SS-AA 1 officers: photos needed...

[Harro]

I'm working on a translation right now

[Harro]

Here you are. I hope the translation makes sense as English is not my native language...


Emil Wawrzinek – the soap opera called “Leibstandarte”

Emil Wawrzinek was born in what is now called Ostrosnitz in Poland. At that time this was the German Upper-Silesian region and the town was called Schneidenburg. He was the youngest son of Emil Wawrzinek senior, a bricklayer who was killed in action as a German soldier in France on May 16, 1917. His pregnant, 23 year old widow Benedikta stayed behind with their 3 year old son Georg. On September 9 she gave birth to a second son. She gave him the name of her late husband. Benedikta and her sons were catholics, as was almost the complete population of the region. From his sixth to his fourteenth year he visited the Volkschule (primary school) in Ostrosnitz and the Oberschule (secondary school) in Oberglogau. Upper-Silesia was politically turbulent since the Allied Forces had allocated the region to Poland after the first world war, much against the wish of its German inhabitants (forty percent of the population). This triggered strong nationalistic German sentiments. Likewise with the Wawrzinek brothers. Emil joined the Hitlerjugend in March 1933. He served in the Reichsarbeitsdienst (RAD, Reich Labour Service) from October 1935 to October 1936 and then, on October 1, 1936, he immediately volunteered for the Leibstandarte SS “Adolf Hitler” (SS-number 383430) and the NSDAP (party number 5507807).

With the Leibstandarte Wawrzinek took part in the annexation of Austria and the German attack on Poland. On January 30, 1940, he was promoted to SS-Unterscharführer and at the same time he was send to the 1. Kriegs-Reserve-Führer-Anwärter-Lehrgang, an officers course at the SS Junkerschule Braunschweig. He finished the three-month course in Braunschweig on May 8, 1940 as an SS-Standartenoberjunker. An apprenticeship with an SS unit was part of the course and Wawrzinek was send to the SS Ersatzbataillon (SS replacement battalion) in Ellwangen were he was trained as a Kradschütze (motorcycle soldier). In September he returned to the Leibstandarte to lead a motorcycle platoon in the second company of the Aufklärungsabteilung (reconnaissance battalion) that was formed by SS Sturmbannführer Kurt Meyer. His promotion to SS Untersturmführer followed on November 9, 1940. The battalion participated in the German invasion of the Balkans and because of his actions during the attack on Greece Wawrzinek was awared the Iron Cross second class and the bronze Infantry Assault Badge. He also led a platoon in the second company during Operation “Barbarossa”, the German attack on the Soviet-Union. On August 10, 1941, Wawrzinek was seriously injured. In the SS hospital in Bobry doctors had to remove no less than seventeen grenade splinters from his upper torso. He was awared the Iron Cross first class on September 14. He again sustained injuries on November 19 and this time he recovered in a hospital in Nikolajew.

After he had recovered from his injuries he went to Germany for a short leave, then had to report at the Sennelager training compound in March 1942 were a company of armoured halftracks (Sd.Kfz. 250) was formed for the reconnaissance battalion. SS Hauptsturmführer Gustav Knittel was in command of the company and Wawrzinek was to lead the first platoon. He was promoted to SS Obersturmführer on April 20, 1942.

During his time in Sennelager Wawrzinek got himself in trouble when a 29 year old woman he met there later turned out to be pregnant, but this was not known to him when the Leibstandarte was moved to France. When Wawrzinek learned that the woman (who’s name I won’t mention) had given birth to a baby girl (ditto) he did what his catholic background expected from him – he filed a request to marry her. But the request was turned down by the SS higher command because the woman was older than Wawrzinek and a divorcee and as such not considered a suitable partner for an SS officer.

