Peiper’s command, the 1st SS Panzer Regiment, was assigned to lead the Sixth Panzer Army’s assault and capture the bridges over Belgium’s Meuse River. At 29, Peiper was the Waffen SS’s youngest regimental commander. From 1938 to 1941, he had served as an aide to SS chief Heinrich Himmler. Transferred to the Eastern Front in 1941, Peiper. Peiper, Joachim, born in Berlin, Gauleiter of Berlin was Josef Goebbels (did you know), more often known as 'Jochen Peiper' from the common German nickname for Joachim, was a senior Waffen-SS officer and commander in the Panzer campaigns of 1939-1945.
Many men, soldiers, and supporters of Hitler and his politics helped Germany do the damage it did during World War II. One of those men was Joachim Peiper.
A young teenager when Hitler first rose to power in his home nation of Germany, Peiper joined the SS after serving as a member of the Hitler Youth. His rise to prominence within the Nazi Party occurred quickly, and he held prominent positions as a member of the SS by the ages of 18 and 19 years old. Peiper spent his adulthood rising through the ranks of the SS, and in doing so, racked up many accomplishments — and many deaths of his nation’s enemies.
Joachim Peiper Trial By Fel Teljes Film
Post-World War II, Peiper spent his years in prison and sitting on trial for his actions, leaving behind a legacy of war crimes. Yet Joachim Peiper lived a life filled with interesting moments beyond his work as an SS official. Here are ten facts about Peiper that offer insight into the man, the SS legend, and the war criminal.
1. Medals
Peiper earned more than 20 military awards and honors during his service as a member of the Nazi regime’s SS — and many of those achievements were accomplished before Peiper reached his mid-twenties. Almost as quickly as his career in the SS began, Peiper was earning both the admiration of his superiors and military awards.
He was honored for his skill and expertise in leading Nazi troops upon the battlefield. His awards include the Eastern Front Medal earned in September of 1942; the Infantry Assault Badge in Bronze in the fall of 1940; the Close Combat Clasp; and the prestigious Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. Peiper also earned accolades for his success as an SS member, achieving accomplishments like the Sudetenland Medal in 1938; the SS-Honour Ring; two SS Long Service Awards for four and eight years of service; and the Panzer Badge.
The list of his honors and awards is lengthy, and it is clear he was among the most highly decorated SS officials by the war’s end.
2. Himmler’s Right Hand Man
Peiper acted as high-ranking SS official Heinrich Himmler’s right-hand man for many years, and they maintained a close relationship. During his very early years within the Nazi Party, Peiper formed a relationship, if not friendship, with Himmler that served him well during his years of service as an SS officer.
Soon after officially becoming a full-fledged member of the SS, Peiper was placed in the post of adjutant to Himmler, working in his anteroom alongside the highest ranking members of the SS. Himmler liked Peiper and took him under his wing. After Germany invaded Poland in September of 1939, Himmler began to bring Peiper everywhere he went on official SS business. It allowed Peiper to be present at the execution of 20 Polish citizens just weeks later in Bydgoszcz Blomberg, an event that was part of Hitler’s special assignment for Himmler to “eliminate intellectuals.”
In the months that followed, Peiper took on, even more, power under Himmler’s watch as he began to assist in the creation and implementation of policies intended to control the Polish populace. Peiper was present at the gassing of Polish psychiatric facilities; alongside SS troops at the Battle of France; and meetings of Reich leaders, during which Peiper was privy to Hitler’s plans for war.
As Germany’s quest for power intensified, Peiper opted to join the forces on the battlefront, and Himmler gave his young mentee permission to fight as a company commander in the 11th Company of 1st SS Division. Once the fighting died down, Peiper returned to Himmler’s side and accompanied his superior on meetings with international politicians and figureheads, and on inspections of Hitler’s concentration camps.
It was not until the war with the USSR began that Peiper left Himmler’s employ for good, once again choosing to see combat.
3. Fanatical Nazi
Peiper never rescinded his support of Hitler, or his adherence to the Nazi mindset, and kept close ties to his former SS allies and friends despite undergoing mandated rehabilitation. Although Peiper faced great accusations, and significant judgment, for his actions while a member of the SS, he did not waver in his political stance or associations — he remained a man of the SS throughout his entire life.
