Harmel, Heinz

Born on June 29, 1906 in the family of a surgeon of the 4th Magdeburg Infantry Regiment. In 1926, he volunteered for the Reichswehr in the 15th company of the 6th Infantry Regiment in Ratzeburg ). In 1928 he left the army as a corporal . In 1931 he became head of the Job Search Service Varteland, then an instructor at the Reichskuratoriums für Jugendertüchtigung sports school. On October 1, 1934, he was authorized to be the chief of AW ( Ausbildung ), which unites 250 sports schools. In the summer of 1935 he returned to Ratzenburger Jägern as reserve oberfeldwebel. October 2, 1935 received the title of Oberscharfuhrer SS 1 company "Germany" in Hamburg-Vettel. From January 1, 1937 - Untersturmfuhrer SS, platoon commander of the 7th company of the SS regiment “Deutschland” (Munich). On January 30, 1938, Heinz Harmel was awarded the title of SS Obersturmführer . After participating in the Anschluss of Austria in March 1938 (in Klagenfurt ) he was appointed commander of the 9th company of the SS regiment Der Führer. From January 30, 1939 - Hauptsturmfuhrer SS, from January 1, 1941 - Commander II / Der Fuhrer. In April 1941, distinguished himself in the battles for Belgrade and received the title of SS Sturmbanfuhrer . Subsequently, he became the commander of the SS regiment “Deutschland” and subsequently received the ranks of SS Obersturmbannführer, SS Standartenführer, SS Oberführer , SS Brigadeführer and Major General of the SS troops . April 27, 1944 was appointed commander of the 10th SS division. In May 1945 it was locked in villas ( Warranty ), but only in mid- June 1945 surrendered to the British . After returning from captivity, he worked as a sales representative. He died on September 2, 2000 in Krefeld .

Reichsfuhrer SS Himmler did not like Harmel because he signed a permission for the marriage of one of his subordinates with a French prostitute. Himmler even wanted to challenge him and send him to the disciplinary battalion, but Paul Hausser's intercession saved Harmel. Due to strained relations with the Reichshanni (Himmler's contemptuous nickname in the army), Harmel received the Knight's Cross for Kharkov without any ceremony. He wrote down this story from the words of Heinz Harmel and stated in his book “Kharkov. January-March 1943. Counter-strike of the SS Panzer Corps ”French historian Georges Bernage.

• Medal “In memory of October 1, 1938”
• Medal "In memory of March 22, 1939"
• Iron Cross of the 2nd class (1940) ^[1]
• 1st Class Iron Cross (1940) ^[1]
• Breast assault infantry badge in silver (December 4, 1940)
• German cross in gold (November 29, 1941) ^[2]
• Medal "For the Winter Campaign in the East 1941/42" (August 15, 1942)
• Breastplate "For the wounded" in black (March 21, 1943)
• Breastplate "For close combat" in bronze, in silver (September 10, 1943)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with oak leaves and swords
  • Knight's Cross (March 31, 1943) ^[3]
  • oak leaves (No. 296) (September 7, 1943)
  • swords (No. 116) (December 15, 1943)
• Patch “For the destroyed tank”
• Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht (July 16, 1944)

• Florian Berger. Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern. Die höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges. - 2. - Wien: Selbstverlag Florian Berger, 2000 .-- 415 p. - ISBN 3-9501307-0-5 .
• Walther-Peer Fellgiebel . Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945. - Friedburg: Podzun-Pallas, 1986.- 472 p. - ISBN 3-790-90284-5 .
• Bernage, Georges. "Janiver-mars 1943. Charkov. Le corps blinde SS contre-attaque. " 1998. ISBN 5-699-19434-7 .

• Biography of Heinz Harmel on the website www.ritterkreuztraeger-1939-45.de (German)