Joachim Peiper (SS #132) was born in Berlin, Germany, on Jan 30, 1915. His father, Waldemar Peiper, was a career Army officer in German’s Imperial Army who fought in East Africa during World War I. He married, in 1909, Charlotte Marie Schwartz from Berlin. Joachim Peiper had two brothers, Hans-Hasso and Horst (both in the SS, one drowned with the Bismark while the other was ’suicided’ in Poland for obscure reasons.
Peiper was just 18 when, in 1933, he decided to join his brother Horst in the Hitlerjugend. In order to learn riding, he first enlisted in the 7. SS Reiterstandarte, on Oct 12.
In 1934 he caught the attention of SS Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler who convinced him to enlist with the SS Verfügungstruppe. In 1935, Peiper attended the SS officer’s training school (Junkerschule) in Braunschweig and was commissioned the following year.
On Apr 1, 1936, he was transferred to the Leibstandarte, where he was later appointed adjutant to Himmler. He held this position until Aug 1941. During this period, he temporarily left his duties and actively took part in the Battle of France.
In August 1941, he returned to the front lines and commanded various infantry and panzer units within the Leibstandarte, by now expanded to a full division.
While on Himmler’s staff, Peiper also met and married his wife, Sigurd ‘Sigi’ Hinrichsen, (she war working in Himmler’ General Staff) with whom he had three children : Hinrich, Elke, and Silke. Himmler was particularly fond of Peiper and took a keen interest in his ascension towards command. By age 29, Peiper was a full colonel of the Waffen-SS, well respected and a holder of one of wartime Germany’s highest decorations, the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords, personally awarded to him by Adolf Hitler.
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Mar
02
2009
If the Krauts crack the defenses in the North Shoulder, they won’t surround the 101/AB Division in Bastogne, but the entire 1st Army in Belgium.
Feb
07
2009
Category : 12. SS Pzr Div, Waffen SS
The idea of a Waffen-SS division composed of Hitlerjugend members was first proposed by SS-Gruppenführer Gottlob Berger in Jan 1943. Berger approached Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler with the proposition, and Himmler soon became an enthusiastic advocate. The plan for a combat division made up of all HJ members born in 1926 was passed on to Adolf Hitler for his approval. Hitler was also enthusiastic about the idea, and on Feb 10 1943, the official order for the creation of an HJ division was issued. Berger nominated himself as the divisional commander, but Himmler instead chose 1 SS Panzergrenadier Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH) veteran, SS-Oberführer Fritz Witt.
A competition was held to design insignia for the new unit. The winning design, picked from thousands of entries, depicted the Hitlerjugend sigrune crossing a key from the 1 SS-Panzergrenadier-Division LSSAH’s insignia.