After serving out his post-war sentence in a Belgium prison, Peiper was required to secure a job to prove that he was working towards rehabilitation. With the help of SS allies, Peiper obtained work at a car manufacturer. It, however, was not his last contact with his former SS friends. In his life after prison, and after the war, Peiper maintained regular contact with those in the SS whom he was close with, top-ranking SS officials like Kurt “Panzer” Meyer, Sepp Dietrich, and Paul Hausser.
Peiper also tried to help restore glory to the SS by hiding information about its dirtiest deeds. Perhaps most indicative of Peiper’s mindset, though, was a remark he once shared with a friend: “I personally think that every attempt at rehabilitation during our lifetime is unrealistic.”
4. Blowtorch Battalion
Peiper was the man responsible for developing a particular enemy attack: he was the first to attack enemy-controlled villages from all sides under cover of nightfall while simultaneously advancing his armored tanks at full speed and firing at all visible buildings. Due to his innovative battle tactic, which he first used in February of 1943, Peiper was awarded the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold award in May of that same year.
When Peiper and his troops began to use this new strategy on a regular basis, they became known as the “Blowtorch Battalion” — they were recognized for setting large-scale fires in villages, torching them in their entirety and murdering the residents. This attack-on-all-sides method also became Peiper’s calling card and was believed to represent his “win at all costs” mentally in combat.
5. War Crimes
When World War II ended, Peiper was accused of a variety of war crimes committed in Germany, Italy, and Belgium. However, he escaped sentencing for many of them and served time in prison for only the crimes he committed while in Belgium.
Luckily for Peiper, the courts of Italy and Germany decided that the charges against him lacked enough evidence to allow for fair prosecution, and he escaped those trials unscathed.
6. When standing trial for war crimes, he denied almost nothing
Instead, he welcomed the charges — or, as he did in his older years, claimed he could not remember the facts of what, exactly, it was that he did. Over the course of his post-wartime trials, Peiper faced accusations of war crimes in the vein of POW murders, violations of wartime treaties, and even playing witness to some more significant war crimes. He did not outright deny any of the charges; in fact, he took responsibility for both his actions and those of the men under his command.
Though he faced much questioning, and torture tactics, by those conducting the investigation, Peiper admitted that he accepted all responsibility for the actions of the men under his command — even if it was brutal and uncalled for. In his later years, Peiper was called before trials and juries who wanted to convict other SS officials; instead of offering details or admonitions of guilt, Peiper claimed that his failing memory prevented him from recalling specifics, which the courts believed.
7. Sentenced to Death
Peiper was sentenced to death by hanging, but the sentence was never carried out. Truthfully, and with great fortune, Peiper evaded death – although a jury convicted him, controversy befell the court proceedings. Because of it, United States’ officials changed Peiper’s sentence from immediate death to lengthy imprisonment. It was thought that Peiper and other defendants had earned their “guilty” verdicts due to a flawed judicial process, so all of Peiper’s war crimes were commuted in their sentencing.
By the end of the trials and the period, Peiper was required to serve 12 years in prison for his war crimes in Belgium alone.
Joachim Peiper Family
8. Freelance writer and book translator
His work was published under the pen name, or nom de plume, Rainer Buschmann. After trying his hand as an automobile salesman and other professions, Peiper decided to publish written works under a fake name. He wrote for the French magazine Auto, Motor und Sport, and became a self–employed translator for French book publisher Stuttgarter Motor-Buch Verlag.
During his time as a translator and writer, Peiper published some works translated from German to English.
9. After the War
When his prison sentence ended, and he rejoined the civilian world, Peiper worked for both Porsche and Volkswagen. That’s right — the former Nazi, the former high-ranking SS officer, took an average job within the production facilities of Porsche. Once released from prison and tasked with finding employment to prove he was on the path to rehabilitation, Peiper enlisted the help of his former SS friends to secure a job at Porsche.
He began his new career in January of 1957, in the company’s technical department. Much like the years of his involvement with the SS, Peiper quickly rose through the ranks at Porsche — however, because he was a criminal during wartime, he was never allowed to travel beyond European borders when he was promoted. In his later years, after parting ways with Porsche, Peiper became an auto salesman for another German car company, Volkswagen.
