Karl-Gustav Sauberzweig
Encyclopedia
Karl-Gustav Sauberzweig was a German
Wehrmacht
General
who transferred to the Waffen-SS
during World War II
and led the "13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar" over 1943 and 1944. Sauberzweig was a bespectacled Prussian career army officer who had earned an Iron Cross
in his late teens during World War I
. He was fluent in Spanish
and worked in Signals in the Wehrmacht
during the interwar period.
), West Prussia
, to Dr. Joachim Sauberzweig and educated in Bromberg, Karl-Gustav Sauberzweig entered the army on 28 September 1916 as an officer-cadet (Fahnenjunker). He was assigned to the second branch Brandenburg Grenadier Regiment Prinz Karl von Preußen (Prince Charles of Prussia) No. 12. On 17 May 1917 he was promoted to ensign and again on 25 August he was promoted to Leutnant ohne Patent (lieutenant without Commission). By November 1918 he was serving in the 2nd Brandenburg Grenadier Regiment Prinz Karl von Preußen (Prince Charles of Prussia) No. 12. as a company commander. In 1918 he was wounded and was awarded the wound badge in black (Verwundetenabzeichens in Schwarz widerspiegelte) and subsequently the Iron Cross
. In May 1919 he was accepted as a Leutnant (lieutenant) in the Reichsheer. His Commission was dated 1 October 1917 to 1 July 1922. He was then appointed as aide-de-camp to the Army 54th Infantry Regiment In early February 1920 Sauberzweig was transferred to the Army 10th Infantry Regiment.
"A proven leader of men, Sauberzweig had commanded a company and garnered the Iron Cross, First Class by the age of eighteen, and earned a reputation as an exceptional organizer. His tireless determination and exacting work ethic earned him the nickname Schnellchen ("Speedy")."
In the formation of the Versailles Treaty 100,000 men German army, Sauberzweig was then inducted into the third (Prussian) Infantry Regiment. This unit was then used initially to train men in a machine-gun company. From 1 June 1922 he was in the 8th (Prussian) Infantry Regiment and remained here until the spring of 1924, when he became company officer in the 8th machine-gun company in Legnica
.
On 15 December 1924 he married Erna Giese and on 17 November 1925, his son Dieter, was born in Frankfurt an der Oder.
Over 1924/25 Karl-Gustav Sauberzweig was then in the third Company of the 8th (Prussian) Infantry Regiment in Frankfurt an der Oder. In April 1925 he was promoted to Oberleutnant (senior lieutenant). Over 1926/27 Sauberzweig was then in the second Company of the 8th (Prussian) Infantry Regiment, in Frankfurt an der Oder. From 1927/28 he was then for the next few years assigned to the 4th machine-gun Company of the 8th (Prussian) Infantry Regiment also in Frankfurt an der Oder. On 1 October 1930 Sauberzweig was promoted to the headquarters of the 3rd Division of the Reichswehr
in Berlin
. There, he completed his officer training.
In March 1932 he was involved in an accident that put him out of action for some time. In April 1933 he was promoted to Hauptmann (Captain). As such, he was on 1 July 1933 appointed to Division D in the artillery school Jüterbog
. There he was employed as a Taktiklehrer (tactics instructor) in Signals. With the expansion of the Reichswehr
into the Wehrmacht
, Sauberzweig was on 1 October 1934 transferred as a teacher to the Army and Air Force Signals school in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt
. On 1 August 1935 he was transferred, as a company commander for the Signals department Potsdam
.
In the fall of 1936 Sauberzweig was promoted second Staff Officer (Ib) to the General Command XI. Army Corps and moved to Hanover
. He was then responsible for quartermaster supplies and care. On 1 October 1936 Sauberzweig was promoted to the rank of Major and on 1 March 1938 to Oberstleutnant (lieutenant colonel). After the annexation of Austria
he was assigned on 1 April 1938 to the General Command XVII. Army Corps in Vienna
. In this capacity he was then, at the beginning of World War II
employed in the Polish
campaign.