After a long period of training in Germany and France the reconnaissance battalion was send to the Eastern Front in January 1943 were it saw action during the bitter winter battle to defend Charkow. On February 15 - in an attempt to escape encirclement - Kurt “Panzermeyer” send Knittels company to Bereka but that town was occupied by the Red Army. During the following attack Wawrzinek led his platoon into battle and was one of the first who entered the town but a rifle round in his lower back put him out of action. He was transported to the SS hospital in Poltawa were doctors removed the bullet. Wawrzinek was awarded the silver wound badge on February 20 and the German Cross in gold on March 21.

In April 1943 Kurt Meyer left for the new “Hitlerjugend” division and Gustav Knittel took over the reconnaissance battalion. Emil Wawrzinek became the new commander of the armoured halftrack company. He led them into battle at Kursk but was wounded again on Juli 10. He returned to his company when it was in Yugoslavia to fight partisans. The rest of the reconnaissance battalion was in Italy at that time. In September Wawrzinek was treated for gonorrhea and meanwhile he filed the afore mentioned marriage request. In November the company returned to the Leibstandarte in the Ukraine were they again saw bitter fighting against the Red Army. November 9 Wawrzinek was promoted to SS Hauptsturmführer and in December he was awared the gold Infantry Assault Badge.

November 30 his friend SS Obersturmführer Fritz Bügelsack (also German Cross in Gold and company commander in the reconnaissance battalion) was killed in action. A week later – December 6 – Wawrzinek was wounded during the battle for Andrejeff, this time grenade splitters in his left hand, ad taken to the Krakow SS hospital. De wounds were not too serious and he was allowed a short leave after he left the hospital. In late January he travelled to Berlin were he met with Hannelote Bügelsack, the sister of his fallen friend. She was 31 years old at that time, five years older than Wawrzinek who she had known since 1938 due to his friendship with her brother. On February 20, 1944, a second marriage request followed. This time Wawrzinek wanted to marry Hannelote. They married on March 2, before the SS gave its approval. Hannelotte was two months pregnant. When Wawrzinek returned to the reconnaissance battalion in Belgium he was reprimanded by Knittel but his commanding officer also protected him against further problems with the SS high command. On May 6 Gustav Knittel married his wife Raymonde in Ulm and Emil Wawrzinek was his best man.

A week later the reconnaissance battalion was shipped to the invasion front in Normandy were Wawrzinek led the second company. After the breakout from die Falaise Pocket he took over as battalion commander. During that period Wawrzinek was in charge of rebuilding and reorganizing the battalion. Shortly before the start of the Ardennes Offensive Knittel took over again and Wawrzinek was transferred to the division staff. But when Knittel was out of action with a serious concussion Wawrzinek took command of the Aufklärungsabteilung again, but not for long because he himself was wounded on January 2, 1945 and he did not return to the battalion until the Leibstandarte was about to attack in Hungary. Knittel did not return to his command and Wawrzinek once again led the reconnaissance battalion. But when the operation in Hungary failed the Leibstandarte pulled back on defensive positions in Austria to defend Vienna against the Red Army. There Wawrzinek met his faith. On April 1, 1945, a Russian rocket hit the battalion command post in Steinabrückl and killed almost the complete battalion staff. Hauptsturmführer Emil Wawrzinek is burried among the other members of his staff at the Blumau war cemetery, grave 393. He was 27 years old.

[thomas.ham]

Thanks for taking time to translate that Timo, very interesting indeed!
Regards
Tom

[j keenan]

Thanks Timo

[Harro]

My pleasure. It's perhaps interesting to note that his brother Georg also joined the SS and ran into similar problems when he dated a Polish girl who also got pregnant. He filed a request to marry her but the Rasse- und Siedlungshauptamt (RuSHA) turned it down because Polish girls we considered subhuman and as such no suitable bride for an SS member (or for any German for that matter). In the end he stopped seeing her to avoid further problems for her and her family. The SS had made some serious treats against the father of the girl.

[Harro]

I figured it would make sense to turn it into a wiki article

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emil_Wawrzinek