Bernhard Dietsche
Encyclopedia
Bernhard Dietsche was a Obersturmbannführer
(Lieutenant Colonel) in the Waffen SS during World War II
. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
, which was awarded to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership by Nazi Germany
during World War II.
in the south of Baden-Württemberg
in southern Germany.
He volunteered to join the SS-VT (SS number 13.578) in 1934 and was then posted to the SS-Junkerschule in Bad Tölz
as a lecturer in tactics, with the rank of Unterscharführer
(Corporal). By 1936, he had been selected to become an officer and promoted to Standartenjunker (Officer Candidate). After graduation he was promoted to Untersturmführer
(Second Lieutenant) in 1937. He participated in the occupation of the Sudetenland
in 1938 and the annexation of Bohemia
and Moravia
on the 15 March 1939.
2nd class during the Polish Campaign in October 1939 and the Iron Cross 1st class in June 1941, during Operation Barbarossa
the invasion of the Soviet Union
.
He was awarded the Knight's Cross while in command of the II.Battalion, 2nd SS Gebirgsjäger Regiment, 7th SS Gebirgs Division Prinz Eugen, which was fighting against the partisans
in Croatia
and Serbia
. It was awarded for his personal bravery and leadership of the Battalion.
on the 28 January 1975.
Obersturmbannführer
Obersturmbannführer was a paramilitary Nazi Party rank used by both the SA and the SS. It was created in May 1933 to fill the need for an additional field grade officer rank above Sturmbannführer as the SA expanded. It became an SS rank at the same time...
(Lieutenant Colonel) in the Waffen SS during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was a grade of the 1939 version of the 1813 created Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was the highest award of Germany to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during World War II...
, which was awarded to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
during World War II.
Early life
Bernhard Dietsche was born on the 3 March 1912 in SingenSingen
Singen is an industrial city in the very south of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany and just north of the German-Swiss border.-Location:...
in the south of Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
in southern Germany.
He volunteered to join the SS-VT (SS number 13.578) in 1934 and was then posted to the SS-Junkerschule in Bad Tölz
Bad Tölz
Bad Tölz is a town in Bavaria, Germany, and administrative center of the district of Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen.- History :Since the retreat of the glaciers at the end of the Ice Age, archaeology has shown continuous occupation of the site of Bad Tölz...
as a lecturer in tactics, with the rank of Unterscharführer
Unterscharführer
Unterscharführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party used by the Schutzstaffel between 1934 and 1945. The SS rank was created after the Night of the Long Knives...
(Corporal). By 1936, he had been selected to become an officer and promoted to Standartenjunker (Officer Candidate). After graduation he was promoted to Untersturmführer
Untersturmführer
Untersturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the German Schutzstaffel first created in July 1934. The rank can trace its origins to the older SA rank of Sturmführer which had existed since the founding of the SA in 1921...
(Second Lieutenant) in 1937. He participated in the occupation of the Sudetenland
Sudetenland
Sudetenland is the German name used in English in the first half of the 20th century for the northern, southwest and western regions of Czechoslovakia inhabited mostly by ethnic Germans, specifically the border areas of Bohemia, Moravia, and those parts of Silesia being within Czechoslovakia.The...
in 1938 and the annexation of Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
and Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
on the 15 March 1939.
World War II
During World War II he was awarded the Iron CrossIron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
2nd class during the Polish Campaign in October 1939 and the Iron Cross 1st class in June 1941, during Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
the invasion of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
He was awarded the Knight's Cross while in command of the II.Battalion, 2nd SS Gebirgsjäger Regiment, 7th SS Gebirgs Division Prinz Eugen, which was fighting against the partisans
Partisan (military)
A partisan is a member of an irregular military force formed to oppose control of an area by a foreign power or by an army of occupation by some kind of insurgent activity...
in Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
and Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
. It was awarded for his personal bravery and leadership of the Battalion.
Post war
Bernhard Dietsche survived the war and died in KaiserslauternKaiserslautern
Kaiserslautern is a city in southwest Germany, located in the Bundesland of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate forest . The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfurt am Main, and from Luxembourg.Kaiserslautern is home to 99,469 people...
on the 28 January 1975.