Theodor Scherer
| Theodor Scherer | |
|---|---|
Theodor Scherer
|
|
| Born |
17 September 1889 Höchstädt an der Donau |
| Died | 17 May 1951 (aged 61) Ludwigsburg |
| Allegiance |
 German Empire Weimar Republic Nazi Germany
|
| Service/branch | Army |
| Years of service | 1909–20 1935–45 |
| Rank | Generalleutnant |
| Commands held | 281st Security Division |
| Battles/wars |
World War II |
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves |
| Other work | Police officer |
Theodor Scherer (17 September 1889 – 17 May 1951) was a German general and divisional commander in the Wehrmacht during World War II. Scherer was commissioned into the army in 1910 and served during World War I. For the next 15 years, he served as a police officer; he rejoined the army in 1935. In 1940 he was given command of an infantry regiment, which took part in the invasion of France and the Low Countries.
In October 1941, Scherer took command of 281st Security Division, stationed in Kholm, in the occupied Soviet Union. (The security divisions were not frontline combat formations, but were posted to the rear area and engaged in eliminating any form of resistance, real or imagined, including partisans, communists, Red Army stragglers, Jews and Roma.) In January 1942, the division, along with other Wehrmacht and police units, was encircled at Kholm, and was not relieved until 5 May 1942. For his defense of the Kholm Pocket, Scherer was decorated with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 20 February 1942.
Scherer was subsequently appointed commander of the 34th and then the 83rd Infantry Division. The division was deployed in Velikije Luki on the left flank of Army Group Center, when it was encircled by the Soviet 3rd Shock Army in November 1942 and subsequently destroyed by mid-January 1943. Scherer then served in a staff role in the 4th Panzer Army and at the end of the war was in charge of the defence of the Schwarzen Elster river, near the Elbe. He was killed in a car accident at Ludwigsburg in May 1951.
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