Nikolaus Heilmann
Nikolaus Heilmann (born April 20, 1903 in Gundhelm , Schlüchtern district ; † January 30, 1945 near Zielenzig ) was a German officer in the Waffen SS .
Life
Heilmann joined on 1 April 1925, the police , where he participated in an officer training course and on April 1, 1929 Lieutenant and on April 1, 1932. Lieutenant was promoted. After working as a platoon leader and adjutant , he finally served as a tactics teacher at the police officers' school in Köpenick .
He joined the SS (SS-No. 327.324) on May 1, 1939 in the rank of SS-Hauptsturmführer and served there with a reserve unit of the SS Upper Section East. In October of the same year he came as a regimental adjutant to the Police Rifle Regiment 3, with which he took part in the western campaign and was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd class . From April 11, 1940, Heilmann finally acted as the Ia of the SS Police Division and on April 20, 1941 was promoted to Major in the Police and SS Sturmbannführer at the same time . In September of that year he was awarded the 1st class of the Iron Cross. After being absent due to illness, Heilmann returned to the division as Ia on January 30, 1942, after being promoted to lieutenant colonel in the police force and SS-Obersturmbannführer on January 5, 1942 .
During his service as Ia he was also in charge of the Police Rifle Regiment 1, for whose leadership he received the German Cross in Gold on August 3, 1942 . From June to August 1943 he was assigned to the division "Das Reich" , where he was promoted to SS-Standartenführer on June 21 . He was then appointed chief of the staff of the newly established IV. SS Panzer Corps and retained this post even after the formation was canceled and the staff for the formation of the VI. SS Army Corps was used. On February 11, 1944 he was promoted to SS-Oberführer and a short time later took over the leadership of the 15th Waffen-Grenadier-Division of the SS , as the successor to Carl Friedrich von Pückler-Burghauss . For the services of the division he was decorated with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on August 23, 1944 , after it had succeeded in repelling Russian attempts to break through on the northern wing of the 16th Army . After these fights, however, the division was no longer operational, not least because of its ruthless leadership style. On July 21, 1944, Heilmann handed over the management of the remainder of the division to Herbert von Obwurzer and moved to the reserve. After participating in a division leader training course, he took command of the deployment staff of the 28th SS Volunteer Panzer Grenadier Division "Wallonia" on December 12, 1944 and continued to lead it, while Léon Degrelle commanded a separate combat group of the division.
On January 29, 1945 Heilmann went together with his orderly officer and driver in search of the staff of the 5th SS Volunteer Mountain Corps , where they encountered soldiers of the Red Army near the hiking training area . While the driver was able to escape, Heilmann and his orderly officer have been missing since January 30, 1945. Later he was appointed SS Brigade Leader and Major General of the Waffen SS.
Awards
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on August 23, 1944
- German cross in gold on August 3, 1942
- Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st class on June 27, 1940 and September 9, 1941
- Medal Winter Battle in the East 1941/42 on August 18, 1942
- Police service award (1938) 3rd level
literature
- Mark C. Yerger : Waffen-SS Commanders: The Army, Corps and Divisional Leaders of a Legend: Augsberger to Kreutz (v. 1). Schiffer Military History, Atglen, PA 1997, ISBN 0-7643-0356-2 .
- Andreas Schulz, Günter Wegmann, Dieter Zinke: The generals of the Waffen SS and the police. Volume 2: Hachtel-Kutschera . Biblio-Verlag, 2006, ISBN 978-3764825928
- Ulrich Saft: War in the East: The bitter end across the Vistula to Oder and Neisse . Military book publisher Saft, 2002, ISBN 978-3980178969
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ulrich Saft: War in the East: The bitter end beyond the Vistula to Oder and Neisse military book publisher Saft, Walsrode 2002, ISBN 978-3980178969
- ↑ Mark C. Yerger: Waffen-SS Commanders: The Army, Corps and Divisional Leaders of a Legend: Augsberger to Kreutz (v. 1) , Schiffer Military History, Atglen, PA 1997, ISBN 0-7643-0356-2 , p 263-266.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Heilmann, Nikolaus |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German officer, SS brigade leader and major general of the Waffen SS |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 20, 1903 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Gundhelm |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 30, 1945 |
| Place of death | Sulęcin |