Hermann Priess

[Helmut]

Servus,
When did Priess relinquish command of the SS-TK Division? How long was Karl Ullrich the acting commander?

Thanks in advance for any information.

Regards, Helmut

[John W. Howard]

Hello Helmut:
According to Sydnor, Preiss commanded SSTK for 9 months until July 13, 1944, when he left to take command of 1SSPzD. No word on Karl Ullrich being in temporary command, at least as mentioned in Sydnor's index. I hope this is of some help. Best wishes.

[Helmut]

Servus John,
Thanks for your help. I was reading the TK Divisional History and it said that Priess relinquished command in early July without giving an exact date. That is also where I got the info about Ullrich being in temporary command.

Thanks again for your help.

Regards,

Helmut

[dnl-panzerschreck]

To my best knowledge Priess assumed command of the Totenkopf division on 26 February 1943, succeeding Eicke who was killed in action. Priess was at that time also commander of the Totenkopf artillery regiment, a position he had had from September 1940.
He had this temporarily command until 27 April 1943 when he was succeeded by Lammerding (who came from SS-Sch.Rgt. "Thule"). Lammerding was then succeeded by Max Simon in May the same year. Simon commanded the Totenkopf division until October 1943, when he left to assume command of the 16. SS-Pz.Gren.Div. "Reichsführer-SS". Priess then returned as divisional commander until ultimo June 1944. In late summer 44, Priess was appointed commander of the XIII. SS-Armeekorps.

Ullrich commanded the SS-Pz.Gren.Rgt. 6 "Theodor Eicke" for a long period, and it is possible that he stepped in temporarily as divisional commander, but I don't have any evidence of this, I'm afraid. There is a slight possibility that Ullrich factually commanded the division between late June 1944 and 13th July 1944.
I have that Helmut Becker was appointed commander of the Totenkopf division in late June 1944, but I also have that he commanded SS-Pz.Gren.Rgt. 36 until 13 July 1944, so there is a possibility that Ullrich commanded the division until Becker arrived.
But I would like a confirmation on this.

That's what I have in my notes. There might be errors.

Henrik

[Marc Rikmenspoel]

Based mostly on what Ullrich wrote in his book Wie ein Fels im Meer, and the entries Mark Yerger has in his Waffen-SS Commanders set, I used the following names and dates in my Waffen-SS Encyclopedia.

Theodor Eicke was KIA on February 26, 1943.

Max Simon succeeded Eicke, commanding the Totenkopf Division from February 26, 1943 until early April of the same year. Simon had previously commanded the last elements of Totenkopf serving at Demyansk through October 1942, while Eicke raised the "new" Panzergrenadier Division Totenkopf in France, so he had a degree of experience at division level command, though for a much reduced division.

Hermann Priess then moved up from his command of the Totenkopf Artillerie Regiment, to command the entire division, holding this post from early April 1943 until June 20, 1944. He went on to command the XIII. SS-Armeekorps, and then the I. SS-Panzerkorps.

Karl Ullrich, the commander of SS-PGR 6 Theodor Eicke, held temporary command of the entire division from June 20, 1944 until July 13 of the same year. He went on to command the 5. SS-PD Wiking.

Hellmuth Becker arrived on July 13, 1944 to take command of the Totenkopf Division, and held this post till the end of the war. Up until taking the divisional command, he had been commanding SS-PGR 36 in the 16. SS-PGD RFSS in Italy, though he was a long time associate of Eicke in the pre-war SS-TV, and had served into the spring of 1943 in the Totenkopf Division, before moving on to its sister RFSS Division.