Paul Hausser facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Paul Hausser
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Hausser in 1943
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| Born | 7 October 1880 Brandenburg an der Havel, Brandenburg, German Empire |
| Died | 21 December 1972 (aged 92) Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany |
| Buried |
Munich Waldfriedhof
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| Allegiance |  German Empire Weimar Republic Nazi Germany |
| Service/ |
 Waffen-SS |
| Years of service | 1892–1932 1934–1945 |
| Rank | SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer |
| Service number | NSDAP #4,138,779 SS #239,795 |
| Commands held | SS Division Das Reich II SS Panzer Corps Seventh Army |
| Battles/wars | World War I World War II
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| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords |
| Other work | Founder of HIAG, Waffen-SS lobby group |
Paul Hausser (1880–1972) was a German general. He became a high-ranking commander in the Waffen-SS during World War II. After the war, he worked to improve the public image of the Waffen-SS.
He was an officer in the Prussian Army during World War I. Later, he joined the SS and helped create the Waffen-SS. In World War II, he became a top commander. He led troops in important battles like Kharkov, Kursk, and the Normandy Campaign.
After the war, he helped start HIAG. This group worked to restore the rights of former Waffen-SS members. Hausser wrote books claiming the Waffen-SS was a regular military force. He said they were "soldiers like any other" and not involved in war crimes. Historians have since shown these ideas are not true.
Early Life and Military Career
Paul Hausser was born on October 7, 1880. His family in Brandenburg an der Havel had a history of military service. He joined the army in 1892.
In 1899, he finished cadet training. He became a lieutenant in an infantry regiment. Hausser also graduated from the Prussian Military Academy in Berlin in 1911. He married Elisabeth Gerard in 1912. They had one daughter and stayed married until his death.
During World War I, he worked in the German General Staff. He served on the Eastern Front from 1916 to 1918. He was promoted to major in 1918. After the war, he stayed in the Reichswehr (German army). He became a colonel by 1927.
Hausser retired from the Reichswehr in 1932. He was a lieutenant general at that time. He had held several important positions. These included chief of staff for a military district. He also commanded an infantry regiment.
After retiring, Hausser joined a veterans' group called Der Stahlhelm. He became a leader for the group in Brandenburg-Berlin. This group later became part of the Sturmabteilung (SA). When the SA was dissolved, he joined the SS.
His Role in the SS
In November 1934, Hausser joined the SS-Verfügungstruppe (SS-VT). These were special SS troops. He was sent to the SS-Junkerschule Bad Tölz. In 1936, he became the Inspector of the SS-VT.
In this role, Hausser was in charge of training these troops. He taught them military skills and Nazi ideas. However, he did not have full command over them. Heinrich Himmler made decisions about where the troops would go. Adolf Hitler wanted these troops to be only under his control.
Hausser was an observer during the 1939 invasion of Poland. He was with the Wehrmacht/SS Panzer Division Kempf. In October 1939, the SS-VT became a motorized infantry division. It was called the SS-Verfügungs-Division. Hausser was its commander.
He led this division, later named 2nd SS Division Das Reich, in the Battle of France in 1940. He also led them in the early parts of Operation Barbarossa in the Soviet Union. For his service, he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in 1941. He also received the Oak Leaves in 1943. He was badly wounded and lost an eye.
After recovering, he commanded the new SS-Panzer Corps. It was later renamed II SS Panzer Corps. He went against Hitler's orders and pulled his troops out of Kharkov. This was to prevent them from being surrounded. He led the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd SS divisions during the Battle of Kursk.
After Kursk, his Corps was reorganized. It was sent to Italy, then to France. He commanded them during the early stages of the Normandy Campaign. After another commander died, Hausser took command of the Seventh Army.
During the Falaise encirclement in 1944, Hausser was seriously wounded again. He was shot in the jaw. He was promoted to SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer in August 1944. He then commanded Army Group Oberrhein and later Army Group G. He ended the war working for Field Marshal Albert Kesselring.
At the Nuremberg Trials, Hausser said the Waffen-SS was only a military group. He denied they were involved in war crimes.
After the War
Working for the U.S. Army
After the war, Hausser worked with the U.S. Army Historical Division. Under Franz Halder's guidance, German generals wrote studies about World War II. Hausser wrote about the Seventh Army's actions in Normandy. This study was published in 2004.
Leading a Veterans' Group
From 1950, Hausser was active in HIAG. This was a group for former Waffen-SS members. HIAG started as small local groups. By 1951, it had many branches across West Germany. In December 1951, Hausser became its first spokesperson.
HIAG began to get public attention. Some people thought it was a neo-Nazi group. Hausser wrote a letter to the Bundestag (German parliament). He denied these claims. He said HIAG was a group for former Waffen-SS troops. He stated its members were "upstanding citizens" and rejected extremism.
