Otto Kron
Encyclopedia
Otto Wilhelm Kron was a Obersturmbannführer
(Lieutenant Colonel) 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.
, Rheinpfalz on the 28 February 1911. He studied Law at the University of Würzburg
and was one of the early members of the Allgemeine-SS joining on the 1 October 1931 (SS number 31.441), he later joined the NSDAP on the 1 May 1933 (Party number 3.061.726).
Otto Kron quickly rose through the ranks of the SS and by 1935 he had been selected to become an officer and was promoted to Untersturmführer
(Second Lieutenant) and was assigned to the SS-Totenkopfverbände
(concentration camps guards) in Oberbayern at Dachau
in 1937 and 1938.
On the 13 March 1938 he was involved in the Anschluss
of Austria
and in October 1938 the occupation of the Sudetenland
.
he was awarded the Iron Cross
2nd class in June 1940 for the Battle of France
.
Otto Kron was also involved in the invasion of the Soviet Union
(Operation Barbarossa
) being awarded the Iron Cross 1st class in December 1941 and the Eastern Front Medal
awarded to all who suffered through the first Russian winter of the war in 1941/42 and awarded the Knight's Cross in August 1942, while in command of the 3rd SS Flak Battalion.
In April 1943 he took over command of the 3rd SS Reconnaissance Battalion, SS Totenkopf . During the Battle of Kharkov
, Kron was severely wounded and served the rest of the war in Germany with a shortened stiff leg.
Obersturmbannführer
Obersturmbannführer was a paramilitary Nazi Party rank used by both the SA and the SS. It was created in May 1933 to fill the need for an additional field grade officer rank above Sturmbannführer as the SA expanded. It became an SS rank at the same time...
(Lieutenant 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...
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
Otto Wilhelm Kron was born in SpeyerSpeyer
Speyer is a city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located beside the river Rhine, Speyer is 25 km south of Ludwigshafen and Mannheim. Founded by the Romans, it is one of Germany's oldest cities...
, Rheinpfalz on the 28 February 1911. He studied Law at the University of Würzburg
University of Würzburg
The University of Würzburg is a university in Würzburg, Germany, founded in 1402. The university is a member of the distinguished Coimbra Group.-Name:...
and was one of the early members of the Allgemeine-SS joining on the 1 October 1931 (SS number 31.441), he later joined the NSDAP on the 1 May 1933 (Party number 3.061.726).
Otto Kron quickly rose through the ranks of the SS and by 1935 he had been selected to become an officer and was promoted to Untersturmführer
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...
(Second Lieutenant) and was assigned to the SS-Totenkopfverbände
SS-Totenkopfverbände
SS-Totenkopfverbände , meaning "Death's-Head Units", was the SS organization responsible for administering the Nazi concentration camps for the Third Reich....
(concentration camps guards) in Oberbayern at Dachau
Dachau
Dachau is a town in Upper Bavaria, in the southern part of Germany. It is a major district town—a Große Kreisstadt—of the administrative region of Upper Bavaria, about 20 km north-west of Munich. It is now a popular residential area for people working in Munich with roughly 40,000 inhabitants...
in 1937 and 1938.
On the 13 March 1938 he was involved 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 in October 1938 the occupation 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...
.
World War II
After the Polish Campaign Otto Kron was one of the cadre member of the SS Totenkopf Division when it was formed in October 1939, being given command of the 4th Company, Totenkopf,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 June 1940 for the Battle of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
.
Otto Kron was also involved 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 December 1941 and the Eastern Front Medal
Eastern Front Medal
The Eastern Front Medal, , more commonly known as the Ostmedaille was instituted on May 26, 1942 to mark service on the German Eastern Front during the period November 15, 1941 to April 15, 1942...
awarded to all who suffered through the first Russian winter of the war in 1941/42 and awarded the Knight's Cross in August 1942, while in command of the 3rd SS Flak Battalion.
In April 1943 he took over command of the 3rd SS Reconnaissance Battalion, SS Totenkopf . During the Battle of Kharkov
Third Battle of Kharkov
The Third Battle of Kharkov was a series of offensive operations on the Eastern Front of World War II, undertaken by the German Army Group South against the Red Army, around the city of Kharkov , between 19 February and 15 March 1943...
, Kron was severely wounded and served the rest of the war in Germany with a shortened stiff leg.