Hermann Priess
| Hermann Priess | |
|---|---|
SS-Brigadeführer Hermann Priess
|
|
| Born |
24 May 1901 Marnitz, German Empire |
| Died | 2 February 1985 (aged 83) Ahrensburg, West Germany |
| Allegiance |
 German Empire (to 1918) Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany
|
| Service/branch |
 Reichsheer Waffen-SS
|
| Years of service | 1919–31, 1934–45 |
| Rank |
 Gruppenführer and Generalleutnant of the Waffen-SS |
| Service number |
NSDAP #1,472,296 SS #113,258 |
| Commands held |
SS Division Totenkopf I SS Panzer Corps |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords |
| Hermann Priess | |
|---|---|
| Criminal charge | Murder of over 300 Allied POWs and 100 Belgian civilians between December 16, 1944 and January 13, 1945 |
| Criminal penalty | 20 years imprisonment |
| Criminal status | Released in 1954 |
| Conviction(s) | War crimes committed as commander of I SS Panzer Corps |
Hermann Priess (24 May 1901 – 2 February 1985) was a German general in the Waffen-SS and a war criminal during World War II. He commanded the SS Division Totenkopf ("Death's Head") following the death of Theodor Eicke in February 1943. On 30 October 1944 he was appointed commander of the I SS Panzer Corps and led it during the Battle of the Bulge.
After the war, Priess was convicted of war crimes for his involvement in the Malmedy massacre, and was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. He was released from the Landsberg Prison in 1954.
Born in 1901, Priess volunteered for military service in the army of the German Empire in January 1919, which was transformed to the Reichsheer in the Weimar Republic. Due to the limitations imposed by the Treaty of Versailles, his regiment was disbanded. He then joined the paramilitary group Freikorps and fought against the Estonian War of Independence. In 1920, he returned to the army and was discharged in June 1931.
On 24 October 1944, Priess succeeded Georg Keppler as commander of I SS Panzer Corps. He led this formation, as part of the 6th Panzer Army, in the failed Ardennenoffensive, which was dubbed the Battle of Bulge. The objective of the offensive was to split the British and American line in half, so the Germans could then proceed to encircle and destroy four Allied armies, forcing the Western Allies to negotiate a peace treaty with the Axis Powers. Subordinated to I SS Panzer Corps was Kampfgruppe "Peiper", led by Joachim Peiper. Peiper's command was responsible for the Malmedy massacre, a war crime in which 84 American prisoners of war were murdered by their German captors near Malmedy, Belgium.
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