Hubert Meyer

Hubert Meyer
Born	5 December 1913 Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Died	16 November 2012 (aged 98) Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Waffen SS
Years of service	1933–45
Rank	SS-Obersturmbannführer
Commands held	12.SS-Panzer-Division Hitlerjugend
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	German Cross in Gold

Hubert Meyer (5 December 1913 – 16 November 2012^[1]) was a German officer of the Waffen-SS, the armed paramilitary branch of the Nazi Party's Schutzstaffel (SS). He obtained the rank of SS-Obersturmbannführer (lieutenant colonel), served with the SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler and was one of the commanders of the SS Division Hitlerjugend. After the war, he became active in HIAG, a Waffen-SS lobby group.

Career

Meyer was born in Berlin on 5 December 1913. He joined the SS in 1933 and attended the SS Junkerschule in Bad Tölz. In 1937 as SS-Untersturmführer, Meyer was given platoon command within in the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH).

On 9 November 1938 Meyer was promoted to SS-Obersturmführer and took part in the invasion of Poland, invasion of the Netherlands and invasion of France, receiving the Iron Cross second class in November 1939. In November 1940 was promoted to SS-Hauptsturmführer and appointed company commander. During the campaign in the Balkans, Meyer received the Iron Cross first class.

In the opening weeks of Operation Barbarossa, Meyer's unit participated in the LSSAH advance on Kiev, where he was wounded. He was posted to the LSSAH Artillerieregiment for pre-General Staff training, where he remained until early 1943. In February 1943 Meyer was given command of a regiment and participated in the Third Battle of Kharkov. In September 1943 SS-Sturmbannführer Meyer graduated from the General Staff Officer course and was assigned to the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend. After the divisional commander SS-Brigadeführer Kurt Meyer was captured on 6 September 1944, Hubert Meyer took temporary command of the division until 24 October 1944. He stayed with the division for the remainder of the war and surrendered to the U.S. Army on 8 May 1945.

Following the war, Meyer was active in HIAG, a lobby group of former Waffen-SS members. He wrote two revisionist books on SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend. The book was translated into English and published in 1994 as The History of the 12.SS-Panzerdivision "Hitlerjugend" (ISBN 0-921991-18-5). It was issued in two volumes by Stackpole Books in 2005 as The 12th SS: The History of the Hitler Youth Panzer Division. Meyer was HIAG's last president^[2] before the organization was dissolved in 1992.

Summary of SS career

Dates of rank

• SS-Untersturmführer [second lieutenant] : 1933–1938
• SS-Obersturmführer [first lieutenant] : 9 November 1938
• SS-Hauptsturmführer [captain] : 9 November 1940
• SS-Sturmbannführer [major] : 20 April 1943
• SS-Obersturmbannführer [lieutenant colonel] : 9 November 1944

Notable decorations

• German Cross in Gold (6 May 1943)
• Eastern Front Medal (1942)
• Infantry Assault Badge in Bronze (1942)
• Iron Cross Second (1939) and First (1941) Classes
• Wound Badge in Black (1941)

References

Citations

1. Postado por Júlio (2012-11-16). "Nota de Falecimento: Hubert Meyer". Sala de Guerra. Retrieved 2012-12-19.
2. Parker 2014, p. 425.

Bibliography

• Parker, Danny S. (2014). Hitler's Warrior: The Life and Wars of SS Colonel Jochen Peiper. Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0306821547.
• 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.
• Yerger, Mark C. (1999). Waffen-SS commanders. Vol. II : the army, corps and divisional leaders of a legend. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing. pp. 104–106. ISBN 978-0-7643-0769-0.