Fritz Witt

Fritz Witt
Fritz Witt
	Fritz Witt, Official Portrait.
Born	27 May 1908; Hohenlimburg,German Empire
Died	14 June 1944(aged 36); Venoix,Occupied France
Buried	Champigny-Saint-André German war cemetery
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Waffen-SS
Years of service	1933–44
Rank	SS-Brigadeführer
Commands held	SS Division Hitlerjugend
Battles/wars	Invasion of Normandy†
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Fritz Witt(27 May 1908 – 14 June 1944) was aWaffen-SScommander during theNazi era.DuringWorld War II,he served with theSS Division Leibstandartebefore taking command of theSS Division Hitlerjugend.He was killed in action in June 1944.

Early life and career

Born in 1908 into the family of a merchant, Witt worked in the textile industry until he lost his job in June 1931.^[1]Witt joined theNazi Party(NSDAP) (Nr. 816,769) in December 1931 and theSS(Nr. 21,518).^[2]In March 1933, Witt became a member of the SS-StabswacheBerlin, a bodyguard unit protectingAdolf Hitler.It was renamed to SS-SonderkommandoBerlin in September and in the following month, Witt was appointed a platoon leader.^[1]This unit was the nucleus of the laterSS Division Leibstandarte(LSSAH).^[3]In January 1935, Witt was appointed company commander in the SS-StandarteDeutschland, a unit that later became part of theSS Division Das Reich.^[1]

World War II

Witt participated in the GermanInvasion of Polandin September 1939 as a member of the motorized infantry regiment Deutschland, which was subordinated toPanzer Division Kempf,acombined armsunit commanded by army GeneralWerner Kempf.Witt's unit took part in theBattle of the Borderand then in the fighting atZakroczym,where men from Panzer Division Kempf committed theMassacre in Zakroczymon 28 September 1939.^[1]^[4]During the campaign, Witt was awarded both classes of the Iron Cross.^[5]

On 19 October 1939, Witt was appointed battalion commander in the SS-Regiment Deutschland, leading the battalion in theBattle of the Netherlandsand theBattle of France.^[5]On 4 September 1940, Witt was awarded theKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross.He was then transferred to the LSSAH on 16 October 1940 as battalion commander.^[5]

As a battalion commander in the LSSAH, Witt participated in theBattle of Greece(6–30 April 1941), theAxisinvasion of the AlliedKingdom of Greece.On 11–12 April 1941, Witt's battalion participated in the assault on theKlidi Pass,sustaining heavy casualties in the attack. On 14 April 1941, the battalion fought against British forces in theBattle of Kleisoura Pass.Witt's brother, Franz, a member of the same unit, was killed during the fighting.^[6]

Divisional command

On 1 July 1943, Witt was promoted to SS-Oberführerand was appointed commander of theSS Division Hitlerjugend,the majority of its enlisted men were drawn from members of theHitler Youth.His previous regimental command was given toAlbert Frey.In the following months, Witt oversaw the formation and training of the division atBeverloo Camp,in occupied Belgium.^[7]

In expectation of theAllied invasion,the SS Panzer Hitlerjugend was transferred to France in March 1944. On 1 April 1944, elements of the division committed theAscq massacreinAscq,France. In command of those troops wasWalter Hauck,a company commander in Hitlerjugend.^[8]

On 20 April 1944, Witt was promoted to SS-Brigadeführer.^[9]On 6 June 1944, theWestern Allieslaunched theInvasion of Normandy.During the fighting in Normandy,Kurt Meyer,a regimental commander in Hitlerjugend, used theArdenne Abbeyfor his regimental headquarters.^[10]On 7 June, members of the division under Kurt Meyer's command murdered Canadian POWs in what became known as theArdenne Abbey massacre.^[11] When Witt learned about these crimes, he ordered an investigation and demanded a written report from Kurt Meyer.