On 1 June 1941 Sauberzweig was appointed as commander of the Wehrmacht
466th Infantry Regiment which he led on the Eastern Front
during the attack on southern Russia
. On 18 August 1941 he was seriously hospitalised due to an injury: he got sand grains and rock fragments in an eye socket and was thereafter blinded in one eye. After his recovery he was appointed in early October 1941 as commander of 306th Infantry Regiment in the German army in occupied France. In mid-January 1942 Sauberzweig quit this command and was transferred to the reserve officer pool. He was then employed by Army Group North
(in Russia) as a staff training leader. On 1 February 1942 he was promoted to Oberst
(colonel). On 1 May 1942 he was appointed commander of the Infantry Replacement Regiment 131 in Brno
, Bohemia
. At the end of October 1942 he gave up his command and from 1 November 1942 Sauberzweig was employed as Wehrmacht
chief of staff in the inspection of the education and training system.
. A week later he was placed in command of the nascent Kroatische-SS-Freiwilligen-Division (Croatian SS Volunteer Division, later called the 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar (1st Croatian)
). Sauberzweig arrived in Mende, Lozère
, France
, to assume command from the Austria
n Oberführer
Herbert von Obwurzer on 9 August 1943. Once in office Sauberzweig treated the Bosnian recruits as sons. Dzemal Ibrahimovic recalled over 50 years later that he often addressed the men "Children, children."
Two weeks later Sauberzweig prepared a character sketch of the average Bosnian volunteer:
"The Bosnian is a very good soldier. His strength lies in the use of terrain and in close combat."
He was therefore very distressed by the Villefranche-de-Rouergue
mutiny on 17 September, and immediately ordered the disarming of all non-German personnel and martial law. The local Mayor was arrested during the fracas but Sauberzweig ordered his prompt release. Ultimately 825 "dark elements" as Sauberzweig called them, were removed from the Division permanently. However this and a falling off in recruitment led to staff problems, and he was constantly complaining to the SS personnel office in Berlin
of his urgent need for battalion commanders.
On 1 October 1943 Karl-Gustav Sauberzweig was promoted to the rank of SS Brigadeführer
und Generalmajor der Waffen SS (SS Brigadier and Major General of the Waffen SS).
In October 1943, after the division relocated to Neuhammer, Germany
, to complete training, Sauberzweig lectured the men during the Bajram (Eid al Fitr) festivities:
"This is the first feast that the entire division will observe together. We want to observe it as a sign that we have grown together into a community of prosperity."
Reichsführer-SS
Heinrich Himmler
visited the division on 21 November 1943 and again over 11 and 12 January 1944. At the November inspection, Sauberzweig instructed the division's Albania
n recruits and parts of the artillery to conduct a special exercise to demonstrate their efficiency and proficiency. He also twice hosted Mohammad Amin al-Husayni
, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem
, at Neuhammer.
Curiously, considering the Division's supposedly Islam
ic basis, Sauberzweig sent a handwritten Christmas
greeting to Himmler at the end of 1943:
"Reichsführer! The officers, NCOs, and men of the Muslim Division send you, Reichsführer, their greetings at Yuletide - the German Christmas!"
on 23 February at Mostar
, Herzegovina
. Later, during Operation Sava in Bosnia, he addressed the men:
"We have now reached the Bosnian frontier and will (soon) begin the march into the homeland. I was recently able to travel throughout almost all of Bosnia. What I saw shocked me. The fields lay uncultivated, the villages burned out and destroyed... Misery reigns in the refugee camps."
On 7 March the division celebrated the Milad al-Nabi (birthday of the Prophet Muhammad
).
"Sauberzweig ordered that large celebrations be organized in the units by commanders and imams. These included religious rites, lectures and the distribution of special rations."
Three days later they launched their first real combat mission - Operation Wegweiser. From 10 to 13 March 1944, the Handschar Division entered the Syrmia
region of eastern Croatia
, held by Partisans who were threatening the Zagreb
-Belgrade
railway. The unit performed well and Sauberzweig had good cause to be proud.
