Karl Ullrich

Karl Ullrich
Born	1 December 1910 Saargemünd, Alsace-Lorraine, German Empire now Sarreguemines, Lorraine, France
Died	8 May 1996 (aged 85) Bad Reichenhall, Bavaria, Germany
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Waffen-SS
Years of service	1934–45
Rank	Oberführer (senior colonel)
Service number	NSDAP #715,727 SS #31,438
Unit	3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Iron Cross 1st Class Iron Cross 2nd Class General Assault Badge

Karl Ullrich (1 December 1910 – 8 May 1996) was an Oberführer (senior colonel) in the Waffen-SS, who was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves during World War II.

Early life

Ullrich was born in Saargemünd in 1910, joined Infanterie-Regiment 19 after having graduated from university. He later joined the SS-Verfügungstruppe (SS-VT; forerunner to the Waffen-SS) in 1934.^[1] Ullrich was an engineering graduate when he joined the SS Engineer Battalion of the SS-VT. He was commissioned as an officer within a year and posted to command the 3rd Company, SS Pionier Battalion, SS-VT.

World War II

He was awarded the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd class for bravery during the Battle of France, then transferred to the Totenkopf on the Eastern Front in 1941. He was awarded the Knight's Cross for his leadership and bravery during the battles of the Demyansk pocket in February 1942 and in October 1944 was given command of the 6th SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment Theodor Eicke and was awarded the Oakleaves while in command.

Promoted to Standartenführer (colonel) he was given command of the 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking for the final battles of the war in Hungary. A short time before the end of the war he was promoted to Oberführer and he surrendered to the Russians in May 1945.^[2][3]

After the war, Ullrich wrote the book Like a Cliff in the Ocean: A History of the 3. SS-Panzer-Division "Totenkopf" in which he claimed that only a single member of the Totenkopf division ever committed a war crime.^[4] In reality, the division committed war crimes in Poland and France.

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (18 May 1940)^[5]
  • 1st Class (1 July 1940)^[5]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 19 February 1942 as SS-Sturmbannführer and commander of SS-Pionier-Bataillon 3 "Totenkopf"^[6][7]
  • 480th Oak Leaves on 14 May 1944 as SS-Obersturmbannführer and commander of SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 6 "Theodor Eicke"^[6][8]

References

Citations

1. Like a Cliff in the Ocean, Karl Ullrich, 2002, J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing, ISBN 0-921991-69-X
2. The Waffen-SS at War By Tim Ripley, p 80
3. "frontkjemper".
4. McMullen, Karl Ullrich ; translated by Jeffrey (2002). Like a Cliff in the Ocean: A History of the 3. SS-Panzer-Division "Totenkopf". Winnipeg: J.J. Fedorowicz. p. 31. ISBN 092199169X.
5. Thomas 1998, p. 396.
6. Scherzer 2007, p. 754.
7. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 428.
8. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 83.

Bibliography

• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
• Thomas, Franz (1998). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2: L–Z [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 2: L–Z] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2300-9.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.