Karl Ullrich

Karl Ullrich
Born (1910-12-01)1 December 1910
Died 8 May 1996(1996-05-08) (aged 85)
Allegiance  Nazi Germany
Service/branch Waffen-SS
Years of service 1934–45
Rank Oberführer
Service number NSDAP #715,727
SS #31,438
Unit
Battles/wars World War II
Awards

Karl Ullrich (1 December 1910 – 8 May 1996) was a high-ranking member in the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany during World War II, who was the last commander of the SS Division Wiking and a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves.

Career

Born in 1910, Ullrich joined Infanterie-Regiment 19 after having graduated from university. He later joined the SS-Verfügungstruppe (SS-VT; forerunner to the Waffen-SS) in 1934.[1] Ullrich was an engineering graduate when he joined the SS Engineer Battalion of the SS-VT. He was commissioned as an officer within a year and posted to command the 3rd Company, SS Pionier Battalion, SS-VT.

He was awarded the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd class for bravery during the Battle of France, then transferred to the Totenkopf on the Eastern Front in 1941. He was awarded the Knight's Cross for his leadership and bravery during the battles of the Demyansk pocket in February 1942 and in October 1944 was given command of the 6th SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment Theodor Eicke and was awarded the Oakleaves while in command.

Promoted to Standartenführer (colonel) he was given command of the 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking for the final battles of the war in Hungary. A short time before the end of the war he was promoted to Oberführer and he surrendered to the Red Army in May 1945.[2]

After the war, Ullrich wrote the book Like a Cliff in the Ocean: A History of the 3. SS-Panzer-Division "Totenkopf" in which he claimed that only a single member of the Totenkopf division ever committed a war crime.[3] In reality, the division committed war crimes in Poland and France.

Awards

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Like a Cliff in the Ocean, Karl Ullrich, 2002, J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing, ISBN 0-921991-69-X
  2. ↑ The Waffen-SS at War By Tim Ripley, p 80
  3. ↑ McMullen, Karl Ullrich ; translated by Jeffrey (2002). Like a Cliff in the Ocean: A History of the 3. SS-Panzer-Division "Totenkopf". Winnipeg: J.J. Fedorowicz. p. 31. ISBN 092199169X.
  4. 1 2 Thomas 1998, p. 396.
  5. 1 2 Scherzer 2007, p. 754.

Bibliography

  • Thomas, Franz (1998). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2: L–Z [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 2: L–Z] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2300-9. 
  • Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2. 
Military offices
Preceded by
SS-Standartenführer Johannes Mühlenkamp		 Commander of 5. SS-Panzer-Division Wiking
9 October 1944 – 5 May 1945 		Succeeded by
disbanded


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