On 15 March the Handschar Division formally re-entered Bosnia during Operation Sava and found the land completely devastated. The Croatian Ustaše
administration had melted away and there was neither security or any functioning economy. Sauberzweig took the initiative to restore order and drafted the "Guidelines for the Liberation of Bosnia". The manifesto included references to re-opening nurseries, schools and the domestic welfare needs of women and children, but was essentially a forceful effort to bring back law and order, and above all to secure food supplies. The protocols included confiscation of food for the soldiers. Naturally this fell hardest or was applied more vigorously on the non-Muslim segments of the local population.
The historian George Lepre wrote:
"It is clear that through this directive, Sauberzweig foresaw his division taking complete control of the region. His mandate sought to turn northeastern Bosnia into an SS vassal state, and this infuriated the Pavelić
regime."
Opposition from Zagreb and the Reich Foreign office meant that, ironically, much of Sauberzweig's economic and social welfare proposals were rescinded or undermined, while the more draconian aspects (particularly food requisition) remained in place. Himmler however did create an independent "SS and Police Organization Staff" on 17 April to restore order in the area under a Dr. Richard Wagner.
In view of the glowing accounts of Sauberzweig's men and their performance in the first two months, Himmler decided to create a second Bosnian Muslim Division (23rd Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Kama
or just "Kama") in June 1944 and promoted Sauberzweig to the administration of the proposed IX Waffen-Gebirgs Korps der SS (Kroatisches). On 19 June 1944 Sauberzweig formally handed over command of Handschar to SS Brigadeführer
Desiderius Hampel
and then travelled to Berlin
to report in person to Himmler. On 21 June he was formally promoted to the rank of SS Gruppenführer
und Generalleutnant der Waffen SS (Group Leader and General Lieutenant of the Waffen SS).
In his formal written report submitted to Reichsführer-SS
Himmler, dated 22 June, SS Gruppenführer
und Generalleutnant der Waffen SS Karl-Gustav Sauberzweig stated :
“When the division first went into action, it was not fully combat-ready. The infantry regiment possessed only six line companies apiece. The transfer of the Albanians (to the “Skanderbeg” Division), officers and NCOs included, made the situation worse.”
Apparently Himmler blamed the poor performance of the 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar (1st Croatian)
over August–September–October 1944 on Sauberzweig and placed him "in reserve" of the SS Führungshauptamt
(SS Main Operational Office).
In January 1945 Sauberzweig returned to the Wehrmacht
as Generalleutnant (Major General) and commanded "a corps within Army Group H in northern Germany." He surrendered to the Western Allies and on 26 September 1946 submitted a written report of his experiences with the 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar (1st Croatian)
whilst interned by the British army
at Preetz
, Schleswig-Holstein
. This unpublished manuscript later became an important document of the Division's history. On 20 October 1946 Sauberzweig committed suicide by swallowing poison rather than face extradition and trial in Communist
Yugoslavia
.
His son, Professor Dr. Dieter Sauberzweig
, became a prominent Kulturpolitiker or commentator on German
political culture.
praised them both. "Regarding the 13th Division, I can only report that it has performed flawlessly."
Ultimately Sauberzweig is perhaps best remembered as probably the most famous person to ever come from Wysoka
.
17 May 1917 : Leutnant ohne Patent (lieutenant without Commission)
May 1919 : Leutnant (lieutenant)
April 1925 : Oberleutnant (senior lieutenant).
April 1933 : Hauptmann (Captain).
1 October 1936 : Major
1 March 1938 : Oberstleutnant (lieutenant colonel)
1 February 1942 : Oberst (colonel)
1 August 1943 : SS Oberführer (senior colonel)
1 October 1943 : SS Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen SS (SS Brigadier General and Brigadier General of the Waffen SS)
21 June 1944 : SS Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Waffen SS (SS Major General and Major General of the Waffen SS)
January 1945 : (Wehrmacht) Generalleutnant (Major General)
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
who transferred to the Waffen-SS
Waffen-SS
The Waffen-SS was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. It constituted the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and led the "13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar" over 1943 and 1944. Sauberzweig was a bespectacled Prussian career army officer who had earned an Iron Cross
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
in his late teens during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. He was fluent in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and worked in Signals in the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
during the interwar period.
