Karl Schümers (17 October 1905 – 16 August 1944) was a high-ranking commander in the

Waffen-SS The (; ) was the military branch, combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscr ...

and ''

Ordnungspolizei The ''Ordnungspolizei'' (''Orpo'', , meaning "Order Police") were the uniformed police force in Nazi Germany from 1936 to 1945. The Orpo was absorbed into the Nazi monopoly of power after regional police jurisdiction was removed in favour of t ...

'' (police) of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He commanded the SS Polizei Division in July – August 1944 and was directly or indirectly involved in many of the major atrocities committed in Greece during 1944. He was awarded the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), 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. While it was order of precedence, lower in preceden ...

on 30 September 1942.

War-time atrocities

* On 5 April 1944, Schümers commanded the 7th unit of the

4th SS Polizei Panzergrenadier 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 October ...

in the execution of 277 unarmed women, children and elders in the village of Kleisoura in Greece in retaliation for the killing of 3 German soldiers. In the official investigations by his command hierarchy for the massacre he testified that his soldiers had to kill them all because guerrilla forces were hiding in the village, and was acquitted, while it was proven after the war that his testimony was false. * On 24 April his 7th unit committed the Pyrgoi massacre where 368 men, women, and children were killed. * Men from the same 7th unit, under the command of Hans Zampel and Fritz Lautenbach committed the Distomo massacre, on 10 June 1944, where 228 civilians were killed in retaliation. No one was tried for this war crime. * On 17 June 1944 Schümers ordered the execution of 28 civilians and destruction of Ipati, and the next day, the burning down of Spercheiada and the killing of 35 civilians. * After he was assigned the command of the 4th Panzer Grenadier Division, on 22 July 1944, the 8th unit of his forces took part in the operation Kreuzotter (5-31 August 1944) in a failed attempt to eradicate

ELAS The Greek People's Liberation Army (, ''Ellinikós Laïkós Apeleftherotikós Stratós''; ELAS) was the military arm of the left-wing National Liberation Front (EAM) during the period of the Greek resistance until February 1945, when, followi ...

bases from the mountains of central Greece, Roumeli, Greece, that resulted, among others, in the killing of approximately 170 civilians and the partial or complete destruction of dozens of villages and cities. He was killed on 16 August 1944 when his car drove over a landmine in the area of Arta (northwestern Greece).Μάγερ, Χέρμαν Φρανκ, Αιματοβαμμένο Έντελβαϊς. Η 1η Ορεινή Μεραρχία, το 22ο Σώμα Στρατού και η εγκληματική δράση τους στην Ελλάδα, 1943-1944, Τόμος Β', Βιβλιοπωλείον της Εστίας, Αθήνα 2009, σελ. 245

Commands

* II.Battalion, 7th SS Polizei Panzer Grenadier Regiment * 7th SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment * 4th SS Polizei Panzer Grenadier Division

War-time atrocities

Commands

References

Further reading