Walter Harzer (September 29, 1912 – May 29, 1982) was a German
SS commander during the
Nazi era. He commanded the
SS Division Hohenstaufen
The 9th SS Panzer Division "Hohenstaufen" (german: 9. SS-Panzerdivision "Hohenstaufen") was a Waffen-SS armoured division of Nazi Germany during World War II. It participated in battles on both the Eastern and Western Fronts. The division was a ...
and
SS Polizei Division
The 4th SS Polizei Panzergrenadier Division (4. SS-Polizei-Panzergrenadier-Division) or SS Division Polizei was one of the thirty-eight division (military), divisions fielded as part of the Waffen-SS during World War II. Formation
The division wa ...
.
After the war, Harzer became active in
HIAG, a lobby group established by senior
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 ...
men in 1951 in
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
. He acted as the organisation's official historian, coordinating the writing and publications of revisionist unit histories, which appears in German via the
Munin Verlag imprint.
World War II
Born in 1912, Harzer joined the
SS in 1931. In March 1934 Harzer joined
SS-Verfügungstruppe and was assigned to the
Sicherheitsdienst
' (, ''Security Service''), full title ' (Security Service of the '' Reichsführer-SS''), or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Established in 1931, the SD was the first Nazi intelligence organization ...
and later the
SS Division Das Reich. He participated in the
invasion of Poland
The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...
. From mid-1942 until April 1943 Walter served as a staff officer first with the LVII.Panzer Corps and later with the
SS Division Frundsberg.
In April 1943, Harzer was assigned to the
SS Division Hohenstaufen
The 9th SS Panzer Division "Hohenstaufen" (german: 9. SS-Panzerdivision "Hohenstaufen") was a Waffen-SS armoured division of Nazi Germany during World War II. It participated in battles on both the Eastern and Western Fronts. The division was a ...
. As ''Hohenstaufen'' was ordered for a refit in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, Harzer became its fifth commander, taking over for
Friedrich-Wilhelm Bock
__NOTOC__
Friedrich-Wilhelm Bock (6 May 1897 – 11 March 1978) was a German Waffen-SS commander during World War II who led three SS divisions, the SS Division Hohenstaufen, 4th SS Polizei Division, Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (2nd Latv ...
. On Sunday 17 September 1944, the
Allies launched
Operation Market Garden and Harzer’s division was engaged in the
Battle of Arnhem
The Battle of Arnhem was a battle of the Second World War at the vanguard of the Allied Operation Market Garden. It was fought in and around the Dutch city of Arnhem, the town of Oosterbeek, the villages Wolfheze and Driel and the vicinity f ...
.
[Himmlers Krieger: Joachim Peiper und die Waffen-SS in Krieg und Nachkriegszeit, von Jens Westermeier, Page 572, Verlag Ferdinand Schöningh GmbH; (11. Dezember 2013), ] Harzer was awarded the
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for his actions during these battles.
In October 1944 Harzer became the Chief of Staff of
V SS Mountain Corps before receiving the command of the
4th SS Polizei Division
The 4th SS Polizei Panzergrenadier Division (4. SS-Polizei-Panzergrenadier-Division) or SS Division Polizei was one of the thirty-eight divisions fielded as part of the Waffen-SS during World War II. Formation
The division was formed in Octobe ...
at the end of November 1944. Together with the rest of this division Harzer surrendered to the American Army on 8 May 1945.
Post-war activities
After the war Harzer worked as an official historian for
HIAG, an organization of former Waffen-SS members. He helped coordinate the writing of numerous tendentious unit histories and memoirs by former Waffen-SS officers. Harzer died in 1982.
Awards
*
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 21 September 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 Ia (operations officer) of the 9. SS-Panzer-Division "Hohenstaufen"
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
*''A Bridge Too Far: The Classic History of the Greatest Battle of World War II'' by Cornelius Ryan (Simon & Schuster; Reprint edition (1 May 1995), , ).
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harzer, Walter
1912 births
1982 deaths
Writers from Stuttgart
SS-Standartenführer
Recipients of the Gold German Cross
Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
People from the Kingdom of Württemberg
Waffen-SS personnel
Military personnel from Stuttgart
German military writers