Career
Born in Wissek (WysokaWysoka
Wysoka is a town in Piła County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland, with 2,760 inhabitants . The current Mayor is Marek Madej.- History :...
), West Prussia
West Prussia
West Prussia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773–1824 and 1878–1919/20 which was created out of the earlier Polish province of Royal Prussia...
, to Dr. Joachim Sauberzweig and educated in Bromberg, Karl-Gustav Sauberzweig entered the army on 28 September 1916 as an officer-cadet (Fahnenjunker). He was assigned to the second branch Brandenburg Grenadier Regiment Prinz Karl von Preußen (Prince Charles of Prussia) No. 12. On 17 May 1917 he was promoted to ensign and again on 25 August he was promoted to Leutnant ohne Patent (lieutenant without Commission). By November 1918 he was serving in the 2nd Brandenburg Grenadier Regiment Prinz Karl von Preußen (Prince Charles of Prussia) No. 12. as a company commander. In 1918 he was wounded and was awarded the wound badge in black (Verwundetenabzeichens in Schwarz widerspiegelte) and subsequently the Iron Cross
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
. In May 1919 he was accepted as a Leutnant (lieutenant) in the Reichsheer. His Commission was dated 1 October 1917 to 1 July 1922. He was then appointed as aide-de-camp to the Army 54th Infantry Regiment In early February 1920 Sauberzweig was transferred to the Army 10th Infantry Regiment.
"A proven leader of men, Sauberzweig had commanded a company and garnered the Iron Cross, First Class by the age of eighteen, and earned a reputation as an exceptional organizer. His tireless determination and exacting work ethic earned him the nickname Schnellchen ("Speedy")."
In the formation of the Versailles Treaty 100,000 men German army, Sauberzweig was then inducted into the third (Prussian) Infantry Regiment. This unit was then used initially to train men in a machine-gun company. From 1 June 1922 he was in the 8th (Prussian) Infantry Regiment and remained here until the spring of 1924, when he became company officer in the 8th machine-gun company in Legnica
Legnica
Legnica is a town in south-western Poland, in Silesia, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the plain of Legnica, riverside: Kaczawa and Czarna Woda. Between 1 June 1975 and 31 December 1998 Legnica was the capital of the Legnica Voivodeship. It is currently the seat of the county...
.
On 15 December 1924 he married Erna Giese and on 17 November 1925, his son Dieter, was born in Frankfurt an der Oder.
Over 1924/25 Karl-Gustav Sauberzweig was then in the third Company of the 8th (Prussian) Infantry Regiment in Frankfurt an der Oder. In April 1925 he was promoted to Oberleutnant (senior lieutenant). Over 1926/27 Sauberzweig was then in the second Company of the 8th (Prussian) Infantry Regiment, in Frankfurt an der Oder. From 1927/28 he was then for the next few years assigned to the 4th machine-gun Company of the 8th (Prussian) Infantry Regiment also in Frankfurt an der Oder. On 1 October 1930 Sauberzweig was promoted to the headquarters of the 3rd Division of the Reichswehr
Reichswehr
The Reichswehr formed the military organisation of Germany from 1919 until 1935, when it was renamed the Wehrmacht ....
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. There, he completed his officer training.
In March 1932 he was involved in an accident that put him out of action for some time. In April 1933 he was promoted to Hauptmann (Captain). As such, he was on 1 July 1933 appointed to Division D in the artillery school Jüterbog
Jüterbog
Jüterbog is a historic town in north-eastern Germany, located in the Teltow-Fläming district of Brandenburg. It is located on the Nuthe river at the northern slope of the Fläming hill range, about southwest of Berlin.-History:...
