Otto Kumm

Otto Kumm
Born	1 November 1909(1909-11-01) Hamburg
Died	23 March 2004(2004-03-23) (aged 94) Offenburg
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Waffen SS
Rank	SS-Brigadeführer and Generalmajor of the Waffen-SS
Commands held	7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen; 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH)
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords

Otto Kumm, (1 October 1909 in Hamburg – 23 March 2004) was an SS-Brigadeführer and Generalmajor of the Waffen-SS. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. After the war, he became one of the founders and the first head of the veteran organization HIAG.

Division Commander

SS-Brigadeführer Otto Kumm was officially appointed the new Division Commander of the 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH) as of 15 February 1945.^[1] This after the LSSAH had been transferred to Hungary to bolster the crumbling situation and the prior LSSAH Division Commander, SS-Brigadeführer Mohnke was injured in an air raid.^[2]

Eastern Front 1945

Main article: Operation Frühlingserwachen

As the division commander, Otto Kumm and the LSSAH took part in Operation Spring Awakening (Frühlingserwachen) (6 March 1945 – 16 March 1945). It was the last major German offensive launched during World War II on 6 March 1945. The Germans launched attacks in Hungary near the Lake Balaton area on the Eastern Front. This area included some of the last oil reserves still available to the Germans. Almost inevitably, Operation Spring Awakening was a failure. Despite early gains the offensive was far too ambitious in scope. After the failure of Operation Spring Awakening, Sepp Dietrich's 6th SS Panzer Army and the LSSAH retreated to the Vienna area.^[3] The Germans desperately prepared defensive positions in an attempt to guard the city against the fast arriving Soviets, in what become known as the Vienna Offensive.

Final days

Otto Kumm in 1943

After Vienna fell, the LSSAH was recorded by the German Army High Command (Oberkommando der Wehrmacht or OKW), from 20 April to 2 May, to have moved from Zossen (near Berlin) to the area of Mürwik (part of Flensburg in northern Germany, near Denmark). There Otto Kumm and the LSSAH surrendered to the advancing British forces.^[4] The rest of the LSSAH (made up of the Leibstandarte SS Guard Battalion assigned to guard the Führer) ended its fighting days in Berlin.^[5]

Post-war

Otto Kumm survived the war and went on to become a successful businessman. Kumm was a founder and the first head of the Waffen SS veteran organization, HIAG. He died on the 23 March 2004. At the time of his death, Kumm was the last surviving SS-Brigadeführer and Generalmajor of the Waffen-SS. He was also the last surviving Waffen-SS holder of Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords.

Awards

• Iron Cross 2nd and 1st Class
• Wound Badge in Black
• Infantry Assault Badge in Silver
• German Cross in Gold (29 November 1941)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
  • Knight's Cross (16 February 1942)
  • 221. Oak Leaves (6 April 1943)
  • 138. Swords (17 March 1945)

Citations

1. ^ Fischer, Thomas. Soldiers of the Leibstandarte, J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing, Inc. 2008, p 41.
2. ^ Fischer, Thomas. Soldiers of the Leibstandarte, J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing, Inc. 2008, p 41.
3. ^ Dollinger, Hans. The Decline and Fall of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, Crown, 1968, p 199.
4. ^ Dollinger, Hans. The Decline and Fall of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, Crown, 1968, p 177.
5. ^ Fischer, Thomas. Soldiers of the Leibstandarte, J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing, Inc. 2008, pp 42-43.

References

• Berger, Florian (2000). Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern. Die höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges (With oak leaves and swords: the highest decorated soldiers of World War II). Selbstverlag Florian Berger. ISBN 3-9501307-0-5. (German)
• Dollinger, Hans. The Decline and Fall of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number 67-27047
• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000). Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 (The holders of the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross, 1939–1945). Friedburg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5. (German)
• Fischer, Thomas (2008). Soldiers Of the Leibstandarte. J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-921991-91-5.
• Patzwall, Klaus D. and Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941–1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II (The German Cross 1930–1945: History and holders, vol. 2). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 3-931533-45-X. (German)
• Schaulen, Fritjof (2004). Eichenlaubträger 1940 - 1945 Zeitgeschichte in Farbe II Ihlefeld -Primozic (in German). Selent, Germany: Pour le Mérite. ISBN 3-932381-21-1.

External links

Military of Germany portal

• Otto Kumm @ lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de (German)

Military offices
Preceded by SS-Brigadeführer Karl Reichsritter von Oberkamp	Commander of 7. SS-Freiw.GebirgsDiv "Prinz Eugen" January 30, 1944 - January 20, 1945	Succeeded by SS-Brigadeführer August Schmidthuber
Preceded by SS-Brigadeführer Wilhelm Mohnke	Commander of 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler February 15, 1945 - May 8, 1945	Succeeded by none

Persondata
Name	Kumm, Otto
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1 November 1909
Place of birth	Hamburg
Date of death	23 March 2004
Place of death	Offenburg