10. Peiper did not die of old age
He was murdered by attackers who, to this day, are still unnamed and unknown. Although he was initially sentenced to death by hanging, as mentioned above, Peiper evaded that fate and lived a long, fruitful life after World War II. He met his end not by hanging during the outcome of his military trials, but instead at the hand of unknown assailants.
While living in France in the later years of his life, Peiper was shot in July 1976 by strangers. Once certain Peiper was dead, his attackers took their vengeance a step further by setting his residence and home alight with fire. It was in that blaze, with a gunshot wound, that Peiper finally met his end.
Joachim Peiper led quite an eventful life — not only was he a high-ranking member of the SS and renowned military leader during the years of Hitler’s reign, but he also spent his lifetime rubbing elbows with even more notorious and powerful men within the Nazi Party.
However, Peiper was a man with many murders attributed to his name, such as those American soldiers he massacred at Malmedy, and the civilians he killed in Belgium. It is that reputation that he is remembered for today. Despite his crimes and the horrors that occurred during World War II, Peiper was indeed an intriguing figure in history.
Controversial even today, he was also a courageous and dedicated member of the German military, and highly respected by those whom he worked alongside. Piper left behind a complex legacy, one mixed with both good and evil, a product of the regime that he both supported and worked within.
Peiper, Joachim, born 30-01-1915 in Berlin, Gauleiter of Berlin was Josef Goebbels (did you know), more often known as “Jochen Peiper” from the common German nickname for Joachim, was a senior Waffen-SS officer and commander in the Panzer campaigns of 1939-1945. His father Woldemar Peiper was a WW I veteran, and he had two brothers, Hans-Hasso and Horst Jochen Peiper’s second brother Hans-Hasso , born 1910, unsuccessfully attempted suicide in 1931 but was left in a vegetative state. He eventually died of tuberculosis in 1942. Horst Peiper, born 1912, on the photo right with his father Woldemar and Jochen, who served as a company commander in the recce battalion of the “Totenkopf” division, officially died in an accident in East Prussia on 11-06-1941. In reality he committed suicide after allegations of homosexuality.
When World War II ended, Peiper was accused of a variety of war crimes committed in Germany, Italy, and Belgium. However, he escaped sentencing for many of them and served time in prison for only the crimes he committed while in Belgium.
Luckily for Peiper, the courts of Italy and Germany decided that the charges against him lacked enough evidence to allow for fair prosecution, and he escaped those trials unscathed.
6. When standing trial for war crimes, he denied almost nothing
Instead, he welcomed the charges — or, as he did in his older years, claimed he could not remember the facts of what, exactly, it was that he did. Over the course of his post-wartime trials, Peiper faced accusations of war crimes in the vein of POW murders, violations of wartime treaties, and even playing witness to some more significant war crimes. He did not outright deny any of the charges; in fact, he took responsibility for both his actions and those of the men under his command.
Though he faced much questioning, and torture tactics, by those conducting the investigation, Peiper admitted that he accepted all responsibility for the actions of the men under his command — even if it was brutal and uncalled for. In his later years, Peiper was called before trials and juries who wanted to convict other SS officials; instead of offering details or admonitions of guilt, Peiper claimed that his failing memory prevented him from recalling specifics, which the courts believed.
7. Sentenced to Death
Peiper was sentenced to death by hanging, but the sentence was never carried out. Truthfully, and with great fortune, Peiper evaded death – although a jury convicted him, controversy befell the court proceedings. Because of it, United States’ officials changed Peiper’s sentence from immediate death to lengthy imprisonment. It was thought that Peiper and other defendants had earned their “guilty” verdicts due to a flawed judicial process, so all of Peiper’s war crimes were commuted in their sentencing.
By the end of the trials and the period, Peiper was required to serve 12 years in prison for his war crimes in Belgium alone.
Joachim Peiper Family
8. Freelance writer and book translator
His work was published under the pen name, or nom de plume, Rainer Buschmann. After trying his hand as an automobile salesman and other professions, Peiper decided to publish written works under a fake name. He wrote for the French magazine Auto, Motor und Sport, and became a self–employed translator for French book publisher Stuttgarter Motor-Buch Verlag.
