August Zehender

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August Zehender with the Knight's Cross 1943

August Zehender (born April 28, 1903 in Aalen , † February 11, 1945 in Budapest ) was a German officer , most recently an SS brigade leader and major general of the Waffen SS in World War II .

Career

Zehender, the son of a railway official, attended the non-commissioned officer school in Ellwangen from 1918 and signed up for twelve years in the Reichswehr as a professional soldier from 1920 . He left the Reichswehr with the rank of sergeant in 1932 and then worked for the head of training. He joined the SS (membership number 224.219) and NSDAP ( membership number 4.263.133) and in 1935 became a member of the SS disposal force .

First he was with the III. Battalion of the SS standard "Germania" used as platoon leader of the MG company. From May 1938 he headed the 4th MG / SS Regiment Germany and was involved with this regiment in the attack on Poland and in the western campaign . From March 1941 he took over the motorcycle battalion of the SS division "Das Reich", with which he was involved in the Balkan campaign and from June 1941 in the war against the Soviet Union 1941-1945 . After a serious wound he was taken to the hospital and in March 1942 became the commander of the SS Cavalry Regiment 2. Due to his work in the heavy defensive battles near Toropez , he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in March 1943 . From the end of March 1943 to the end of February 1944 he was the commander of the SS Cavalry Regiment 17. In Hungary he was commissioned in 1944 to set up the 22nd SS Volunteer Cavalry Division , which he also commanded from the beginning of May 1944. During the Battle of Budapest his unit was trapped on the southern edge of Budapest and the division was almost completely wiped out during the fighting against the Red Army . Zehender was seriously wounded in an attempted escape from Budapest on February 11, 1945 and subsequently committed suicide. During his assignment in Hungary he was considered the best friend of Adolf Eichmann , who organized the deportation of the Jews to the Auschwitz concentration camp there.

Awards

Ranks

See also

literature

  • Andreas Schulz (Ed.): Germany's Generals and Admirals: Part V. The generals of the Waffen-SS and the police: Ullmann - Zottmann , Biblio-Verlag, Bissendorf 2013, ISBN 978-3-7648-3202-5 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ August Zehender on www.dws-xip.pl
  2. ↑ Christian Gerlach , Götz Aly : The last chapter. Realpolitik, ideology and the murder of the Hungarian Jews. Stuttgart: DVA, 2002 ISBN 3-421-05505-X , p. 131
  3. ↑ a b Veit Scherzer : Knight's Cross bearer 1939–1945. The holders of the Iron Cross of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and armed forces allied with Germany according to the documents of the Federal Archives. 2nd Edition. Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, Ranis / Jena 2007, ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2 , p. 802.
personal data
SURNAME Zehender, August
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German officer, major general of the Waffen SS
DATE OF BIRTH April 28, 1903
PLACE OF BIRTH Bask
DATE OF DEATH February 11, 1945
Place of death Budapest