Gunther Anhalt Nazi military officer, Standartenführer Date of Birth: 23.01.1906 Country: Germany

Biography of Gunter Anhalt

Gunter Anhalt was a high-ranking Nazi officer and member of the SS during World War II. Born in Breslau, Prussian Silesia, Anhalt joined the Nazi Party on July 1, 1932. In 1933, he was one of the first soldiers to join the special security unit of the NSDAP, the SS Berlin group. In July 1934, Anhalt attended military courses for three months under the leadership of Hauptsturmführer Sator, where he learned the skills of warfare. On October 17, 1934, Anhalt, now with the rank of Hauptcharführer SS, joined the elite unit Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH).


On April 10, 1935, Gunter became an Untersturmführer, and on November 9, 1936, he was promoted to Obersturmführer and became the leader of the 7th company in the unit. On May 22, 1939, Anhalt's 7th company served as the honorary guard during the meeting between Italian Count Galeazzo Ciano and German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, where the legendary 'Pact of Steel' was signed. On August 28, 1939, Anhalt led one of the platoons in the 5th company of LSSAH, under the command of Wilhelm Mohnke. During this time, Anhalt was sent to Poland, where he was wounded on September 7, 1939, along with his commander.


Anhalt was promoted again on January 30, 1940, becoming a Hauptsturmführer, and by May 10 of the same year, he was assigned to lead the entire 6th company. It is during this period that Anhalt's possible involvement in the Wormhoudt massacre is mentioned, where 80 British prisoners of war were killed as revenge for the alleged death of Sepp Dietrich. On April 6, 1941, Gunter became the leader of the first engineering company in LSSAH. On July 9, as the leader of the 4th battalion, he fought on the territory of the Soviet Union and was promoted to Sturmbannführer on September 1, 1941.


On July 5, 1942, LSSAH was transformed into a motorized grenadier division, and Anhalt was entrusted with one of the infantry battalions. He served in the infantry for just over a year before being transferred to the SS military police on November 22, 1943, where he became an Obersturmbannführer. However, his time in the military police was short-lived as he was transferred to a special combat unit, with a promotion to Standartenführer, the highest rank attainable for a field officer. Anhalt also became the commander of a special SS police brigade named after him. For his contributions on the Eastern Front, Anhalt was awarded the Knight's Cross on August 12, 1944.


On November 13, 1944, Anhalt took command of the S (Weapon Infantry Regiment), becoming the highest-ranking member of the SS military police. On January 26, 1945, he took command of another SS infantry regiment, 'Freiwilligen 87'. Finally, in March 1945, Anhalt was appointed as the commander of the 98th SS Police Regiment and participated in the defense of Berlin, where he ultimately lost his life.


Gunter Anhalt was killed on April 27, 1945, at the age of 39.