Werner Ostendorff (15 August 1903 – 1 May 1945) was a German SS-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 opposin ...

who served as chief of staff of the

II SS Panzer Corps The II SS Panzer Corps was a German Waffen-SS armoured corps which saw action on both the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern and Western Front (World War II), Western Fronts during World War II. It was commanded by Paul Hausser during the Thir ...

and divisional commander of the

SS Division Das Reich The 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich (german: 2. SS-Panzerdivision "Das Reich") or SS Division Das Reich was an elite division of the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany during World War II, formed from the regiments of the '' SS-Verfügungstruppe'' (SS-V ...

. He died of wounds in May 1945.

SS service

NSDAP #: 4 691 488 - (Joined 1 May 1937)
SS #: 257 146 - (Joined, 1 October 1935) Ostendorff joined the army in 1925. In 1933 and 1934, he helped form an SA military training school, and then transferred to the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

. Moving to the

SS-Verfügungstruppe ''SS-Verfügungstruppe'' (SS-VT or V-Truppe) (lit. "SS Dispositional Troops") was formed in 1934 as combat troops for the Nazi Party (NSDAP). On 17 August 1938 Adolf Hitler decreed that the SS-VT was neither a part of the ''Ordnungspolizei'' (r ...

in 1935, he was an instructor at an SS school until April 1938. Ostendorff then transferred to the new ''SS-Standarte "Der Führer"''. With the forming of the first SS division on 10 October 1939, that became

, he was appointed divisional chief of staff and held the post until June 1942. Ostendorff was awarded the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 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' ...

on 13 September 1941 for leading a counter-attack against the village of Ushakovo in the vicinity of Smolensk which dominated the important Yelnya-Dorogobuzh road. The village was recaptured and the danger of a Soviet breakthrough was eliminated. Ostendorff led ''Kampfgruppe Das Reich'' on the Eastern front from February to June 1942, earning the

German Cross in Gold 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 ...

. When Paul Hausser formed the initial SS corps in June 1942, he selected Ostendorff as his chief of staff. He held the post with ''SS-Generalkommando'' (later

) until November 1943. 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 ...

for his actions at

Kharkov Kharkiv ( uk, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest city and municipality in Ukraine.

, he was next given a divisional command. Ostendorff was assigned command of the

SS Division Götz von Berlichingen SS is an abbreviation for ''Schutzstaffel'', a paramilitary organisation in Nazi Germany. SS, Ss, or similar may also refer to: Places *Guangdong Experimental High School (''Sheng Shi'' or ''Saang Sat''), China *Province of Sassari, Italy (vehi ...

, assuming command in January 1944. During the fighting in Normandy, Ostendorff was seriously wounded near

Carentan Carentan () is a small rural town near the north-eastern base of the French Cotentin Peninsula in Normandy in north-western France, with a population of about 6,000. It is a former commune in the Manche department. On 1 January 2016, it was merg ...

on 16 June 1944. Resuming command on 21 October 1944, he remained the division's commander until transferred in late November 1944. Ostendorff was promoted to

Gruppenführer __NOTOC__ ''Gruppenführer'' (, ) was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP), first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA. Since then, the term ''Gruppenführer'' is also used for leaders of groups/teams of the police, fire de ...

on 1 December 1944 and became chief of staff for

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 ...

's Army Group Oberrhein from 2 December 1944 to 22 January 1945. His final posting was to SS Division Das Reich as divisional commander, assuming command on 10 February 1945, and led the division until seriously wounded on 9 March 1945 during the fighting in Hungary. Werner Ostendorff died at a field hospital in

Bad Aussee Bad Aussee (Central Bavarian: ''Bod Ossee'') is a town in the Austrian state of Styria, located at the confluence of the three sources of the Traun River in the Ausseerland region. Bad Aussee serves as the economic and cultural center of the Styri ...

on 1 May 1945.

Personal life

Werner Ostendorff was a son of the Prussian ''Regierungsvizepräsident'' Ernst Ostendorff. Married in October 1935, he and his wife had two sons and a daughter.

Decorations

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 est ...

(1939), 2nd Class (19 May 1940) and 1st Class (23 June 1940)Thomas 1998, p. 133. *

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 5 June 1942 as SS-''

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 ...

'' in Kampfgruppe SS "Reich" *

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 13 September 1941 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 Ia (operations officer) of the SS-Division "Reich" **861st Oak Leaves on 5 May 1945 as SS-''

'' and ''

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 O ...

'' of the Waffen-SS and commander of the 2. SS-Panzer-Division "Das Reich"Fellgiebel 2000, pp. 103, 482.

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * Schulz, Andreas, Wegmann Günter, Zinke, Dieter: ''Die Generale der Waffen-SS und Polizei: Lammerding-Plesch'', Biblio-Verlag, 2003, . * *

Mark C. Yerger Mark C. Yerger (1955 – 6 September 2016) was an American author of books about the ''Schutzstaffel'' and Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany. He had close contacts to SS veterans, through whom he was able to access private archives, and wrote biographies ...

(1999). ''Waffen-SS Commanders: Army, Corps, and Divisional Leaders, Vol.2''. Atglen, PA:

Schiffer Military History Schiffer Publishing Ltd. (also known for its imprints Schiffer, Schiffer Craft, Schiffer Military History, Schiffer Kids, REDFeather MBS, Cornell Maritime Press, Tidewater Publishers, Thrums Books, Geared Up Publications ) is a family-owned publi ...

. * Mark C. Yerger (2005). ''German Cross in Gold Holders of the SS and Police, Volume 2, "Das Reich:" Karl-Heinz Lorenz to Herbert Zimmermann''. San Jose, CA: R. James Bender Publishing.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ostendorff, Werner 1903 births 1945 deaths Military personnel from Königsberg People from East Prussia Nazi Party members SS-Gruppenführer 20th-century Freikorps personnel Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Waffen-SS personnel killed in action Deaths from gangrene