Joachim Witthöft

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Joachim Witthöft
Born(1887-09-23)23 September 1887
Marienwerder, German Empire
Died7 July 1966(1966-07-07) (aged 78)
Dalheim-Rödgen, West Germany
AllegianceFlag of Germany (1935-1945).svg  Nazi Germany
Service / branch Army (Wehrmacht)
Years of service1906–1945
Rank General of the Infantry
Commands XXVII Army Corps
Army Group South Rear Area (Army Group B)
Battles / wars World War II
Awards Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Joachim Witthöft (23 September 1887 – 7 July 1966) was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Witthöft commanded Army Group South Rear Area (as Army Group B) during the 1942 Wehrmacht's campaign. [1]

Contents

Like other Army Group Rear Areas, the territories under Witthöft's control were the sites of mass murder during the Holocaust and other crimes against humanity targeting the civilian population. Rear Area commanders operated in parallel, and in cooperation, with the Higher SS and Police Leaders appointed by the head of the SS, Heinrich Himmler, for each of the army group's rear areas. [2] In the words of historian Michael Parrish, these army commanders "presided over an empire of terror and brutality". [3]

Awards and decorations

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References

Citations

  1. ↑ Pohl 2008, p. 100.
  2. ↑ Megargee 2007, p. 36.
  3. ↑ Parrish 1996, p. 127.
  4. ↑ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 364.

Bibliography

  • Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945[The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN   978-3-7909-0284-6.
  • Megargee, Geoffrey P. (2007). War of Annihilation: Combat and Genocide on the Eastern Front, 1941. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN   978-0-7425-4482-6.
  • Parrish, Michael (1996). The Lesser Terror: Soviet State Security, 1939–1953. Praeger Press. ISBN   978-0-275-95113-9.
  • Pohl, Dieter (2008). Die Herrschaft der Wehrmacht: Deutsche Militärbesatzung und einheimische Bevölkerung in der Sowjetunion 1941–1944. Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag. ISBN   978-3486580655.
Military offices
Preceded by
None
 Commander of 86th Infantry Division
26 August 1939 – 1 January 1942		Succeeded by
Preceded by Commander of XXVII Army Corps
3 January 1942 – 1 July 1942		Succeeded by
Generaloberst Walter Weiß
Preceded by
 Commander of Army Group South Rear Area (Army Group B)
21 July 1942 – 10 January 1943		Succeeded by
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