Karl Ullrich

Karl Ullrich (1 December 1910 – 8 May 1996) was the last commander of the SS Division Wiking in the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany during World War II. After the war he authored an account of the SS Division Totenkopf.

Karl Ullrich
Born(1910-12-01)1 December 1910
Died8 May 1996(1996-05-08) (aged 85)
Allegiance Nazi Germany
Service/branch Waffen-SS
Years of service1934–45
RankOberführer
Service numberNSDAP #715,727
SS #31,438
UnitSS Division Totenkopf
Commands heldSS Division Wiking
Battles/warsWorld War II
Awards
  • Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Career

Born in 1910, Ullrich joined the SS-Verfügungstruppe in 1934. He transferred to the SS Division Totenkopf on the Eastern Front in 1941. He was given command of the SS Division Wiking for the final battles of the war in Hungary. A short time before the end of the war he was promoted to Oberführer and he surrendered to the Americans in May 1945.[1]

After the war, Ullrich wrote the book Like a Cliff in the Ocean: A History of the 3. SS-Panzer-Division "Totenkopf" in which he claimed that only a single member of the Totenkopf division ever committed a war crime.

Works
  • Karl Ullrich (2002): Like a Cliff in the Ocean, J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing, ISBN 0-921991-69-X

Distinctions
  • Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (18 May 1940) & 1st Class (1 July 1940)[2]
  • Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
    • Knight's Cross on 19 February 1942 as SS-Sturmbannführer and commander of SS-Pionier-Bataillon 3 "Totenkopf"[3]
    • 480th Oak Leaves on 14 May 1944 as SS-Obersturmbannführer and commander of SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 6 "Theodor Eicke"[3]

References

Citations
  1. The Waffen-SS at War By Tim Ripley, p 80
  2. Thomas 1998, p. 396.
  3. Scherzer 2007, p. 754.

Bibliography
  • Thomas, Franz (1998). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2: L–Z [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 2: L–Z] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2300-9.
  • Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
Military offices
Preceded by
SS-Standartenführer Johannes Mühlenkamp		 Commander of 5. SS-Panzer-Division Wiking
9 October 1944 – 5 May 1945		 Succeeded by
disbanded


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