Wilhelm Schepmann
Encyclopedia
Wilhelm Schepmann was an SA
officer (Obergruppenführer
) in Nazi Germany
and the last Stabschef (Chief of Staff) of the Nazi Stormtroopers.
as Stabschef (SA)
after Lutze was killed in a car accident. He began working to restore the morale
within and the esteem of the SA and also began cooperating with the SS. He stated, "I will support the Waffen-SS just as much as any other part of the armed forces. The Waffen-SS has been heroic."
Schepmann managed to have units in the Heer
(Panzerkorps Feldherrnhalle), Kriegsmarine
, and Luftwaffe
(Jagdgeschwader 6
Horst Wessel
) given SA honour titles, and even a Waffen-SS
division (18. SS Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Division Horst Wessel
).
Following the war he became involved in the All-German Bloc/League of Expellees and Deprived of Rights
. In the early 1950s he served as a member of the Landtag of Lower Saxony in West Germany
.
He is the father of Richard Schepmann, head of the Neo-Nazi publishing house Teut-Verlag, who was jailed in 1983 for inciting racial hatred.
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...
officer (Obergruppenführer
Obergruppenführer
Obergruppenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the SA and until 1942 it was the highest SS rank inferior only to Reichsführer-SS...
) in 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...
and the last Stabschef (Chief of Staff) of the Nazi Stormtroopers.
Biography
He succeeded Viktor LutzeViktor Lutze
Viktor Lutze was the commander of the Sturmabteilung succeeding Ernst Röhm as Stabschef.-Early life:...
as Stabschef (SA)
Stabschef (SA)
For other uses of the term "Stabschef" please refer to Chief of StaffStabschef was an office and paramilitary rank in the Sturmabteilung , the paramilitary stormtroopers associated with the Nazi movement...
after Lutze was killed in a car accident. He began working to restore the morale
Morale
Morale, also known as esprit de corps when discussing the morale of a group, is an intangible term used to describe the capacity of people to maintain belief in an institution or a goal, or even in oneself and others...
within and the esteem of the SA and also began cooperating with the SS. He stated, "I will support the Waffen-SS just as much as any other part of the armed forces. The Waffen-SS has been heroic."
Schepmann managed to have units in the Heer
German Army
The German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force...
(Panzerkorps Feldherrnhalle), Kriegsmarine
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
, and Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
(Jagdgeschwader 6
Jagdgeschwader 6
Jagdgeschwader 6 Horst Wessel was a Luftwaffe fighter-wing of World War II. The first Geschwaderkommodore was Oberstleutnant Johann Kogler who became a POW during the Operation Bodenplatte when he crashed and was taken prisoner by British troops on 1 January 1945.JG 6 was created on October 13,...
Horst Wessel
Horst Wessel
Horst Ludwig Wessel was a German Nazi activist who was made a posthumous hero of the Nazi movement following his violent death in 1930...
) given SA honour titles, and even a 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...
division (18. SS Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Division Horst Wessel
18th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Horst Wessel
The 18th SS Volunteer Panzer Grenadier Division Horst Wessel was formed in 1944 around a cadre from the 1 SS Infantry Brigade and included mainly Hungarian ethnic Germans or Volksdeutsche .It was used for anti-partisan duties until it was sent to the Eastern...
).
Following the war he became involved in the All-German Bloc/League of Expellees and Deprived of Rights
All-German Bloc/League of Expellees and Deprived of Rights
The All-German Bloc/League of Expellees and Deprived of Rights was a right-wing political party in West Germany, which acted as an advocacy group of the Germans fled and expelled in and after World War II.-History:...
. In the early 1950s he served as a member of the Landtag of Lower Saxony in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
.
He is the father of Richard Schepmann, head of the Neo-Nazi publishing house Teut-Verlag, who was jailed in 1983 for inciting racial hatred.
Dates of rank
- SA-GruppenführerGruppenführerGruppenführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party, first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA.-SS rank:...
: April 1934 - SA-ObergruppenführerObergruppenführerObergruppenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the SA and until 1942 it was the highest SS rank inferior only to Reichsführer-SS...
: (?) - Acting Stabschef SA: 2 May 1943
- Stabschef SA: 9 November 1943
Notable decorations
- 1914 Iron CrossIron CrossThe 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 Class (?) - 1939 Iron CrossIron CrossThe 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....
First Class (1939) - War Merit CrossWar Merit CrossThe 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...
Second (?) and First (?) Classes without Swords - Long Service Award of the NSDAP in Bronze (?), Silver (?), and Gold (?)
- Clasp to the Iron CrossClasp to the Iron CrossThe Clasp to the Iron Cross was a metal medal clasp displayed on the uniforms of German Wehrmacht personnel who had been awarded the Iron Cross in World War I. It was displayed on the uniforms of many high ranking officers during World War II as most had also served in World War I...
Second Class (1939) - WWI Wound BadgeWound BadgeWound 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 (1918) - SA Sports Badge (?)
- Golden Party BadgeGolden Party BadgeThe 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...
(1933) - Cross of HonorCross of HonorThe Cross of Honor, also known as the Honor Cross or, popularly, the Hindenburg Cross, was a commemorative medal inaugurated on July 13, 1934 by Reichspräsident Paul von Hindenburg for those soldiers of Imperial Germany who fought in World War I...
(1934) - Anschluss MedalAnschluss MedalThe Anschluss Commemorative Medal was a decoration of Nazi Germany awarded in the interwar period.-Description:Instituted on May 1, 1938, the medal commemorated the return of Austria to the German Reich...
(1938) - Sudetenland MedalSudetenland MedalThe The Sudetenland Commemorative Medal was a decoration of Nazi Germany awarded in the interwar period.-Description:...
(1938) - Gau Sudetenland Commemorative Badge (1943)
- Civil Service Faithful Service Medal in SilverCivil Service Faithful Service Medal In SilverThe Civil Service Faithful Service Medal in Silver was founded on the 30th of January 1938, as a reward for civilians in the employ of the public services for 25 years or more of faithful service.The award was a silver cross, with silver wreath and a black enameled swastika in the center...
(?)