Joachim Witthöft (23 September 1887 – 7 July 1966) was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Witthöft commanded Army Group South Rear Area (as Army Group B) during the 1942 Wehrmacht's campaign.[1]
Joachim Witthöft | |
|---|---|
| Born | 23 September 1887 Marienwerder, German Empire |
| Died | 7 July 1966 (aged 78) Dalheim-Rödgen, West Germany |
| Allegiance |  Nazi Germany |
| Service | Army (Wehrmacht) |
| Years of service | 1906–45 |
| Rank | General of the Infantry |
| Commands | XXVII Army Corps Army Group South Rear Area (Army Group B) |
| Battles / wars | World War II |
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross |
Like other Army Group Rear Areas, the territories under Witthöft's control were the sites of mass murder during the Holocaust and other crimes against humanity targeting the civilian population. Rear Area commanders operated in parallel, and in cooperation, with the Higher SS and Police Leaders appointed by the head of the SS, Heinrich Himmler, for each of the army group's rear areas.[2] In the words of historian Michael Parrish, these army commanders "presided over an empire of terror and brutality".[3]
Awards and decorations
edit- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 14 December 1941 as Generalleutnant and commander of the 86th Infantry Division[4]
References
editCitations
edit- ^ Pohl 2008, p. 100.
- ^ Megargee 2007, p. 36.
- ^ Parrish 1996, p. 127.
- ^ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 364.
Bibliography
edit- Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
- Megargee, Geoffrey P. (2007). War of Annihilation: Combat and Genocide on the Eastern Front, 1941. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-7425-4482-6.
- Parrish, Michael (1996). The Lesser Terror: Soviet State Security, 1939–1953. Praeger Press. ISBN 978-0-275-95113-9.
- Pohl, Dieter (2008). Die Herrschaft der Wehrmacht: Deutsche Militärbesatzung und einheimische Bevölkerung in der Sowjetunion 1941–1944. Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag. ISBN 978-3486580655.
