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Josef DietrichGerman military leader of the Third Reich, SS Oberstgruppenführer and Colonel General of the SS Panzer Forces.
Date of Birth: 28.05.1892
Country:  Germany |
Content:
Biography of Joseph Dietrich
Joseph Dietrich was a German military leader during the Third Reich, holding the ranks of Obergruppenführer in the SS and General Field Marshal of the SS Tank Troops. He was a staunch Nazi and was convicted as a war criminal after World War II.
Early Life
Joseph Dietrich was born on May 28, 1892, in the village of Havangen near Memmingen in Swabia, Bavaria. He was one of three sons of the shopkeeper Palagius Dietrich and his wife Crescencia. His father, described as a devout Catholic, had three daughters from a previous marriage. Dietrich's younger brothers were killed in action during World War I.
During his education, Dietrich worked as an apprentice and later as an assistant to a baker. He then learned the trade of a rural mechanic. After completing his eight-year schooling, he traveled to Austria and Italy, where he learned the Italian language. He then studied hotel management in Zurich, Switzerland.
In 1911, Dietrich was drafted into the Imperial Bavarian Army, where he served in the 4th Field Artillery Regiment. However, his military service was cut short due to a serious injury he sustained from falling off a horse. After being discharged for disability, he returned to Kempton, where his parents lived, and became a bread delivery man.
In 1914, when World War I broke out, Dietrich volunteered for military service like many other Germans, despite facing initial rejection due to his physical condition. He was assigned as a sergeant and served as a paymaster in an artillery regiment. In the Battle of Ypres, Dietrich was wounded twice, but he continued to serve in elite assault units and ended the war as part of one of the few tank units in Germany at that time.
World War II
During World War II, Dietrich commanded the 1st SS Panzer Division "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler". He participated in various military campaigns, including the capture of Saar, the Anschluss of Austria, and the invasion of Czechoslovakia. He also fought on the Balkan Front and the Eastern Front. For his actions, Dietrich was awarded several medals, including the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds, one of the highest honors in the German military.
Legal Prosecution and Later Life
After the war, Dietrich surrendered to the US 7th Army's 36th Infantry Division in 1945. In 1946, he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for his involvement in the massacre of American prisoners of war at Malmedy. However, Dietrich was secretly released on October 22, 1955, by a joint Allied-German Clemency Board due to his deteriorating health.
In 1956, Dietrich was arrested by the authorities in West Germany for his participation in the Night of the Long Knives, the purge of the SA leadership ordered by Hitler. He was found guilty of complicity in the murders and sentenced to 19 months in prison. Dietrich was released early on February 2, 1959, due to his worsening health condition.
After his release, Dietrich returned to Ludwigsburg, but his wife severed all ties with him. Left alone, the former SS general dedicated himself to activities in the HIAG organization, a veterans' association, and hunting.
Joseph Dietrich died of a heart attack in Ludwigsburg on April 21, 1966, at the age of 73. He was remembered as a "decent but not very smart" individual by Field Marshal von Rundstedt and as someone who struggled to understand military concepts by SS-Obergruppenführer Wilhelm Bittrich.
