Rudolf Lehmann (SS officer)

Rudolf Lehmann (30 January 1914 – 17 September 1983) was a mid-ranking commander the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Following the war, Lehmann authored a unit history of SS Division Leibstandarte published in German by HIAG, the post-war Waffen-SS lobby group, and in English by J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing.

Rudolf Lehmann
Born(1914-01-30)30 January 1914
Died17 September 1983(1983-09-17) (aged 69)
Allegiance Nazi Germany
Service/branch Waffen SS
RankStandartenführer
Unit
  • SS Division Leibstandarte
  • 1st SS Panzer Corps
Commands heldSS Division Das Reich
Battles/warsWorld War II
Awards

Career

Born in 1914, Lehmann joined the Waffen-SS in April 1935. He was then posted to the Germania regiment of the SS, which later became SS Division Das Reich, and then to the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler in October 1940. In late 1944, Lehmann moved to the 1st SS Panzer Corps as chief of staff. He remained in this position until March 1945, when he was made divisional commander of the SS Division Das Reich. He led the division through Operation Spring Awakening, the battles around Lake Balaton and Vienna.

After the war, Lehmann authored volumes I and III of the apologetic unit history of the Leibstandarte produced under the auspices of HIAG, a lobby group and a revisionist veteran's organisation established by former high-ranking Waffen-SS personnel. The works were published in 1977–82 by the right-wing publishing house Munin-Verlag. Lehmann died in 1983.

Awards
  • Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (15 November 1939) & 1st Class (29 May 1940)[1]
  • German Cross in Gold on 1 November 1943 as SS-Sturmbannführer in the SS Division Leibstandarte[2]
  • Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
    • Knights Cross on 23 February 1944 as SS-Obersturmbannführer and Ia (operations officer) of the SS Division Leibstandarte[3]

Lehmann was nominated for Oak Leaves towards the end of the war. No credible evidence of the award can be found in the German Federal Archives. The Oak Leaves award was unlawfully presented by Sepp Dietrich on 6 May 1945, which was announced by the 6th Panzer Army.[4]

References

Citations
  1. Thomas 1998, p. 17.
  2. Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 273.
  3. Scherzer 2007, p. 499.
  4. Scherzer 2007, p. 184.

Bibliography
  • Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
  • 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.
  • 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.
Military offices
Preceded by
SS-Gruppenführer Werner Ostendorff		 Commander of 2nd SS Division Das Reich
9 March 1945 – 13 April 1945		 Succeeded by
SS-Standartenführer Karl Kreutz
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