Bruno Hinz (SS member)

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Bruno Hinz (born August 25, 1915 in Petersdorf , † February 28, 1968 in Munich ) was a German officer in the Waffen-SS during the Second World War .

Career

In his youth, Hinz trained as a furniture maker . In 1933 he became a member of the SS . Bruno Hinz joined the 10th / SS standard “Germany” in Munich on October 1, 1936. With this he took part in the Anschluss of Austria and the occupation of the Sudetenland . He also took part in the attack on Poland .

During the French campaign , he received the Iron Cross II during the battle. In May 1940 he was seriously wounded from which he recovered slowly. On September 21, 1940 he was promoted to SS-Unterscharführer .

From December 1940 to March 1941, Hinz was assigned to the "Germany" SS replacement battalion. He then attended the SS Junker School in Braunschweig and was trained as a train driver from April to September 1941 . During a routine medical examination, Hinz found a heart malformation; nevertheless he continued his service at the front.

In October 1941 he was assigned to the 5th SS Panzer Division "Wiking" as SS-Scharführer . On January 30, 1942, he was promoted to SS-Untersturmführer . He became the leader of the 2nd / SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment "Westland". In the winter of the year, Hinz received the Iron Cross First Class. He advanced with his soldiers during the offensive in southern Ukraine , fought with them in the Caucasus and withdrew from Grozny with heavy losses . On April 17, 1943, Hinz was awarded the German Cross in Gold for successfully commanding the 10./SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment. After he and his soldiers had already been deployed in Kiev, they became involved in the fighting over Kharkiv . Hinz was awarded the silver close combat clasp. For his multiple wounds in the battle of Kharkiv he received the wound badge in silver. From May to July 1943 he was transferred to the SS regiment of mechanical infantry in Klagenfurt to recover from his wounds , after which he took over his former company in the Soviet Union. In September 1943 he and his company defended a bridge crossing on the Dnieper against strong Russian units attacking. Protected by his company, the 5th SS Panzer Division managed to cross the Dnieper. In the course of these fights, Bruno Hinz was shot through the lung. Because of this, Ferdinand Sauerbruch operated four times. In the hospital in Germany he was promoted to SS-Obersturmführer on November 9, 1943 and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on December 2, 1943 for his services on the Eastern Front .

After half a year hospital stay he returned to the troops in February 1944 and took over the 2nd company of the SS Panzergrenadier Regiment 38. When his company was cut off during the fighting in Normandy near Saint-Lô , he managed to get his men through return the enemy lines to their own troops. For this he received on August 23, 1944 as SS-Obersturmführer the Oak Leaves for the Knight's Cross.

After being wounded for the ninth time a few days later, on September 5, 1944, he received the close combat clasp in gold and was sent back to the SS Junker School in Bad Tölz in accordance with the regulations associated with this award . Here he received his promotion to SS-Hauptsturmführer on November 9, 1944 .

At his own request, he returned on January 20, 1945 as battalion commander of the 17th SS Panzer Grenadier Division "Götz von Berlichingen" , with whom he was taken prisoner by the Americans at the end of March 1945 . At that time the division comprised only 800 soldiers.

After the war, Hinz built a civilian existence. He died in Munich in 1968.

Awards

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l Florian Berger: The Face of Courage: The 98 Men Who Received the Knight's Cross and the Close-Combat Clasp in Gold, 2011, p. 182 Online
  2. ↑ a b c Veit Scherzer : Knight's Cross bearers 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. 392.
personal data
SURNAME Hinz, Bruno
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German officer of the Waffen-SS during the Second World War
DATE OF BIRTH August 25, 1915
PLACE OF BIRTH Petersdorf (Nordhausen) , Province of Saxony
DATE OF DEATH February 28, 1968
Place of death Munich