HIAG tried to change how history remembered the Waffen-SS. They used many ways to spread their message. This included magazines, books, and public speeches. They even had their own publishing house, Munin Verlag. This publisher aimed to share "war stories" from former Waffen-SS members.
His Books
Paul Hausser's 1953 book, Waffen-SS im Einsatz ("Waffen-SS in Action"), was important for HIAG. It was published by a right-wing publisher. A foreword by General Heinz Guderian praised the Waffen-SS. He called them "the first realization of the European idea."
The book said the Waffen-SS grew into a multinational force. It claimed foreign volunteers fought bravely for a "great European idea." Historians disagree with this view. They say it was Nazi propaganda to get more foreign volunteers. HIAG later used this idea to try and clear the Waffen-SS's name. The book was put on a list of books harmful to young people in West Germany. This was because it promoted nationalism and violence.
Hausser wrote another book in 1966. It was published by HIAG's own publisher. The title was Soldaten wie andere auch ("Soldiers Like Any Other"). Historians say this book showed how HIAG leaders wanted the Waffen-SS to be remembered.
Hausser's books, along with others by HIAG members, tried to defend the Waffen-SS. They presented its members as victims and heroes.
Changing History
By the mid-1950s, Hausser and HIAG tried to separate the Waffen-SS from other SS groups. They blamed other SS units for crimes. These included the Allgemeine-SS (security and police), the SS-Totenkopfverbände (concentration camp guards), and the Einsatzgruppen (mobile killing units). HIAG wanted the Waffen-SS to be seen as a "clean" military force, like the regular German army.
Hausser continued to deny any link between the Waffen-SS and Nazi crimes. In 1957, he wrote that concentration camp guards "merely served as external guards." He did not mention that guards went with prisoners on work details. He also didn't say that camp commanders often came from the Waffen-SS. This view ignored how the SS was organized. Waffen-SS members could be transferred to other SS units. They also sometimes performed "pacification actions," which were violent operations.
A historian named Karsten Wilke studied HIAG. He noted that by the 1970s, HIAG controlled how the Waffen-SS was seen historically. Their message had four main points:
- The Waffen-SS was not involved in politics.
- It was an elite fighting force.
- It was innocent of all war crimes.
- It was a European army, a model for Europe.
Historians strongly disagree with HIAG's claims. They call them "fantasies." Historian James M. Diehl said HIAG's claim that the Waffen-SS was the "fourth branch of the Wehrmacht" was false. He called their idea that it was a precursor to NATO "even more outrageous."
Hausser's last project for HIAG was a large picture book. It was called Wenn alle Brüder schweigen ("When All Our Brothers Are Silent"). Hausser led this project. Joachim Peiper, a convicted Nazi war criminal, also contributed. The book was released in 1973.
Paul Hausser died on December 21, 1972, in Ludwigsburg. He was 92 years old.
Summary of His Military and SS Ranks
Dates of Rank
- Leutnant: March 20, 1899
- Oberleutnant: August 19, 1909
- Hauptmann i.G.: March 1, 1914
- Major: March 22, 1918
- Oberstleutnant: April 1, 1923
- Oberst: November 1, 1927
- Generalmajor: February 1, 1931
- Charakter als Generalleutnant: January 31, 1932
- SA-Standartenführer SAR: March 1, 1934
- SS-Standartenführer: November 15, 1934
- SS-Oberführer: July 1, 1935
- SS-Brigadeführer: May 22, 1936
- SS-Gruppenführer: June 1, 1938
- Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS: November 19, 1940
- SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS: October 1, 1941
- SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer und Generaloberst der Waffen-SS: August 1, 1944
Awards and Decorations
- Iron Cross (1914) 2nd and 1st Class
- Bavarian Military Merit Order 4th Class with Swords
- Albert Order 1st Class with Swords
- Friedrich Order 1st Class with Swords
- Frederickscross
- House Order of Hohenzollern
- Austrian Order of the Iron Crown 3rd Class with war decoration (July 11, 1918)
- Wound Badge in Silver (May 9, 1942)
- Clasp to the Iron Cross (2nd Class & 1st Class)
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
- Knight's Cross on August 8, 1941, as commander of SS Division Das Reich
- Oak Leaves on July 28, 1943, as commanding general of the SS Panzer Corps
- Swords on August 26, 1944, as commander of the 7th Army
His Published Works
Hausser wrote two books:
- Waffen-SS im Einsatz (Waffen SS in Action), Plesse Verlag: Göttingen (1953)
- Soldaten wie andere auch (Soldiers Like Any Other), Munin Verlag: Osnabrück (1966)
Hausser's study on the 7th Army is in this book:
- Fighting the Breakout: The German Army in Normandy from COBRA to the Falaise Gap (contributor) (2004). Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. ISBN: 978-1-85367-584-3
Images for kids
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Hausser in 1943
See also
In Spanish: Paul Hausser para niños
