve (2nd Lieutenant of the Reserves) on 30 April 1916

Police

  • Leutnant der Schutzpolizei in 1919
  • Oberleutnant der Schutzpolizei on 24 May 1924
  • Hauptmann der Schutzpolizei on 26 March 1929
  • Major der Schutzpolizei on 9 November 1937

SS

  • SS-Mann on 20 April 1940 with effect from 1 January 1940
  • SS-Sturmbannführer on 20 April 1940 with effect from 1 January 1940
  • SS-Obersturmbannführer und Oberstleutnant der Schutzpolizei on 5 October 1942 with effect from 1 April 1942 and Rank Seniority (RDA) from 5 January 1942
  • SS-Standartenführer und Oberst der Schutzpolizei on 9 November 1943

Awards and decorations (excerpt)

Gallery

  • Max Schimmelpfennig (left) und Wilhelm Koppe

  • SS-Obersturmbannführer Max Schimmelpfennig, SS-Unterführerschule Posen-Treskau, 1943

  • SS-Standartenführer Max Schimmelpfennig inspecting the troops in Laibach (Ljubljana) on 20 April 1944 II.jpg

  • Höherer SS- und Polizeiführer „Alpenland“ ( SS-Gruppenführer Erwin Rösener (left) and SS-Standartenführer Max Schimmelpfennig in Laibach (Ljubljana) on 20 April 1944

  • SS-Standartenführer Max Schimmelpfennig inspecting the troops in Laibach (Ljubljana) on 20 April 1944

  • Obituary (1982)

External links

References

  1. ↑ SS-Staf. Max Schimmelpfennig
  2. ↑ Polizei-Schützen-Regiment 2
  3. ↑ Polizei-Division
  4. ↑ Freitag, Fritz (Waffen SS)
  5. ↑ Seeler, von, Werner (Grenadier-Regiment 276)
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