On 14 June 1944, Witt was killed in action by aRoyal Navyartillery barrage that hit the divisional command post atVenoix.He was initially buried at Venoix and later reinterred atChampigny-Saint-André German war cemetery,France.^[12]

Awards

Iron Cross(1939) 2nd Class (17 September 1939) & 1st Class (26 September 1939)^[13]
German Crossin Gold on 8 February 1942 as SS-Obersturmbannführerin the SS-Division Leibstandarte^[14]
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
- Knight's Cross on 4 September 1940 as SS-Sturmbannführerand commander of the I./SS-Standarte "Deutschland".^[15]
- 200th Oak Leaves on 1 March 1943 as SS-Standartenführerand commander of SS-Regiment Leibstandarte^[15]

Citations

Bibliography

Birn, Ruth Bettina(2006). "Spät, aber gründlich. Die Ermittlungen gegen Kriegsverbrecher in Kanada". In Frei, Norbert (ed.).Transnationale Vergangenheitspolitik. Der Umgang mit deutschen Kriegsverbrechern in Europa nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg.Göttingen: Wallstein.ISBN 978-3-89244-940-9.
Cook, Stan; Bender, Roger James (1994).Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler: Uniforms, Organization, & History.San Jose, CA: James Bender Publishing.ISBN 978-0-912138-55-8.
Datner, Szymon (1961).Zbrodnie Wehrmachtu na jeńcach wojennych armii regularnych w II wojnie światowej[Crimes of the Wehrmacht: on regular army POWs in World War II] (in Polish). Warszawa, Poland: Wydawnictwo Ministerstwa obrony narodowej.OCLC 491616631.
Margolian, Howard (2000) [1998].Conduct Unbecoming: The Story of the Murder of Canadian Prisoners of War in Normandy.Toronto: University of Toronto Press.ISBN 978-0802083609.
Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001).Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II[The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall.ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
Scherzer, Veit (2007).Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945[The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag.ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
Stein, George H. (1984).The Waffen SS: Hitler's Elite Guard at War, 1939–1945.Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.ISBN 978-0-8014-9275-4.
Stockert, Peter (2012) [1997].Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2[The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 2] (in German) (4th ed.). Bad Friedrichshall, Germany: Friedrichshaller Rundblick.ISBN 978-3-9802222-9-7.
Thomas, Franz (1998).Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2: L–Z[The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 2: L–Z] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag.ISBN 978-3-7648-2300-9.
Stollberg-Rilinger, Barbara, ed. (2003).Westfälische Forschungen, Band 53[Westphalian Research, Volume 53]. Münster, Germany: Aschendorff.ISBN 978-3-402-09232-3.
Westemeier, Jens (2013).Himmlers Krieger: Joachim Peiper und die Waffen-SS in Krieg und Nachkriegszeit[Himmler's Warriors: Joachim Peiper and the Waffen-SS during the War and Post-War Period]. Paderborn, Germany: Ferdinand Schöningh.ISBN 978-3-506-77241-1.

Military offices
Preceded by none	Commander ofSS Division Hitlerjugend 24 June 1943 – 14 June 1944	Succeeded by SS-BrigadeführerKurt Meyer

[FOOTNOTEStockert2012389-1] Stockert 2012,p. 389.

[FOOTNOTEWestfälische_Forschungen370-2] Westfälische Forschungen,p. 370.

[FOOTNOTECookBender199417,_19-3] Cook & Bender 1994,pp. 17, 19.

[FOOTNOTEDatner196160–61-4] Datner 1961,pp. 60–61.

[FOOTNOTEStockert2012390-5] Stockert 2012,p. 390.

[FOOTNOTEStockert2012391-6] Stockert 2012,p. 391.

[FOOTNOTEStockert2012394-7] Stockert 2012,p. 394.

[FOOTNOTEWestemeier2013300-8] Westemeier 2013,p. 300.

[FOOTNOTEStockert2012395-9] Stockert 2012,p. 395.

[FOOTNOTEMargolian200044-10] Margolian 2000,p. 44.

[FOOTNOTEBirn2006567-11] Birn 2006,p. 567.

[FOOTNOTEStockert2012396-12] Stockert 2012,p. 396.

[FOOTNOTEThomas1998450-13] Thomas 1998,p. 450.

[FOOTNOTEPatzwallScherzer2001518-14] Patzwall & Scherzer 2001,p. 518.

[FOOTNOTEScherzer2007791-15] Scherzer 2007,p. 791.

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Authority control databases
International	VIAF
National	Germany