SS-Of. Arpad Wigand Waffen-SS service

[George_W]

Hello

Any ideas why SS-Of. Arpad Wigand after his successful career in SD and Polizei was transferred to Waffen-SS
and served to the end of war as front-line officer?
What was the reason for that - his own decision or maybe something else?

Best,
George

[Moniroth You-Bell]

B:13.1.06 EKI
Stubf. Chef, HQ.Kp./SS-31.Gr.Div 3.45
Stubf. Kdr, III./SS-GJR.13 2.45
Hstuf. Adj.SS-GJR.13 11.43
Ostuf. SS-GJR.1 12.42
W-SS Stubf:30.1.44
Transferred to W-SS:15.5.42 IAB

[George_W]

Thanks but maybe someone knows the reasons of this transfer?
Did he have any discplinary problems?

George

[Moniroth You-Bell]

I think his motive was something similar along with Heydrich

[steve248]

SS-Staf Constantin Canaris in a British interrogation report from 1945, reported that Wigand had quarreled with Heydrich and been "dismissed from the SS" in 1941 (sic). He probably meant the Sipo, rather than the SS.

I wonder what the quarrel was about. This is from "The Times" (London), 26 March 1981:
"Wartime charges:
Herr Arpad Wigand, a former SS officer accused of ordering the deaths of Jews in Warsaw during the Second World War, on his way to court in Hamburg where he faces trial with two wartime colleagues, Herr Wigand, aged 75, a first lieutenant in the SS, who served as a Warsaw police magistrate, is accused of having one man shot who refused to give up some furs and ordering the deaths of 50 people who were unable to work in concentration camps. He is also accused of the deaths of about 90 people who were being sent to Treblinka concentration camp."
There was an accompanying photos of a rather gloomy Wigand; he should have cheered up, Treblinka extermination camp was not even built when he left Warsaw; he would hardly be sending 90 people to the labour camp there.

And this is an account of Wigand's military service when arrested by the British after the war:
13 Jan 1906 born Mannheim-Waldhof
to March 1940 SS-Oberführer, SD Führer, Breslau
Mar-May 1940 Lt.d.R., Ers.Batl. 51/1.Komp., Liegnitz
May-June 1940 Lt.d.R., IR 329/1.Batl./2 + 3 Komp., Saarlautern and
French campaign
June-Dec 1940 Lt.d.R., IR 329, in Czestochowa, Poland
Dec 40-Jan 1941 SS-Ustuf, SS-Ers.Batl. Deutschland, Prague
Jan 41-Apr 1942 SS-Ustuf, Waffen-SS Kommandoamt, Berlin
Apr-Aug 1942 SS-Ustuf, SS-Ers.Batl. Deutschland, Prague
Aug 42-Mar 1944 SS-Hstuf, 7.SS-Divn Prinz Eugen, Yugoslavia, and
continued with the Divn after promotion to SS-Stubaf
13 May 1945 arrested by British Army at Vitring bei Klagenfurt;
later held at 2 WCHC [War Criminals Holding Centre at Minden/Germany]
5 Dec 1947 handed over to the Polish authorities

He seems to have omitted that he was SSPF Warsaw.....

[HM]

Probably because Himmler would like to see his senior SS-Officers with some frontline experience. I have a greater part of his personal file, but there is nothing of his transfer to the W-SS as being a punishment.

Some exact data:

24.04.1942 Der Reichsführer-SS wünscht, dass SS- Oberführer Wigand, SS- und Polizeiführer in Warschau, einmal einige Monate durch einen anderen Mann vertreten wird, damit W. als SS-Untersturmführer d.R. in diesem Sommer einen Fronteinsatz in der Waffen-SS bekommen kann.

08.05.1942 „Der Reichsführer-SS hat die Abordnung des SS-Oberführers Wigand, SS= und Pol.-Führer in Warschau zu einem vorübergehenden Sondereinsatz befohlen… Fur die Dauer des Einsatzes(bis etwa 1. Oktober 1942)…“

11.09.1942 Von Herff an Dr. Brandt: „…SS- Oberführer Wigand, Arpad, SS-Nr.2 999, ist auf Befehl des Reichsführers-SS bis 1.10.1942 zum Fronteinsatz einberufen…Trotz Einziehung zur Waffen-SS hat der SS- Oberführer Wigand bisher keinen Fronteinsatz gehabt. Auch die Freiwilligen Division „Prinz Eugen“ befindet sich zunächst noch nicht im Einsatz..“.

22.09.1942 „Der Reichsführer-SS hat mit Fernschreiben vom 19.09.1942 entschieden, das SS-Untersturmführer d. Res. Wigand bis auf weiteres bei der SS- Freiwilligen Division „Prinz Eugen“ verbleiben soll…“;

HM.

[George_W]

Many thanks.
It's much more clearer now.

Wigand was indeed quite lucky - he received rather low sentence in Poland for being SSPF (15 reduced to 10 years, released in 1956).
I haven't seen the indictment but i suppose that there was no specific and heavy charges against him.

Best,
George

[George_W]

It's an old thread but i've made a mistake about Wigand sentence in Poland. He was at first sentenced to 10 years and this sentence was later changed into 15 years (not 15 reduced to 10). Released in 1956. There was no heavy charges against him.

George

[Michal78]

Not sure whether this photo of Arpad Wigand was posted at AHF or not.
Michal

[George_W]

Hello Michal

Many thanks for posting the photo. May i ask about the source of that photo?

Here is another photo of Arpad Wigand, taken by the British authorities during his internement. The source is British National Archives in Kew.

Regards
George

[Michal78]

Source is NAC archive.
Michal

[George_W]

Many thanks.

George

[George_W]

Here is another photo of Wigand, taken in 1957.

Source: https://www.marchivum.de/de/blog/ns-zeit-2

George

[steve248]

Goofy - what is "NAC Archive"?

[Michal78]

NAC: Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe.
Michal