Herbert Otto Gille
| Herbert Otto Gille | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 8 March 1897 |
| Died | 26 December 1966 (aged 69) |
| Allegiance |
 German Empire Weimar Republic Nazi Germany
|
| Service/branch |
Army Waffen-SS |
| Years of service | 1914–19 1934–45 |
| Rank | SS-Obergruppenführer |
| Service number |
NSDAP #537,337 SS #39,854 |
| Commands held | |
| Battles/wars |
World War II |
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds |
| Other work | HIAG, Waffen-SS lobby group |
Herbert Otto Gille (8 March 1897, Gandersheim – 26 December 1966, Stemmen) was a high-ranking commander in the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds, making him the most highly decorated Waffen-SS member of the war. After the war, Gille became active in HIAG, a lobby group and a revisionist veteran's organisation founded by former high-ranking Waffen-SS personnel in West Germany in 1951.
Gille served in World War I and won the Iron Cross First and Second Classes. Gille joined the Nazi Party and the SS in 1931. In 1934 he joined the SS combat support forces. As the commander of a battalion in an SS-V regiment, Gille participated in the invasion of Poland and in the western campaign. In 1940 he was appointed a regimental commander in the , led by Felix Steiner.
Gille was released in 1948. In the early 1950s, Gille became active in HIAG, a lobby group and a revisionist veteran's organisation founded by former high-ranking Waffen-SS personnel in West Germany to campaign for their legal, economic and historical rehabilitation. Gille, alongside Felix Steiner, Otto Kumm and Paul Hausser, became an early leading figure within HIAG. In 1951 Gille launched the periodical ("Viking Call"). Initially it was aimed at the veterans of the SS Division . Within its first year of existence, in 1952, it became the official publication of HIAG and was eventually renamed to Der Freiwillige ("The Volunteer").
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