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SS-Panzerdivision "Totenkopf") [1] was an elite division of the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany during World War II, formed from the Standarten of the SS-TV. Its name, Totenkopf , is German for "death's head" – the skull and crossbones symbol – and it is thus sometimes referred to as the Death's Head Division .
The men of Totenkopf fought fiercely throughout the campaign, suffering higher death rates than other German forces. [6] The Battle of France was SS Division Totenkopf ' s first major engagement of the Second World War. The division, part of the reserves of Army Group A, was called to the front line on 17 May.
Commander of 3rd SS Division Totenkopf following the death of Theodor Eicke in February 1943. Commanding officer of the 1st SS-Panzerkorps "Leibstandarte" during the Battle of the Bulge. Hermann Prieß was convicted of war crimes because of his involvement in the Malmedy massacre and was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. He was released in 1954.
SS-Totenkopf-Infanterie-Regiment, [56] and assigned to the Totenkopf Division 10/39. 3rd TK-Standarte 'Thüringen'. Formed 1937 at Buchenwald. During the Polish invasion conducted so-called "security operations" behind the lines, which were operations of terrorizing and murdering the Polish civilian population. [26] Redesignated 3.
Division Name (in German) Ethnic composition Named after Years Active Insignia Maximum Manpower 1st: Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler: Germans and 300 Italians after 8/9/1943: Life Regiment Adolf Hitler: 1933–1945: 22,000 (1944) [2] 2nd: Das Reich: Germans: Greater Germanic Reich: 1939–1945: 19,021 (1941) [1] 3rd: Totenkopf: Germans: Totenkopf ...
The XLVIII Panzer Corps was composed of the 6th, 11th and 17th Panzer Divisions, while the SS Panzer Corps was organized with the 1st SS, 2nd SS and 3rd SS Panzer Division. [35] In early February, the combined strength of the SS Panzer Corps was an estimated 20,000 soldiers.
Both the 3rd SS Panzer Division of the Waffen-SS, and the World War II era Luftwaffe's 54th Bomber Wing Kampfgeschwader 54 were given the unit name "Totenkopf", and used a strikingly similar-looking graphic skull-crossbones insignia as the SS units of the same name. The 3rd SS Panzer Division also had skull patches on their uniform collars ...
Leading his pioneer company in both the Polish and Western campaign, he earned the Iron Cross second and first class in quick succession. Staying with his unit for the Greek campaign, in May 1941 he was transferred to the SS Division Totenkopf, where he took command of 3rd pioneer battalion.