Karl Ullrich (1 December 1910 – 8 May 1996) was the last commander of the

SS Division Wiking The 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking (german: 5. SS-Panzerdivision Wiking) or SS Division Wiking was an infantry and later an armoured division among the thirty-eight Waffen-SS divisions of Nazi Germany. It was recruited from foreign volunteers ...

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 ...

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 ...

. After the war he authored an account of the SS Division Totenkopf.

Early life

Born December 1 1910 in Saargemünd Germany, although it would become part of France after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He apprenticed at both an engineering firm and electrical firm before attending technical school to study engineering, qualifying as a mechanical engineer in 1933. Ullrich joined the Reichswehr briefly in 1933 before joining the '' SS-Verfügungstruppe'' in 1934. He became an NCO that year, and the following year was selected for officer training. In 1936 he was commissioned as an SS-Untersturmführer and proceeded to the Armys Pioneer School because of his engineering background. Prior to the outbreak of the war, Ullich took part in the occupations of Austria and the Sudetenland as well as being promoted to SS-Hauptsturmführer.

World War II

Leading his pioneer company in both the Polish and Western campaign, he earned the

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 ...

second and first class in quick succession. Staying with his unit for the Greek campaign, in May 1941 he was transferred to the SS Division Totenkopf, where he took command of 3rd pioneer battalion. In early 1942, the division found itself trapped in the

Demyansk Pocket The Demyansk Pocket (german: Kessel von Demjansk; russian: Демя́нский котёл) was the name given to the pocket of German troops encircled by the Red Army around Demyansk, south of Leningrad, during World War II's Eastern Front. Th ...

. Ullich commanded a battlegroup holding a bridge over the river Lovat winning the

Knight's Cross Knight's Cross (German language ''Ritterkreuz'') refers to a distinguishing grade or level of various orders that often denotes bravery and leadership on the battlefield. Most frequently the term Knight's Cross is used to refer to the Knight's Cr ...

for the holding of the position despite being encircled. Following the breakout from the pocket, he was appointed commander of Pioneers for the SS-Panzerkorps, a position he held during the 42/43 winter battles in and around Kharkov, after which he requested a return to

Totenkopf ''Totenkopf'' (, i.e. ''skull'', literally "dead person's head") is the German word for the skull and crossbones symbol. The "skull and crossbones" symbol is an old international symbol for death, the defiance of death, danger, or the dead, as ...

being given command of SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment 5 "Thule" in time for the lead up to Kursk operation. Promoted again toward the end of 1943 and appointed commander of SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment 6 "Theodor Eicke", the unit fought the battles of 1943/1944 being pushed back constantly. In March 1944, the Soviets succeeded in breaking through the lines, Ullich drew whatever troops were available and fought of the attack, halting the breakthrough, in the process earning the Oakleaves to his Knight's Cross. He was given command of the

in October 1944 fighting around

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

before being moved to

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

in December, attempting to relieve 8th SS Cavalry Division "Florian Geyer" and 22nd SS Volunteer Cavalry Division ''Maria Theresia''. Following the failure of the relief of Budapest, the division took part in the battle around

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 ...

as part of 6th Panzer Army. The 6th Panzer Army then withdrew west into Austria in a rearguard action. A short time before the end of the war he was promoted to ''

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 he surrendered to the

Americans Americans are the citizens and nationals of the United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many dual citizens, expatriates, and permanent residents could also legally claim Ame ...

in May 1945.''The Waffen-SS at War'' By Tim Ripley, p 80

Post War

After three years in American captivity, Ullrich was released. He passed away on 8th May 1996 in Bad Reichenhall, Germany. 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.

Works

*''Karl Ullrich (2002): Like a Cliff in the Ocean'',

J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing is a Canadian publishing house that specialises in literature on the German armed forces of the World War II era. Its authors are both popular history writers such as Paul Carell and Franz Kurowski, along with the war-t ...

Awards

(1939) 2nd Class (18 May 1940) & 1st Class (1 July 1940)Thomas 1998, p. 396. *

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves 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 19 February 1942 as SS-''

Sturmbannführer __NOTOC__ ''Sturmbannführer'' (; ) was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank equivalent to major that was used in several Nazi organizations, such as the SA, SS, and the NSFK. The rank originated from German shock troop units of the First World War ...

'' and commander of SS-Pionier-Bataillon 3 "Totenkopf"Scherzer 2007, p. 754. ** 480th Oak Leaves on 14 May 1944 as SS-''

Obersturmbannführer __NOTOC__ ''Obersturmbannführer'' (Senior Assault-unit Leader; ; short: ''Ostubaf'') was a paramilitary rank in the German Nazi Party (NSDAP) which was used by the SA ('' Sturmabteilung'') and the SS (''Schutzstaffel''). The rank of ''Oberstu ...

'' and commander of SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 6 "Theodor Eicke"

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * 1910 births 1996 deaths People from Sarreguemines People from Alsace-Lorraine Lorraine-German people SS-Oberführer Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Waffen-SS personnel German military writers {{Germany-mil-bio-stub German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United States