Ernst Häussler
Encyclopedia
Ernst Häussler was a Standartenführer
(Colonel), in the Waffen SS during World War II
. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership by Nazi Germany
during World War II.
. He volunteered to join the SS in May 1933 and given the SS service number 217.862 and his NSDAP party number was 1.150.866, after being enrolled he was assigned to the SS Standarte Deutschland.
He was promoted to Unterscharführer
in April 1935 and in 1936 was selected to be an officer and posted to the SS-Junkerschule at Braunschweig
.
After Graduation he was posted back to the SS-VT in Oberbayern and served at Dachau concentration camp between 1936 and 1939.
2nd class in June 1940 and the Wound Badge
in Black for his first wound of the War.
He participated in the invasion of the Soviet Union
(Operation Barbarossa
) being awarded the Iron Cross 1st class in July 1941 and the Winter War 1941/42
medal.
In April 1943 he was awarded the German Cross
in Gold and was then promoted to Sturmbannführer
(Major) in June 1943 which was followed by the award of the Knight's Cross in August 1943.
Ernst Häussler, went on to command the 1st SS Totenkopf Reserve Battalion before a posting to the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division Götz von Berlichingen ( The name referred to the 15th century German knight who had, after losing his right hand in battle, wore an iron prosthetic hand. In keeping with this, the division's emblem was a clenched iron fist), as a Battalion Commander before returning to the SS Totenkopf as the commander of the 5th SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment Totenkopf.
He survived the war and died of heart failure on the 14 July 1979 at Öhringen
.
Standartenführer
Standartenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was used in the so-called Nazi combat-organisations: SA, SS, NSKK and the NSFK...
(Colonel), 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...
. He 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...
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
Ernst Häussler was born on the 31 March 1914 at WürttembergWürttemberg
Württemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg or Wurtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....
. He volunteered to join the SS in May 1933 and given the SS service number 217.862 and his NSDAP party number was 1.150.866, after being enrolled he was assigned to the SS Standarte Deutschland.
He was promoted to Unterscharführer
Unterscharführer
Unterscharführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party used by the Schutzstaffel between 1934 and 1945. The SS rank was created after the Night of the Long Knives...
in April 1935 and in 1936 was selected to be an officer and posted to the SS-Junkerschule at Braunschweig
Braunschweig
Braunschweig , is a city of 247,400 people, located in the federal-state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north of the Harz mountains at the farthest navigable point of the Oker river, which connects to the North Sea via the rivers Aller and Weser....
.
After Graduation he was posted back to the SS-VT in Oberbayern and served at Dachau concentration camp between 1936 and 1939.
World War II
In 1940 he was then posted to the newly formed SS Totenkopf Division as the commander of the 5th company and was awarded the Iron CrossIron 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 June 1940 and the Wound Badge
Wound Badge
Wound Badge was a German military award for wounded or frost-bitten soldiers of Imperial German Army in World War I, the Reichswehr between the wars, and the Wehrmacht, SS and the auxiliary service organizations during the Second World War. After March 1943, due to the increasing number of Allied...
in Black for his first wound of the War.
He participated in 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....
(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...
) being awarded the Iron Cross 1st class in July 1941 and the Winter War 1941/42
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...
medal.
In April 1943 he was awarded the German Cross
German Cross
The German Cross was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 17 November 1941 as an award ranking higher than the Iron Cross First Class but below the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross respectively ranking higher than the War Merit Cross First Class with Swords but below the Knight's Cross of the War Merit...
in Gold and was then promoted to Sturmbannführer
Sturmbannführer
Sturmbannführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party equivalent to major, used both in the Sturmabteilung and the Schutzstaffel...
(Major) in June 1943 which was followed by the award of the Knight's Cross in August 1943.
Ernst Häussler, went on to command the 1st SS Totenkopf Reserve Battalion before a posting to the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division Götz von Berlichingen ( The name referred to the 15th century German knight who had, after losing his right hand in battle, wore an iron prosthetic hand. In keeping with this, the division's emblem was a clenched iron fist), as a Battalion Commander before returning to the SS Totenkopf as the commander of the 5th SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment Totenkopf.
He survived the war and died of heart failure on the 14 July 1979 at Öhringen
Öhringen
Öhringen is the largest city in Hohenlohe in the state of Baden-Württemberg, in southwest Germany, near Heilbronn. Öhringen is on the railways to Schwäbisch Hall and Crailsheim.With a population of 22,745 , the city is diverse...
.