Carl Friedrich von Pückler-Burghauss

Carl Friedrich von Pückler-Burghauss
Born	7 October 1886 Friedland, German Empire
Died	12 May 1945 (aged 58) near Čimelice, Czechoslovakia
Allegiance	German Empire  Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Waffen-SS
Rank	SS-Gruppenführer and Generalleutnant of the Waffen-SS
Commands held	15th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Latvian)
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Iron Cross 1st Class with Clasp War Merit Cross 1st Class with Swords

Carl Friedrich Count of Pückler-Burghauss, Baron of Groditz (born October 7, 1886 in Friedland, Silesia (now Korfantów in Poland) d. 13 May 1945 in Čimelice, Czechoslovakia, today's Czech Republic) was a German politician and Waffen-SS officer in the rank of SS-Gruppenführer and Lieutenant General of the Waffen-SS and member of the German parliament during the Weimar Republic and also a writer, publishing works on hunting and travel.

Pückler-Burghauss began his military career as a second lieutenant in the infantry branch during the First World War and won the Iron Cross First and Second Classes. He left the army in 1919 as captain and served with Freikorps units until 1931 when he joined the Nazi Party and the SA and later SS.

Pückler-Burghauss was member of the National Socialist German Workers' Party und Officer of the Waffen-SS. Through year 1943 he was a commander of 15th Waffen-SS division on Eastern front and later was a chief of Waffen-SS units in Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.

After Nazi Germany capitulated on May 7, 1945 Pückler-Burghauss refused to surrender to the Soviets and attempted to move the troops under his command into the American occupation zone. The Americans had refused and after heavy fighting (see Battle of Slivice) he was forced to sign capitulation on the night of May 11/12. Shortly afterwards he committed suicide.

Personal life

On 20 May 1913, Pückler-Burghauss married Princess Olga Elisabeth of Saxe-Altenburg (1886–1955), the elder daughter of Prince Albert of Saxe-Altenburg and Princess Marie of Prussia, a great-niece of the German Emperor Wilhelm I. Princess Olga was closely related to the British and Swedish royal families via her maternal aunt, Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia who married Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, the third son of Queen Victoria. Her cousin was Princess Margaret, Crown Princess of Sweden.

Decorations

• Clasp to the Iron Cross 1st Class (1940)
• Clasp to the Iron Cross 2nd Class (1939)
• Iron Cross 1st Class (1914) (World War I award)
• Iron Cross 2nd Class (1914) (World War I award)
• Knight's Cross of Saxe-Ernestine House Order 2nd Class with Swords (World War I award)
• Austrian Military Merit Cross, 3rd class with War Decoration (World War I award)
• Eastern Front Medal
• War Merit Cross 1st Class with Swords
• War Merit Cross 2nd Class with Swords
• Silesian Eagle 1st class
• Silesian Eagle 2nd class
• The Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918
• Hungarian War Commemorative Medal with Swords
• SS-Ehrenring

Works

• Jagen, Reisen, lustig sein: Aus grünem Wald und buntem Leben, Berlin 1936.
• Wild, Wald und Welt: Ein fröhliches Wanderbuch, Berlin 1938.
• Gesehen, gedacht und gelacht: Erinnerungen aus den Feldzügen 1939-42, Prag 1943.

External links

• Carl Friedrich von Pückler-Burghauss in the German National Library catalogue