. There he was employed as a Taktiklehrer (tactics instructor) in Signals. With the expansion of the Reichswehr
Reichswehr
The Reichswehr formed the military organisation of Germany from 1919 until 1935, when it was renamed the Wehrmacht ....
into the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
, Sauberzweig was on 1 October 1934 transferred as a teacher to the Army and Air Force Signals school in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt
Halle, Saxony-Anhalt
Halle is the largest city in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is also called Halle an der Saale in order to distinguish it from the town of Halle in North Rhine-Westphalia...
. On 1 August 1935 he was transferred, as a company commander for the Signals department Potsdam
Potsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
.
In the fall of 1936 Sauberzweig was promoted second Staff Officer (Ib) to the General Command XI. Army Corps and moved to Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
. He was then responsible for quartermaster supplies and care. On 1 October 1936 Sauberzweig was promoted to the rank of Major and on 1 March 1938 to Oberstleutnant (lieutenant colonel). After the annexation of Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
he was assigned on 1 April 1938 to the General Command XVII. Army Corps in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. In this capacity he was then, at the beginning of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
employed in the Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
campaign.
World War two
At the end of September 1939 Sauberzweig was placed in the training department of the General Staff of the Army. In mid-December 1939, he returned to the General Command XI. Army Corps and in the spring of 1940 became the first appointed Staff Officer (Ia) of XI. Army Corps. In this capacity, he then took part in the 1940 western campaign. On 1 June 1940 Sauberzweig was wounded in south-east of Dunkirk and remained in the Army Corps until 1941.On 1 June 1941 Sauberzweig was appointed as commander of the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
466th Infantry Regiment which he led on the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
during the attack on southern Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. On 18 August 1941 he was seriously hospitalised due to an injury: he got sand grains and rock fragments in an eye socket and was thereafter blinded in one eye. After his recovery he was appointed in early October 1941 as commander of 306th Infantry Regiment in the German army in occupied France. In mid-January 1942 Sauberzweig quit this command and was transferred to the reserve officer pool. He was then employed by Army Group North
Army Group North
Army Group North was a German strategic echelon formation commanding a grouping of Field Armies subordinated to the OKH during World War II. The army group coordinated the operations of attached separate army corps, reserve formations, rear services and logistics.- Formation :The Army Group North...
(in Russia) as a staff training leader. On 1 February 1942 he was promoted to Oberst
Oberst
Oberst is a military rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and Norway. The Swedish rank överste is a direct translation, as are the Finnish rank eversti...
(colonel). On 1 May 1942 he was appointed commander of the Infantry Replacement Regiment 131 in Brno
Brno
Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...
, Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
. At the end of October 1942 he gave up his command and from 1 November 1942 Sauberzweig was employed as Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
chief of staff in the inspection of the education and training system.
Waffen SS
On 1 August 1943 Oberst Karl-Gustav Sauberzweig formally transferred to the Waffen SS and was appointed SS OberführerOberführer
Oberführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party dating back to 1921. Translated as “Senior Leader”, an Oberführer was typically a Nazi Party member in charge of a group of paramilitary units in a particular geographical region...
. A week later he was placed in command of the nascent Kroatische-SS-Freiwilligen-Division (Croatian SS Volunteer Division, later called the 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar (1st Croatian)
13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar (1st Croatian)
The 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar was one of the thirty-eight divisions fielded as part of the Waffen-SS during World War II. Its recruits were composed of Muslim Bosniaks. The Handschar division was a mountain infantry formation, the equivalent of the German "Gebirgsjäger" ...
). Sauberzweig arrived in Mende, Lozère
Mende, Lozère
Mende is a commune of France in the Lozère department of which it is the capital.It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mende.-Sights:* Mende Cathedral -External links:* * ,...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, to assume command from the Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n Oberführer
Oberführer
Oberführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party dating back to 1921. Translated as “Senior Leader”, an Oberführer was typically a Nazi Party member in charge of a group of paramilitary units in a particular geographical region...
Herbert von Obwurzer on 9 August 1943. Once in office Sauberzweig treated the Bosnian recruits as sons. Dzemal Ibrahimovic recalled over 50 years later that he often addressed the men "Children, children."
Two weeks later Sauberzweig prepared a character sketch of the average Bosnian volunteer:
"The Bosnian is a very good soldier. His strength lies in the use of terrain and in close combat."
