Erich Zepper
Encyclopedia
Erich Zepper was a Untersturmführer
(2nd Lieutenant) 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.
. He joined the Reichswehr
, then the Labour Service (Arbeitsdienst) and in 1937, he volunteered to join the SS-VT and took part in the Anschluss
of Austria
and the annexation of the Sudetenland
in 1938.
for Operation Barbarossa
, the invasion of the Soviet Union
in 1941.
He was awarded the Iron Cross
2nd class in August and the Iron Cross 1st class in December 1941.
He was awarded the Knight's Cross in December 1943, for his actions in the Dnieper sector in October 1943. The Russians attempted to build a bridgehead in the area of Kanev which threatened the whole Wiking SS corps. Acting Company commander Oberscharführer (Technical Sergeant) Zepper, on his own initiative, made a daring attack with his company which prevented the Russians from getting a foothold and was the basis for the later success of the Corps. A large number of machine guns, anti-tank guns, infantry weapons and other military material was captured and heavy losses inflicted on the Russians.
in October 1944 and held in British captivity until his release in 1948.
He died on the 28 July 2005, in Beilstein
.
Untersturmführer
Untersturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the German Schutzstaffel first created in July 1934. The rank can trace its origins to the older SA rank of Sturmführer which had existed since the founding of the SA in 1921...
(2nd Lieutenant) in the Waffen SS 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...
who was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was a grade of the 1939 version of the 1813 created Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was the highest award of Germany to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during World War II...
, which was awarded to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
during World War II.
Early life
Erich Zepper was born on the 27 November 1915 in SebnitzSebnitz
Sebnitz is a town in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany.- Geography :The town of Sebnitz lies in the valley of the River Sebnitz and its side valleys between 250 and 460 m above sea level between the mountains of Saxon Switzerland and the Lusatian...
. He joined the Reichswehr
Reichswehr
The Reichswehr formed the military organisation of Germany from 1919 until 1935, when it was renamed the Wehrmacht ....
, then the Labour Service (Arbeitsdienst) and in 1937, he volunteered to join the SS-VT and took part in the Anschluss
Anschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....
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...
and the annexation of the Sudetenland
Sudetenland
Sudetenland is the German name used in English in the first half of the 20th century for the northern, southwest and western regions of Czechoslovakia inhabited mostly by ethnic Germans, specifically the border areas of Bohemia, Moravia, and those parts of Silesia being within Czechoslovakia.The...
in 1938.
World War II
Zepper was posted to the newly formed SS Division Wiking and sent to the Eastern FrontEastern 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...
for Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
, the invasion of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in 1941.
He was awarded 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....
2nd class in August and the Iron Cross 1st class in December 1941.
He was awarded the Knight's Cross in December 1943, for his actions in the Dnieper sector in October 1943. The Russians attempted to build a bridgehead in the area of Kanev which threatened the whole Wiking SS corps. Acting Company commander Oberscharführer (Technical Sergeant) Zepper, on his own initiative, made a daring attack with his company which prevented the Russians from getting a foothold and was the basis for the later success of the Corps. A large number of machine guns, anti-tank guns, infantry weapons and other military material was captured and heavy losses inflicted on the Russians.
Post war
Erich Zepper was a prisoner of warPrisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
in October 1944 and held in British captivity until his release in 1948.
He died on the 28 July 2005, in Beilstein
Beilstein
Beilstein may refer to:*places in Germany:**Beilstein, Württemberg, in Baden-Württemberg**Beilstein, Rhineland-Palatinate, in Rhineland-Palatinate**Beilstein, Hessen*a 2270-metre mountain of the Hochschwab Plateau, Northern Limestone Alps, Styria...
.
Further reading
- Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945. Friedburg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas, 2000. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
- Mitcham, Jr.Samuel, Retreat to the Reich, Stackpole books 2007. ISBN 081173384X
- Henschler Henri & Fay Will, Armor Battles of the Waffen-SS, 1943-45 Stackpole Books, 2003. ISBN 0811729052
- Mitcham Samuel, The German Defeat in the East, 1944-45,Stackpole Books, 2007. ISBN 0811733718