Georg Preuß (24 April 1920 – 3 February 1991) was a mid-ranking commander 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 ...

Nazi Germany 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 ...

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 ...

. He was a convicted war criminal.

SS service

Preuß was born in Danzig. At the age of 13 he joined the ''

Hitlerjugend The Hitler Youth (german: Hitlerjugend , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Germany. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926 ...

'' and in 1937, while he was still attending school, he joined the ''

Schutzstaffel The ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS; also stylized as ''ᛋᛋ'' with Armanen runes; ; "Protection Squadron") was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe duri ...

'' (SS). After his graduation he applied for full-time service in the SS. In April 1939 he was accepted into the ''

Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler The 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler or SS Division Leibstandarte, abbreviated as LSSAH, (german: 1. SS-Panzerdivision "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler") began as Adolf Hitler's personal bodyguard unit, responsible for guarding ...

'' (LSSAH). From August 1940 he attended the '' Junkerschule'' (SS officer training school) in Brunswick and became an ''

Untersturmführer (, ; short: ''Ustuf'') was a paramilitary rank of the German ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) first created in July 1934. The rank can trace its origins to the older SA rank of ''Sturmführer'' which had existed since the founding of the SA in 1921. ...

'' the following year. From 1941 to 1943 Preuß fought with the LSSAH in the German war against the Soviet Union. He became a protégé of Jochen Peiper, who appreciated Preuß' obedience. But Preuß was unpopular among his comrades and had a reputation for sacrificing his men in combat. With the rank of ''

Obersturmführer __NOTOC__ (, ; short: ''Ostuf'') was a Nazi Germany paramilitary rank that was used in several Nazi organisations, such as the SA, SS, NSKK and the NSFK. The rank of ''Obersturmführer'' was first created in 1932 as the result of an expa ...

'' Preuß became commander of the 12th company in Peiper's III. Bataillon. While the LSSAH was in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

during the late summer of 1943, Preuß became commandant of an internment camp for foreigners in Borgo San Dalmazzo, where his company was deployed. The internees were mainly Jews, which the SS had rounded up to later be deported to Auschwitz concentration camp via

Drancy internment camp Drancy internment camp was an assembly and detention camp for confining Jews who were later deported to the extermination camps during the German occupation of France during World War II. Originally conceived and built as a modernist urban commu ...

. Under Peiper's command Preuß participated in the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...

in 1944/45. For his actions he was awarded a Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 5 February 1945. Historian Jens Westemeier considers the award for Preuß as a "bad joke", because Preuß had lost his way several times during the campaign, run into ambushes and lost half of his company. Although Preuß had not distinguished himself with autonomous decisions, which would have been a prerequisite to be considered for a Knight's Cross, Peiper recommended him by claiming that Preuß had been largely responsible for the unit's success. Peiper also claimed that Preuß had "finished" off an American soldier on the watch in close combat.

War crimes trial

In 1946 Preuß was among the SS men who were put to trial for the Malmedy massacre. He was accused of murdering American prisoners of war and Belgian civilians. One of his subordinates, Ernst Kilat, who would eventually be tried and sentenced for murder of Belgian civilians in Liège in 1948, testified in 1945 that as a company commander Preuß had ordered his men to kill all Belgian civilians the unit came across. During the

Malmedy massacre trial The Malmedy massacre trial (''U.S. vs. Valentin Bersin, et al.'') was held in May–July 1946 in the former Dachau concentration camp to try the German Waffen-SS soldiers accused of the Malmedy massacre of 17 December 1944. The highest-ranking d ...

it was shown that Preuß had not killed an American soldier in close combat, as he had claimed, but had ordered one of his subordinates to shoot a captured American pilot whose pants and wedding ring he wanted for himself. For this murder in connection with robbery Preuß was sentenced to death. His death sentence was commuted to life in prison by U.S. military governor

Lucius D. Clay General Lucius Dubignon Clay (April 23, 1898 – April 16, 1978) was a senior officer of the United States Army who was known for his administration of occupied Germany after World War II. He served as the deputy to General of the Army Dwight D ...

in 1949. While in prison Preuß got married in 1948. His petitions for parole were repeatedly turned down, until finally granted in late 1956. Preuß was released from

Landsberg Prison Landsberg Prison is a penal facility in the town of Landsberg am Lech in the southwest of the German state of Bavaria, about west-southwest of Munich and south of Augsburg. It is best known as the prison where Adolf Hitler was held in 1924, af ...

on 30 November 1956. He then applied for service in the ''

Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

'', but was turned down. He went on to work as an engineer in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

and died on welfare.

Awards

* Close Combat Clasp in Gold on 1 April 1945 for up to 60 days in close combatBerger 2004, p. 370. * Infantry Assault Badge in Silver * Wound Badge in Gold *

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 1 April 1945 as SS-''

Hauptsturmführer __NOTOC__ (, ; short: ''Hstuf'') was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was used in several Nazi organizations such as the SS, NSKK and the NSFK. The rank of ''Hauptsturmführer'' was a mid-level commander and had equivalent seniority to a ...

'' in the III./SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 2 "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler" * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 5 February 1945 as SS-''

'' and leader in the 10.(gp.)/SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 2 "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler"Scherzer 2007, p. 604.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Preuss, Georg 1920 births 1991 deaths German prisoners sentenced to death Military personnel from Gdańsk SS-Hauptsturmführer Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross People from the Free City of Danzig Naturalized citizens of Germany Waffen-SS personnel Hitler Youth members People convicted in the Malmedy massacre trial Prisoners sentenced to death by the United States military