He was therefore very distressed by the Villefranche-de-Rouergue
Villefranche-de-Rouergue
Villefranche-de-Rouergue is a commune in the Aveyron department in southern France.-History:At the end of the Albigensian Crusade from the northern "barons" against the southern Occitania on a religious pretext , the Count of Toulouse was defeated and concluded the treaty of Paris in 1229...
mutiny on 17 September, and immediately ordered the disarming of all non-German personnel and martial law. The local Mayor was arrested during the fracas but Sauberzweig ordered his prompt release. Ultimately 825 "dark elements" as Sauberzweig called them, were removed from the Division permanently. However this and a falling off in recruitment led to staff problems, and he was constantly complaining to the SS personnel office in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
of his urgent need for battalion commanders.
On 1 October 1943 Karl-Gustav Sauberzweig was promoted to the rank of SS Brigadeführer
Brigadeführer
SS-Brigadeführer was an SS rank that was used in Nazi Germany between the years of 1932 and 1945. Brigadeführer was also an SA rank....
und Generalmajor der Waffen SS (SS Brigadier and Major General of the Waffen SS).
In October 1943, after the division relocated to Neuhammer, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, to complete training, Sauberzweig lectured the men during the Bajram (Eid al Fitr) festivities:
"This is the first feast that the entire division will observe together. We want to observe it as a sign that we have grown together into a community of prosperity."
Reichsführer-SS
Reichsführer-SS
was a special SS rank that existed between the years of 1925 and 1945. Reichsführer-SS was a title from 1925 to 1933 and, after 1934, the highest rank of the German Schutzstaffel .-Definition:...
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
visited the division on 21 November 1943 and again over 11 and 12 January 1944. At the November inspection, Sauberzweig instructed the division's Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
n recruits and parts of the artillery to conduct a special exercise to demonstrate their efficiency and proficiency. He also twice hosted Mohammad Amin al-Husayni
Mohammad Amin al-Husayni
Haj Mohammed Effendi Amin el-Husseini was a Palestinian Arab nationalist and Muslim leader in the British Mandate of Palestine. From as early as 1920, in order to secure the independence of Palestine as an Arab state he actively opposed Zionism, and was implicated as a leader of a violent riot...
, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem
Grand Mufti of Jerusalem
The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem is the Sunni Muslim cleric in charge of Jerusalem's Islamic holy places, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque.-Ottoman era:...
, at Neuhammer.
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic basis, Sauberzweig sent a handwritten Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
greeting to Himmler at the end of 1943:
"Reichsführer! The officers, NCOs, and men of the Muslim Division send you, Reichsführer, their greetings at Yuletide - the German Christmas!"
Bosnia-Herzegovina
In mid-February 1944 the Handschar Division was sent back to Bosnia-Herzegovina via train. Sauberzweig drove ahead with his personal orderly and reported to the V SS Mountain CorpsV SS Mountain Corps
V SS Mountain Corps was a Waffen SS, formation at the end of World War II.The Corps fought on the Oder line as part of the 9th Army, in the Frankfurt am Oder area and in the Battle of Berlin that followed...
on 23 February at Mostar
Mostar
Mostar is a city and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the largest and one of the most important cities in the Herzegovina region and the center of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation. Mostar is situated on the Neretva river and is the fifth-largest city in the country...
, Herzegovina
Herzegovina
Herzegovina is the southern region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. While there is no official border distinguishing it from the Bosnian region, it is generally accepted that the borders of the region are Croatia to the west, Montenegro to the south, the canton boundaries of the Herzegovina-Neretva...
. Later, during Operation Sava in Bosnia, he addressed the men:
"We have now reached the Bosnian frontier and will (soon) begin the march into the homeland. I was recently able to travel throughout almost all of Bosnia. What I saw shocked me. The fields lay uncultivated, the villages burned out and destroyed... Misery reigns in the refugee camps."
On 7 March the division celebrated the Milad al-Nabi (birthday of the Prophet Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
).
