Allegiance Nazi Germany Role SS officer Years of service 1933–45 Battles and wars World War II | Battles/wars World War II Service/branch Waffen-SS Name Rudolf Lehmann Rank Standartenfuhrer | |
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Born 30 January 1914
Heidelberg, Grand Duchy of Baden, German Empire ( 1914-01-30 ) Service number NSDAP #3,143,188
SS #111,883 Commands held Panzerspahzug platoon Germania
14th Company SS Germania
2nd SS Panzer Division Awards Knights Cross with Oakleaves
Iron Cross 1st Class
Iron Cross 2nd Class
German Cross in Gold Died September 13, 1983, Ettlingen, Germany Unit 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich, I SS Panzer Corps | ||
Rudolf Lehmann (30 January 1914 – 13 September 1983) was a mid-ranking commander the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Following the war, Lehmann authored a unit history of SS Division Leibstandarte published in German by HIAG, the post-war Waffen-SS lobby group, and in English by J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing.
Contents
Career
Born in 1914, Lehmann joined the Waffen-SS in April 1935. He was then posted to the Germania regiment of the SS, which later became SS Division Das Reich, and then to the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler in October 1940. In late 1944, Lehmann moved to the 1st SS Panzer Corps as chief of staff. He remained in this position until March 1945, when he was made divisional commander of the SS Division Das Reich. He led the division through Operation Spring Awakening, the battles around Lake Balaton and Vienna.
After the war, Lehmann authored volumes I and III of the apologetic unit history of the Leibstandarte produced under the auspices of HIAG, a lobby group and a revisionist veteran's organisation established by former high-ranking Waffen-SS personnel. The works were published in 1977–82 by the right-wing publishing house Munin-Verlag. Lehmann died in 1983.
Awards
Lehmann was nominated for Oak Leaves towards the end of the war. No credible evidence of the award can be found in the German Federal Archives. The Oak Leaves award was unlawfully presented by Sepp Dietrich on 6 May 1945, which was announced by the 6th Panzer Army.