Name Wilhelm von | Died 1939, Poland | |
Wilhelm Fritz von Roettig (25 July 1888 – 10 September 1939) was a general in the Waffen-SS who participated in the invasion of Poland. He was the first general to be killed in World War II. Von Roettig held the ranks of Generalmajor der Ordnungspolizei and SS Brigadeführer.
Von Roettig was killed at about 14:15 on 10 September 1939, near Opoczno, Poland. He was killed when his staff car was ambushed by Polish troops armed with heavy machine guns. Von Roettig was subsequently shot in the head. The next general to die after Von Roettig was the Polish general Józef Kustroń, who died on 16 September. Subsequently, the next German general to die was Werner von Fritsch, who was killed on 22 September.
As a memorial to him, a street in occupied Prague was named after him during the German occupation of the city.