"Sauberzweig ordered that large celebrations be organized in the units by commanders and imams. These included religious rites, lectures and the distribution of special rations."
Three days later they launched their first real combat mission - Operation Wegweiser. From 10 to 13 March 1944, the Handschar Division entered the Syrmia
Syrmia
Syrmia is a fertile region of the Pannonian Plain in Europe, between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia in the east and Croatia in the west....
region of eastern Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, held by Partisans who were threatening the Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
-Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
railway. The unit performed well and Sauberzweig had good cause to be proud.
On 15 March the Handschar Division formally re-entered Bosnia during Operation Sava and found the land completely devastated. The Croatian Ustaše
Ustaše
The Ustaša - Croatian Revolutionary Movement was a Croatian fascist anti-Yugoslav separatist movement. The ideology of the movement was a blend of fascism, Nazism, and Croatian nationalism. The Ustaše supported the creation of a Greater Croatia that would span to the River Drina and to the border...
administration had melted away and there was neither security or any functioning economy. Sauberzweig took the initiative to restore order and drafted the "Guidelines for the Liberation of Bosnia". The manifesto included references to re-opening nurseries, schools and the domestic welfare needs of women and children, but was essentially a forceful effort to bring back law and order, and above all to secure food supplies. The protocols included confiscation of food for the soldiers. Naturally this fell hardest or was applied more vigorously on the non-Muslim segments of the local population.
The historian George Lepre wrote:
"It is clear that through this directive, Sauberzweig foresaw his division taking complete control of the region. His mandate sought to turn northeastern Bosnia into an SS vassal state, and this infuriated the Pavelić
Ante Pavelic
Ante Pavelić was a Croatian fascist leader, revolutionary, and politician. He ruled as Poglavnik or head, of the Independent State of Croatia , a World War II puppet state of Nazi Germany in Axis-occupied Yugoslavia...
regime."
Opposition from Zagreb and the Reich Foreign office meant that, ironically, much of Sauberzweig's economic and social welfare proposals were rescinded or undermined, while the more draconian aspects (particularly food requisition) remained in place. Himmler however did create an independent "SS and Police Organization Staff" on 17 April to restore order in the area under a Dr. Richard Wagner.
In view of the glowing accounts of Sauberzweig's men and their performance in the first two months, Himmler decided to create a second Bosnian Muslim Division (23rd Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Kama
23rd Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Kama
The 23rd Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Kama was a military formation composed of German officers and Bosniak soldiers in the Waffen-SS during World War II. The numerical designation "23rd" was given to the 4th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Brigade Nederland after the division was disbanded in...
or just "Kama") in June 1944 and promoted Sauberzweig to the administration of the proposed IX Waffen-Gebirgs Korps der SS (Kroatisches). On 19 June 1944 Sauberzweig formally handed over command of Handschar to SS Brigadeführer
Brigadeführer
SS-Brigadeführer was an SS rank that was used in Nazi Germany between the years of 1932 and 1945. Brigadeführer was also an SA rank....
Desiderius Hampel
Desiderius Hampel
Desiderius Hampel was a Brigadeführer and Generalmajor in the Waffen SS during World War II. Who was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, which was awarded to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership by Nazi Germany during World War II.-Early life:Desiderius...
and then travelled to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
to report in person to Himmler. On 21 June he was formally promoted to the rank of SS Gruppenführer
Gruppenführer
Gruppenführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party, first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA.-SS rank:...
und Generalleutnant der Waffen SS (Group Leader and General Lieutenant of the Waffen SS).
In his formal written report submitted to Reichsführer-SS
Reichsführer-SS
was a special SS rank that existed between the years of 1925 and 1945. Reichsführer-SS was a title from 1925 to 1933 and, after 1934, the highest rank of the German Schutzstaffel .-Definition:...
Himmler, dated 22 June, SS Gruppenführer
Gruppenführer
Gruppenführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party, first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA.-SS rank:...
und Generalleutnant der Waffen SS Karl-Gustav Sauberzweig stated :
“When the division first went into action, it was not fully combat-ready. The infantry regiment possessed only six line companies apiece. The transfer of the Albanians (to the “Skanderbeg” Division), officers and NCOs included, made the situation worse.”
