__NOTOC__ Joachim Witthöft (23 September 1887 – 7 July 1966) was a German general 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 was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Witthöft commanded Army Group South Rear Area (as Army Group B) during the 1942 Wehrmacht's campaign. Like other Army Group Rear Areas, the territories under Witthöft's control were the sites of mass murder during the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

and other crimes against humanity targeting the civilian population. Rear Area commanders operated in parallel, and in cooperation, with the Higher SS and Police Leaders appointed by the head of the SS,

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...

, for each of the army group's rear areas. In the words of historian Michael Parrish, these army commanders "presided over an empire of terror and brutality".

Awards and decorations

* Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 14 December 1941 as ''

Generalleutnant is the Germanic variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO rank of ...

'' and commander of the 86th Infantry DivisionFellgiebel 2000, p. 364.

References

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Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Witthoeft, Joachim 1887 births 1966 deaths Generals of Infantry (Wehrmacht) Prussian Army personnel German Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United Kingdom People from Kwidzyn People from West Prussia German police officers Nazi war criminals German Army generals of World War II