Fritz Freitag
Encyclopedia
Fritz Freitag was a 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....

 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 the commander of the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division Galicia and 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...

. He committed suicide at the end of the war in May 1945.

Early years

Fritz Freitag was born on 28 April 1894, the son of a rail road official. After passing his high school examinations he joined the 1st (East Prussian) Grenadier Regiment.

World War I

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...

, Freitag served on both the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War I)
The Eastern Front was a theatre of war during World War I in Central and, primarily, Eastern Europe. The term is in contrast to the Western Front. Despite the geographical separation, the events in the two theatres strongly influenced each other...

 and the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...

. In 1915, he was commissioned as a Leutnant and for the next three years served as a company commander, being wounded four times.

World War II

By the time of World War II, Freitag had been promoted to Oberstleutnant
Oberstleutnant
Oberstleutnant is a German Army and Air Force rank equal to Lieutenant Colonel, above Major, and below Oberst.There are two paygrade associated to the rank of Oberstleutnant...

 in the Polizei. During the Polish Campaign he was the Chief of Operations of the 3rd Police Regiment and the Chief of Staff to the senior police commander in the 14th Army.

Waffen SS

In September 1940, Freitag joined the Waffen SS and was posted onto the staff of 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...

. He was then posted to the 1 SS Infantry Brigade
1 SS Infantry Brigade
The 1 SS Infantry Brigade was a unit of the German Waffen SS formed from former concentration camp guards for service in the Soviet Union behind the main front line during the Second World War. They conducted anti-partisan operations in the rear of the advancing German army and were involved in...

 as the chief of staff and served 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...

 on Anti partisan operations and assisting the Einsatzgruppen
Einsatzgruppen
Einsatzgruppen were SS paramilitary death squads that were responsible for mass killings, typically by shooting, of Jews in particular, but also significant numbers of other population groups and political categories...

 in rounding up the Jewish population in the occupied territories.

Freitag was given his first Regimental command in December 1941, when he took over command of the 2nd SS Polizei Infantry Regiment still serving on the Eastern Front. He was promoted to Standartenführer
Standartenführer
Standartenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was used in the so-called Nazi combat-organisations: SA, SS, NSKK and the NSFK...

 for his performance in command of a kampfgruppe
Kampfgruppe
In military history and military slang, the German term Kampfgruppe can refer to a combat formation of any kind, but most usually to that employed by the German Wehrmacht and its allies during World War II and, to a lesser extent, in World War I...

 during the fighting in the Volchow pocket.

In January 1943, he was given temporary command of the 8th SS Cavalry Division Florian Geyer being replaced when becoming ill.

When he recovered he was given command of the 2 SS Infantry Brigade
2 SS Infantry Brigade
The 2 SS Infantry Brigade was formed on the 15 May 1941, under the command of Karl Fischer von Treuenfeld with the 4th and 5th SS Infantry Regiments and began its operational service in September in the rear area of Army Group North, under which command it would spend its entire existence...

 in April to August 1943. From 18 August 1943 till 20 October 1943 he was commander of 4th SS Polizei Division
4th SS Polizei Division
The SS Polizei Division was one of the thirty-eight divisions fielded as part of the Waffen-SS during World War II.The division was formed in 1939 as part of the Ordnungspolizei...

 of Waffen SS and then he was given command of the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Galicia (1st Ukrainian). 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...

 in September 1944.

Fritz Freitag committed suicide on 10 May 1945.

Further reading

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