__NOTOC__ August Zehender (28 April 1903 – 11 February 1945) was a German SS commander during the Nazi era. He led the SS Division Maria Theresia 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 ...

and was a recipient of the

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' ...

. Zehender was posted to the '' SS-Verfügungstruppe'' in 1935 (his

NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

party number was 4263133 and his SS service number 224219). He was given command of a motorcycle battalion in the SS Division Das Reich. At the end of June 1941, Zehender was wounded on the Eastern Front at Losza. After his recovery he was posted to the

SS Cavalry Brigade The SS Cavalry Brigade (''SS-Kavallerie-Brigade'') was a unit of the German Waffen-SS during World War II. Operating under the control of the '' Kommandostab Reichsführer-SS'', it initially performed rear security duties in German-occupied Pola ...

. In the spring of 1944, he was given command of the SS Division Maria Theresia, with which he fought at

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

. He was killed in action on 11 February 1945 in Budapest.

Awards

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 16 October 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 ...

'' in SS-Kavallerie-Regiment 2Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 528. *

** Knight's Cross on 10 March 1943 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 the SS-Kavallerie-Regiment 2.Scherzer 2007, p. 802. ** 722nd Oak Leaves on 1 February 1945 as SS-''

Brigadeführer ''Brigadeführer'' (, ) was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) that was used between the years of 1932 to 1945. It was mainly known for its use as an SS rank. As an SA rank, it was used after briefly being known as ''Untergruppenf ...

'' and commander of the 22. SS-Freiwilligen-Kavallerie-Division "Maria Theresia"

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zehender, August 1903 births 1945 deaths People from Aalen German military personnel killed in World War II SS-Brigadeführer Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves People from the Kingdom of Württemberg Waffen-SS personnel Military personnel from Baden-Württemberg

Awards

See also

References

Citations

Bibliography