Hermann August Fredrich Priess (24 May 1901 – 2 February 1985) was a German general in the

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...

and a war criminal during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. He commanded the SS Division Totenkopf ("Death's Head") following the death of

Theodor Eicke Theodor Eicke (17 October 1892 – 26 February 1943) was a senior SS functionary and Waffen SS divisional commander during the Nazi era. He was one of the key figures in the development of Nazi concentration camps. Eicke served as the sec ...

in February 1943. On 30 October 1944 he was appointed commander of the I SS Panzer Corps and led it during the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...

. After the war, Priess was convicted of war crimes for his involvement in the Malmedy massacre, and was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. He was released from the

Landsberg Prison Landsberg Prison is a penal facility in the town of Landsberg am Lech in the southwest of the German state of Bavaria, about west-southwest of Munich and south of Augsburg. It is best known as the prison where Adolf Hitler was held in 1924, af ...

in 1954.

Career

Born in 1901, Priess volunteered for military service in the army of the German Empire in January 1919, which was transformed to the

Reichsheer ''Reichswehr'' () was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first years of the Third Reich. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshaped ...

in the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is ...

. Due to the limitations imposed by the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...

, his regiment was disbanded. He then joined the paramilitary group ''Freikorps'' and fought in the

Estonian War of Independence The Estonian War of Independence ( et, Vabadussõda, literally "Freedom War"), also known as the Estonian Liberation War, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Bolshevik westw ...

. In 1920, he returned to the army and was discharged in June 1931. On 24 October 1944, Priess succeeded Georg Keppler as commander of I SS Panzer Corps. He led this formation, as part of the 6th Panzer Army, in the failed ''Ardennenoffensive'', which was dubbed the

Battle of Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...

. The objective of the offensive was to split the British and American line in half, so the Germans could then proceed to encircle and destroy four Allied armies, forcing the

Western Allies The Allies, formally referred to as the United Nations from 1942, were an international military coalition formed during the Second World War (1939–1945) to oppose the Axis powers, led by Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, and Fascist Italy ...

to negotiate a

peace treaty A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, which formally ends a state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring ...

with the Axis Powers. Subordinated to I SS Panzer Corps was '' Kampfgruppe'' "Peiper", led by

Joachim Peiper Joachim Peiper (30 January 1915 – 14 July 1976) was a German ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) officer and a Nazi war criminal convicted for the Malmedy massacre of U.S. Army prisoners of war (POWs). During the Second World War in Europe, Peiper serve ...

. Peiper's command was responsible for the Malmedy massacre, a war crime in which 84 American prisoners of war were murdered by their German captors near

Malmedy Malmedy (; german: Malmünd, ; wa, Måmdiy) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On January 1, 2018, Malmedy had a total population of 12,654. The total area is 99.96 km2 which gives a populati ...

, Belgium. After the Ardennes offensive, the 6th SS Panzer Army was transferred to Hungary, where it fought against the advancing Soviet Army. The I SS Panzer Corps arrived in Hungary in early February 1945. There, Priess committed his forces in Operation Southwind against the

Hron The Hron ( sk, Hron; german: Gran; hu, Garam; la, Granus) is a long left tributary of the Danube Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

near the town of

Esztergom Esztergom ( ; german: Gran; la, Solva or ; sk, Ostrihom, known by alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the right bank of the river Dan ...

, destroying the bridgehead by the end of February. He then commanded I SS Panzer Corps in

Operation Spring Awakening Operation Spring Awakening (german: Unternehmen Frühlingserwachen) was the last major German offensive of World War II. The operation was referred to in Germany as the Plattensee offensive and in the Soviet Union as the Balaton defensive operati ...

, the last major German offensive of World War II. The attack, centered in the

Lake Balaton Lake Balaton () is a freshwater lake in the Transdanubian region of Hungary. It is the largest lake in Central Europe, and one of the region's foremost tourist destinations. The Zala River provides the largest inflow of water to the lake, and ...

area, began on 6 March 1945 and ended with a German defeat on 16 March 1945.

War crimes trial and conviction

In May 1945, Priess surrendered to the U.S. forces. He started working for the US Army Historical Division at the Camp King. From May–July 1946, he became one of 73 defendants at the

Malmedy massacre trial The Malmedy massacre trial (''U.S. vs. Valentin Bersin, et al.'') was held in May–July 1946 in the former Dachau concentration camp to try the German Waffen-SS soldiers accused of the Malmedy massacre of 17 December 1944. The highest-ranking d ...

held in the Dachau internment camp. Along with

Sepp Dietrich Josef "Sepp" Dietrich (28 May 1892 – 21 April 1966) was a German politician and SS commander during the Nazi era. He joined the Nazi Party in 1928 and was elected to the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic in 1930. Prior to 1929, Dietrich was A ...

and others, Priess was charged with the murder of over 300 Allied POWs and 100 Belgian civilians between 16 December 1944 and 13 January 1945. This is a web transcription of microfilmed archives of the original US Army documents. See th
site's introduction
for more information. The URL is to a HTML frame, you must select "US011" in the left pane to get to case "6-24". The direct URL to the case page i

. On 16 July, Priess was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. In October 1954, he was released prior to serving his full sentence from the

. Priess died in 1985.

Summary of SS career

;Awards *

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia es ...

(1939) 2nd Class (22 September 1939) & 1st Class (15 October 1939) *

German Cross The War Order of the German Cross (german: Der Kriegsorden Deutsches Kreuz), normally abbreviated to the German Cross or ''Deutsches Kreuz'', was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941. It was awarded in two divisions: in gold for repe ...

in Gold on 6 January 1942 as SS-'' Standartenführer'' in the SS-Artillerie-Regiment "Totenkopf" *

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. The Knight ...

** Knight's Cross on 28 April 1943 as SS-''

Oberführer __NOTOC__ ''Oberführer'' (short: ''Oberf'', , ) was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) dating back to 1921. An ''Oberführer'' was typically a NSDAP member in charge of a group of paramilitary units in a particular geographic ...

'' and commander of ''Artillerie-Regiment of the SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Totenkopf'' ** 297th Oak Leaves on 9 September 1943 as SS-''

Brigadeführer ''Brigadeführer'' (, ) was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) that was used between the years of 1932 to 1945. It was mainly known for its use as an SS rank. As an SA rank, it was used after briefly being known as ''Untergruppenf ...

'' and '' Generalmajor'' of the Waffen-SS and commander of the SS-Panzergrenadier-Division "Totenkopf" ** 65th Swords on 24 April 1944 as SS-''Brigadeführer'' and ''Generalmajor'' of the Waffen-SS and commander of the 3. SS-Panzer-Division "Totenkopf" *

Wound Badge The Wound Badge (german: Verwundetenabzeichen) was a German military decoration first promulgated by Wilhelm II, German Emperor on 3 March 1918, which was first awarded to soldiers of the German Army who were wounded during World War I. Between ...

in Black ;Promotions

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * *

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Priess, Hermann 1901 births 1985 deaths People from Ludwigslust-Parchim People from the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin SS-Gruppenführer Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United States People convicted in the Dachau trials Waffen-SS personnel Military personnel from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania