Walter Schimana was a German Nazi Party and SS member, who rose to General rank (SS

Schutzstaffel

The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...

-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

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...

 und Polizei

Ordnungspolizei

The Ordnungspolizei or Orpo were the uniformed regular police force in Nazi Germany between 1936 and 1945. It was increasingly absorbed into the Nazi police system. Owing to their green uniforms, they were also referred to as Grüne Polizei...

) 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 was HSSPF in occupied Greece from October 1943.

Early life

Schimana was born in Troppau, then part of Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...

, the son of a newspaper editor. In 1915, he entered the Prague

Prague

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

 cadets school, from which he graduated in December 1918. In 1920, he left the Austrian army with the rank of lieutenant, and was subsequently employed as a librarian and bank clerk.

NSDAP membership and early career

Schimana became an early member of the Nazi Party, on 7 December 1926 (Party-Nr. 49042), and joined the paramilitary SA

Sturmabteilung

The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...

 in Munich. After the Nazis came to power, he joined provost corps of the SA SA-Feldjerkorps then in 1935 he entered the uniformed Protection Police (Schutzpolizei

Schutzpolizei

The Schutzpolizei , or Schupo for short, is a branch of the Landespolizei, the state level police of the German states. Schutzpolizei literally means security or protection police but is best translated as Uniformed Police....

) with the rank of Captain. In 1936 he was transferred to the Gendarmerie as Major. After the Anschluss

Anschluss

The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....

, he was transferred to the Police Headquarters at 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...

 as Commander of the motorized Gendarmerie for Austria. On 15 August 1939 entered the SS with the rank of 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...

. At the outbreak of the war he took over command of a field gendarmerie battalion in Poland, France then General Gouvernement of Poland up to 1940. He held command of various schools of the motorized gendarmerie then staff duties into Main Office for Uniformed Police Hauptamt Ordnungspolizei from 1940 to 1941.

World War II and war crimes

On 4 September 1941, he was appointed SS and Police Leader

SS and Police Leader

SS and Police Leader was a title for senior Nazi officials that commanded large units of the SS, of Gestapo and of the regular German police during and prior to World War II.Three levels of subordination were established for bearers of this title:...

 (SSPF) for the Saratov

Saratov

-Modern Saratov:The Saratov region is highly industrialized, due in part to the rich in natural and industrial resources of the area. The region is also one of the more important and largest cultural and scientific centres in Russia...

 area, and later attached to the staff of the Higher SS and Police Leader (HSSPF) for Central Russia until July 1942, taking part in anti-partisan operations. From 21 July 1942 to 15 July 1943 he was SSPF of Belarussia, with headquarters at Minsk

Minsk

- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...

. Subsequently he underwent training as a divisional commander and was commander of the newly formed 14th "Galizien" SS Volunteers Division until October 1943. On 18 October, he was appointed HSSPF for Greece, in replacement to Jürgen Stroop

Jürgen Stroop

Jürgen Stroop, , was a high-ranking Nazi Party and Gestapo official during World War II. In 1952, he was extradited to Poland, convicted of war crimes, and hanged.-Early life:Jürgen Stroop was born in Detmold, in the Principality of Lippe, German Empire, the son of a police officer...

, a position he held until the withdrawal of German forces from the country in September–October 1944. He became actively engaged in carrying out the persecution of Greek Jews and the campaign against the Greek Resistance

Greek Resistance

The Greek Resistance is the blanket term for a number of armed and unarmed groups from across the political spectrum that resisted the Axis Occupation of Greece in the period 1941–1944, during World War II.-Origins:...

 movement. In this capacity he was instrumental in the formation of the infamous Security Battalions

Security Battalions

The Security Battalions were Greek collaborationist military groups, formed during the Axis occupation of Greece during World War II in order to support the German occupation troops.- History :...

. After the German withdrawal, he was appointed HSSPF of the Danube Sector

SS-Oberabschnitt Donau

SS-Oberabschnitt Donau was the primary division command of the Allgemeine-SS in the country of Austria. The Oberabschnitt was formed in 1934 under Alfred Rodenbücher as an early attempt to influence the Anschluss with Nazi Germany...

, with headquarters at Vienna, in which position he remained until the German capitulation.

He was captured by the Allies and imprisoned, but committed suicide before he could be brought to trial.

Awards

• 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....
  
  , Second & First Class
• 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 (7 August 1943)
• War Merit Cross
  War Merit Cross
  The War Merit Cross was a decoration of Nazi Germany during the Second World War, which could be awarded to civilians as well as military personnel...
  
   with Swords, 2nd Class
• Golden Party Badge
  Golden Party Badge
  The Golden Party Badge was a special badge of the Nazi Party. The first 100,000 members who had joined and had uninterrupted service in the Party were given the right to wear it...
  
   of the NSDAP
• SS Honour Ring
  SS-Ehrenring
  The SS-Ehrenring , unofficially called Totenkopfring , was an award of Heinrich Himmler's Schutzstaffel . It was not a state decoration, but rather a personal gift bestowed by Himmler...
  
  
• SA Sports Badge in Gold

Sources

• SS-GRUPPENFÜHRER & GENERALLEUTNANT DER POLIZEI (O-Z), from the Axis Biographical Research Walter Schimana, from olokaustos.org
• Andreas Schulz and Dieter Zinke Die Generale der Waffen-SS und der Polizei Band 4 Biblio Verlag 2009
• Phil Nix and Georges Jerome The Uniformed Police Forces of the Third Reich 1933-1945 Leandoer and Elkom Forlag 2006