Apparently Himmler blamed the poor performance of the 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar (1st Croatian)
13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar (1st Croatian)
The 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar was one of the thirty-eight divisions fielded as part of the Waffen-SS during World War II. Its recruits were composed of Muslim Bosniaks. The Handschar division was a mountain infantry formation, the equivalent of the German "Gebirgsjäger" ...
over August–September–October 1944 on Sauberzweig and placed him "in reserve" of the SS Führungshauptamt
SS Führungshauptamt
The SS-Führungshauptamt was the operational headquarters of the SS.It was responsible for the administration of Officer Schools , Medical services, logistics, and rates of pay...
(SS Main Operational Office).
In January 1945 Sauberzweig returned to the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
as Generalleutnant (Major General) and commanded "a corps within Army Group H in northern Germany." He surrendered to the Western Allies and on 26 September 1946 submitted a written report of his experiences with the 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar (1st Croatian)
13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar (1st Croatian)
The 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar was one of the thirty-eight divisions fielded as part of the Waffen-SS during World War II. Its recruits were composed of Muslim Bosniaks. The Handschar division was a mountain infantry formation, the equivalent of the German "Gebirgsjäger" ...
whilst interned by the British army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
at Preetz
Preetz
Preetz is a town in the district of Plön, in Schleswig-Holstein, Northern Germany. In the town centre is a small lake, the Kirchsee.-History:...
, Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...
. This unpublished manuscript later became an important document of the Division's history. On 20 October 1946 Sauberzweig committed suicide by swallowing poison rather than face extradition and trial in Communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
.
His son, Professor Dr. Dieter Sauberzweig
Dieter Sauberzweig
Dieter Sauberzweig was a prominent commentator on German cultural politics .-Life:...
, became a prominent Kulturpolitiker or commentator on German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
political culture.
Appraisal
Opinions on Sauberzweig and his administration of the Handschar division vary greatly. The lifelong professional military careerist SS Obergruppenführer Artur PhlepsArtur Phleps
Artur Martin Phleps was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian and German officer who held the rank of Obergruppenführer in the Waffen-SS during World War II. An Austro-Hungarian Army officer in World War I, he served in the Romanian Army during the interwar period, before joining the military forces...
praised them both. "Regarding the 13th Division, I can only report that it has performed flawlessly."
Ultimately Sauberzweig is perhaps best remembered as probably the most famous person to ever come from Wysoka
Wysoka
Wysoka is a town in Piła County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland, with 2,760 inhabitants . The current Mayor is Marek Madej.- History :...
.
Dates of Rank
28 September 1916 : Fahnenjunker (Officer cadet)17 May 1917 : Leutnant ohne Patent (lieutenant without Commission)
May 1919 : Leutnant (lieutenant)
April 1925 : Oberleutnant (senior lieutenant).
April 1933 : Hauptmann (Captain).
1 October 1936 : Major
1 March 1938 : Oberstleutnant (lieutenant colonel)
1 February 1942 : Oberst (colonel)
1 August 1943 : SS Oberführer (senior colonel)
1 October 1943 : SS Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen SS (SS Brigadier General and Brigadier General of the Waffen SS)
21 June 1944 : SS Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Waffen SS (SS Major General and Major General of the Waffen SS)
January 1945 : (Wehrmacht) Generalleutnant (Major General)
Literature
- Munoz, Antonio J. (editor), The East Came West: Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist Volunteers in the German Armed Forces (chapters 2 and 13) Bayside, NY: Axis Europa, 2001 ISBN 1-891227-39-4
- Yerger, Mark C., Waffen-SS Commanders: The Army, Corps and Divisional Leaders of a Legend: Krüger to Zimmermann (Schiffer Publishing, Ltd., 1999), ISBN 076430769X ; ISBN 978-0764307690 .
Links
- http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Personenregister/S/SauberzweigKarlGustav.htm