Felix Steiner

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Felix Steiner bigraphy, stories - German general

Felix Steiner : biography

23 May 1896 – 12 May 1966

Felix Martin Julius Steiner (23 May 1896 – 12 May 1966) was a German officer, who became Obergruppenführer of the Schutzstaffel, General of the Waffen-SS, and a signed-up member of the Nazi Party of Nazi Germany. He served in both World War I and World War II and was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. He significantly contributed, together with Paul Hausser, to the development and transformation of the Waffen-SS, as an armed wing of the Nazi Party’s Schutzstaffel, into a multi-ethnic and multinational military force of Nazi Germany.

Steiner was chosen by Heinrich Himmler to oversee the creation of, and command an elite Panzer divisions, the 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking. In 1943, he was promoted to the command of the III (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps. On 28 January 1945, Steiner was placed in command of the 11th SS Panzer Army, which formed part of a new ad-hoc formation to protect Berlin from the Soviet armies advancing from the Vistula River.

On 21 April, during the Battle for Berlin, Steiner was placed in command of Army Detachment Steiner, while Adolf Hitler ordered Steiner to envelop the 1st Belorussian Front through a pincer movement, advancing from the North of the city. However, as his worn out and exhausted unit was outnumbered by ten to one, Steiner made it clear that he did not have the capacity for a counter-attack.. It resulted in Hitler falling into a tearful rage on 22 April during the daily situation conference in the Führerbunker.Ziemke p. 89

After the capitulation of Germany, Steiner was imprisoned and indicted as part of the Nuremberg Trials. However, he was cleared of all charges of war crimes and released in 1948. He continued to live in Germany, wrote several books, and participated in organising support for former Waffen-SS members. He died on 12 May 1966.

End of the war – peacetime

After the surrender, Steiner was incarcerated until 1948. He faced charges at the Nuremberg Trials, but they were all dropped and he was released. He dedicated the last decades of his life to writing his memoirsSteiner, Felix: Die Freiwilligen der Waffen-SS: Idee und Opfergang and several books about the war. He died on 12 May 1966.

Commands

  • Commander of the SS-Regiment "Deutschland" 1 June 1936 to 1 December 1940
  • 1 December 1940 to 1 January 1943 Commander of SS-Germania Division (mot),
  • On 31 December 1940 SS-Germania Division renamed SS-Wiking Division
  • On 9 November 1942 SS-Wiking redesignated 5.SS-Wiking Panzergrenadier Division (I),
  • 10 May 1943 to November 9, 1944 Commander of the III (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps
  • 26 November 1944 to March 5, 1945 Commander of the XI SS Panzer Army
  • Command of the III (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps a corps in the Third Panzer Army
  • On 21 April 1945 what remained of Steiner’s command redesignated Army Detachment Steiner

Footnotes

Category:1896 births Category:1966 deaths Category:People from Nesterov Category:Wehrmacht generals Category:SS generals Category:Recipients of the Iron Cross Category:Recipients of the Gold German Cross Category:Recipients of the Knight’s Cross Category:Military personnel referenced in the Wehrmachtbericht Category:People from East Prussia Category:German military personnel of World War II Category:20th-century Freikorps personnel

Promotions

  • 1 June 1936 Entrance into the SS-Verfügungstruppe as SS-Standartenführer
  • Started World War II as SS-Oberführer
  • 15 August 1940 Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross awarded
  • 9 November 1940 promoted SS-Brigadeführer and Generalmajor of the Waffen-SS
  • 1 January 1942 promoted SS-Gruppenführer and Generalleutnant of the Waffen-SS
  • German Cross in Gold, awarded 22 April 1942
  • 23 December 1942 Oak Leaves to Knight’s Cross awarded
  • 1 July 1943 promoted SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS
  • 10 August 1944 Swords to Knight’s Cross awarded
  • Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht