Walter Schimana (12 March 1898 – 12 September 1948) was an Austrian functionary in the German SS during the

Nazi era Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. He was SS and Police Leader in the occupied Soviet Union in 1942 and Higher SS and Police Leader in occupied Greece from October 1943. Responsible for numerous war crimes and atrocities in the occupied territories, Schimana was arrested by the Allies after the war and committed suicide while awaiting trial.

SS career

Bundesarchiv Bild 121-1847, Russland-Mitte, Kampfgruppe Schimana

Schimana became an early member of the Nazi Party (NSDAP), on 7 December 1926 (Party-Nr. 49042), and joined the paramilitary SA in Munich. After the Nazis came to national power, in 1934 he joined the uniformed Protection Police (''

Schutzpolizei The ''Schutzpolizei'' (), or ''Schupo'' () for short, is a uniform-wearing branch of the ''Landespolizei'', the state (''Land'') level police of the states of Germany. ''Schutzpolizei'' literally means security or protection police, but it is b ...

'') with the rank of captain. In 1936, Schimana was transferred to the ''Gendarmerie'' as a major. After the

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...

, he was transferred to the Police Headquarters at

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

as Commander of the motorized ''Gendarmerie'' for Austria. On 15 August 1939, he joined the SS with the rank of

Standartenführer __NOTOC__ ''Standartenführer'' (short: ''Staf'', , ) was a Nazi Party (NSDAP) paramilitary rank that was used in several NSDAP organizations, such as the SA, SS, NSKK and the NSFK. First founded as a title in 1925, in 1928 it became one of ...

. At the outbreak of the war in Europe, he took over command of a field ''gendarmerie'' battalion in Poland, France then

General Government The General Government (german: Generalgouvernement, pl, Generalne Gubernatorstwo, uk, Генеральна губернія), also referred to as the General Governorate for the Occupied Polish Region (german: Generalgouvernement für die be ...

(Poland) up to 1940. He held command of various schools of the motorized ''gendarmerie'' then staff duties into Main Office for the

Order Police The ''Ordnungspolizei'' (), abbreviated ''Orpo'', meaning "Order Police", were the uniformed police force in Nazi Germany from 1936 to 1945. The Orpo organisation was absorbed into the Nazi monopoly on power after regional police jurisdiction w ...

from 1940 to 1941.

World War II and atrocities

Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-1993-025-03,_Russland,_brennendes_Gebäude

On 4 September 1941, he was appointed SS and Police Leader (SSPF) for the

Saratov Saratov (, ; rus, Сара́тов, a=Ru-Saratov.ogg, p=sɐˈratəf) is the largest city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River upstream (north) of Volgograd. Saratov had a population of 901,36 ...

area, and later attached to the staff of the Higher SS and Police Leader (HSSPF) for Central Russia until July 1942, taking part in rear-security operations. From 21 July 1942 to 15 July 1943 he was SSPF of

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

, with headquarters at

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

. Reporting to

Friedrich Jeckeln Friedrich Jeckeln (2 February 1895 – 3 February 1946) was a German SS commander during the Nazi era. He served as a Higher SS and Police Leader in the occupied Soviet Union during World War II. Jeckeln was the commander of one of the largest ...

, he was responsible for the formation of the

Schutzmannschaft The ''Schutzmannschaft'' or Auxiliary Police ( "protective, or guard units"; plural: ''Schutzmannschaften'', abbreviated as ''Schuma'') was the collaborationist auxiliary police of native policemen serving in those areas of the Soviet Union and ...

(collaborationist police) battalions.Leonid Rein
''The Kings And The Pawns: Collaboration in Byelorussia during World War II''
/ref> Subsequently, he underwent training as a divisional commander and was appointed commander of the newly formed SS Division Galicia until October 1943. On 18 October, Schimana was appointed HSSPF for Greece, in replacement to

Jürgen Stroop Jürgen Stroop (born Josef Stroop, 26 September 1895 – 6 March 1952) was a German SS commander during the Nazi era, who served as SS and Police Leader in occupied Poland and Greece. He led the suppression of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 19 ...

, a position he held until the withdrawal of German forces from the country in September–October 1944. He became actively engaged in carrying out the persecution of Greek Jews and the campaign against the Greek Resistance movement. In this capacity, he was instrumental in the formation of the infamous "

Security Battalions The Security Battalions ( el, Τάγματα Ασφαλείας, Tagmata Asfaleias, derisively known as ''Germanotsoliades'' (Γερμανοτσολιάδες) or ''Tagmatasfalites'' (Ταγματασφαλίτες)) were Greek Collaboration with ...

". After the German withdrawal, he was appointed HSSPF of the Danube Sector, which had its headquarters in Vienna. He remained in that position until the German capitulation.

Arrest and suicide

After Germany's capitulation, Schimana was arrested by the Allies. He committed suicide before he was brought to trial.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schimana, Walter German occupation of Greece during World War II Nazis who committed suicide in prison custody Sturmabteilung officers SS and Police Leaders Holocaust perpetrators in Russia Holocaust perpetrators in Ukraine Holocaust perpetrators in Belarus Holocaust perpetrators in Greece People from Austrian Silesia People from Opava 1898 births 1948 suicides Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I Nazis who committed suicide in Austria Waffen-SS personnel SS-Gruppenführer Police of Nazi Germany 20th-century Freikorps personnel

SS career

World War II and atrocities

Arrest and suicide

See also

References