(1892-05-28)28 May 1892 Hawangen, Kingdom of Bavaria, German Empire
Died
21 April 1966(1966-04-21) (aged 73) Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany
Allegiance
German Empire (1911–1918)
Weimar Republic (1928–1933)
Nazi Germany
(1933–1945)
Service/branch
Imperial German Army
Bavarian Army
SS & Waffen-SS
Years of service
1911–1918 1928–1945
Rank
Unteroffizier
SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer und Generaloberst der Waffen-SS
Service number
NSDAP #89,015 SS #1,117
Commands held
Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler I SS Panzer Corps 5th Panzer Army 6th Panzer Army
Battles/wars
World War I
World War II
Battle of France
Battle of Dunkirk
Battle of Greece
Invasion of Yugoslavia
Eastern front
Battle of Normandy
Battle of the Bulge
Battle of Elsenborn Ridge
Operation Spring Awakening
Awards
Iron Cross First Class (1914) Tank Memorial Badge Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds
Other work
Member of HIAG, Waffen-SS lobby group
Signature
Known for
Night of the Long Knives Malmedy massacre Wormhoudt massacre
Criminal status
Deceased
Conviction(s)
U.S. Military War crimes West Germany Accessory to manslaughter (6 counts)
Criminal penalty
U.S. Military Life imprisonment; commuted to 25 years imprisonment West Germany 18 months imprisonment
Josef "Sepp" Dietrich (28 May 1892 – 21 April 1966) was a German politician and SS commander during the Nazi era. He joined the Nazi Party in 1928 and was elected to the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic in 1930. Prior to 1929, Dietrich was Adolf Hitler's chauffeur and bodyguard.
Despite having no formal staff officer training, Dietrich was, along with Paul Hausser, the highest-ranking officer in the Waffen-SS, the military branch of the SS. Reaching the rank of Oberst-Gruppenführer, he commanded units up to army level during World War II. As commanding officer of the 6th Panzer Army during the Battle of the Bulge, Dietrich bore responsibility for the Malmedy massacre, the murder of U.S. prisoners of war in December 1944.
After the war, an American military tribunal convicted Dietrich of war crimes at the Malmedy massacre trial. Upon his release from Landsberg Prison in 1955, Dietrich became active in HIAG, a lobby group established by former high-ranking Waffen-SS personnel. He died in 1966.
Josef "Sepp" Dietrich (28 May 1892 – 21 April 1966) was a German politician and SS commander during the Nazi era. He joined the Nazi Party in 1928 and...
1st SS-Standarte. By 1933 this unit was placed under the command of SeppDietrich, who selected 117 men to form the SS-Stabswache Berlin on 17 March 1933...
Group Eberbach. After a brief period under the Waffen-SS commander SeppDietrich, command of the army passed to Hasso von Manteuffel. The army saw heavy...
of Strasbourg SeppDietrich (1892–1966), German Waffen-SS general Tyler Dietrich (born 1984), Canadian ice hockey coach Wilhelm Dietrich (1911–1944), German...
was the highest-ranking officer in the Waffen-SS alongside SeppDietrich. Unlike Dietrich, Hausser was a trained staff officer before joining the SS....
1944. The highest-ranking defendant was the former Waffen-SS general SeppDietrich. The Malmedy massacre (17 December 1944) was a series of war crimes...
Panzer Regiment) who committed the war crimes; SeppDietrich (Cmdr. 6th SS Panzer Army); Fritz Krämer (Dietrich's chief of staff); and Hermann Prieß (Cmdr....
Jan. 1945) was that the 6th SS Panzer Army, commanded by SS General SeppDietrich, was to penetrate and break through the Allied front between the towns...
opened a 12 km (a 7.5-mile) gap in the front line near Caumont-l'Éventé. SeppDietrich, commander of 1st SS Panzer Corps, ordered Heavy SS-Panzer Battalion...
was given to the 6th Panzer Army, commanded by SS Oberstgruppenführer SeppDietrich. It included the most experienced formation of the Waffen-SS: the 1st...
arrived in Poltava on 3 December, where he found both Reichenau and SeppDietrich firm in defending the correctness of Rundstedt's actions. Sodenstern...
SeppDietrich who on 4 November 1933, declared the unit an independent formation and, although a part of the SS, answerable to Hitler alone. Dietrich...
SeppDietrich) and a villa taken from Jews. Lucas, Matthews and Remy though describe the contemptuous and angry reaction of Rommel towards Dietrich's...
Wilhelm Bruckner Walter Buch Karl-Heinz Bürger Kurt Daluege Eduard Dietl SeppDietrich Franz Xaver Dorsch Anton Drexler Hermann Esser Karl Fiehler Josef Fitzthum...
Himmler, Hitler chose eight from a prospective twelve SS men presented by SeppDietrich, to serve as his personal bodyguard, the SS-Begleitkommando des Führers...
prison at Landsberg included: Gottlob Berger Paul Blobel Karl Brandt SeppDietrich Hellmuth Felmy Otto Hofmann Karl-Adolf Hollidt Hermann Hoth Waldemar...
commanders, Felix Steiner and Herbert Gille, became early leading figures. SeppDietrich and Kurt Meyer became active members upon their release from prison...
(2005). Hitler's Gladiator: The Life and Wars of Panzer Army Commander SeppDietrich. London. ISBN 978-1-84486-022-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing...
Global Information
SS & Waffen-SS