During his time as a translator and writer, Peiper published some works translated from German to English.
9. After the War
When his prison sentence ended, and he rejoined the civilian world, Peiper worked for both Porsche and Volkswagen. That’s right — the former Nazi, the former high-ranking SS officer, took an average job within the production facilities of Porsche. Once released from prison and tasked with finding employment to prove he was on the path to rehabilitation, Peiper enlisted the help of his former SS friends to secure a job at Porsche.
He began his new career in January of 1957, in the company’s technical department. Much like the years of his involvement with the SS, Peiper quickly rose through the ranks at Porsche — however, because he was a criminal during wartime, he was never allowed to travel beyond European borders when he was promoted. In his later years, after parting ways with Porsche, Peiper became an auto salesman for another German car company, Volkswagen.
10. Peiper did not die of old age
He was murdered by attackers who, to this day, are still unnamed and unknown. Although he was initially sentenced to death by hanging, as mentioned above, Peiper evaded that fate and lived a long, fruitful life after World War II. He met his end not by hanging during the outcome of his military trials, but instead at the hand of unknown assailants.
While living in France in the later years of his life, Peiper was shot in July 1976 by strangers. Once certain Peiper was dead, his attackers took their vengeance a step further by setting his residence and home alight with fire. It was in that blaze, with a gunshot wound, that Peiper finally met his end.
Joachim Peiper led quite an eventful life — not only was he a high-ranking member of the SS and renowned military leader during the years of Hitler’s reign, but he also spent his lifetime rubbing elbows with even more notorious and powerful men within the Nazi Party.
However, Peiper was a man with many murders attributed to his name, such as those American soldiers he massacred at Malmedy, and the civilians he killed in Belgium. It is that reputation that he is remembered for today. Despite his crimes and the horrors that occurred during World War II, Peiper was indeed an intriguing figure in history.
Controversial even today, he was also a courageous and dedicated member of the German military, and highly respected by those whom he worked alongside. Piper left behind a complex legacy, one mixed with both good and evil, a product of the regime that he both supported and worked within.
Peiper, Joachim, born 30-01-1915 in Berlin, Gauleiter of Berlin was Josef Goebbels (did you know), more often known as “Jochen Peiper” from the common German nickname for Joachim, was a senior Waffen-SS officer and commander in the Panzer campaigns of 1939-1945. His father Woldemar Peiper was a WW I veteran, and he had two brothers, Hans-Hasso and Horst Jochen Peiper’s second brother Hans-Hasso , born 1910, unsuccessfully attempted suicide in 1931 but was left in a vegetative state. He eventually died of tuberculosis in 1942. Horst Peiper, born 1912, on the photo right with his father Woldemar and Jochen, who served as a company commander in the recce battalion of the “Totenkopf” division, officially died in an accident in East Prussia on 11-06-1941. In reality he committed suicide after allegations of homosexuality.
By the end of his military career, Jochen Peiper was the youngest regimental SS Standartenführer in the Waffen-SS, officially known as: SS Standartenführer Joachim Peiper, 1st SS Panzer Division, Leibstandarte-SS Adolf Hitler (did you know). Peiper was recruited into the SS-Verfügungstruppe in 1935 upon his graduation from college. SS Oberstgruppenführer, Sepp Dietrich reviewed his application and admitted him into the 1st SS “Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler ” honour guard regiment, which was re-formed as a Waffen-SS combat unit at the outbreak of war. Initially he served as an Adjutant on Heinrich Himmler’s Staff
before moving onto command various Panzer units within 1st SS “Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler”. While on Himmler’s staff, Peiper met and married his wife, Sigurd “Sigi”, born Hinrich,and they had three children, Hinrich Elke Silke Mother Sigurd Hinrichsen, was a secretary on Himmler’s personal staff and a close friend of Hedwig Potthast, Himmler’s mistress. Hedwig Potthast died age 82, on 22-09-1994 in Baden Baden.
Hinrich Peiper is a attorney now. He did work for the Dresdner Bank in NYC. He is married to Dorothee Riegraf Peiper who is a collector and historian of early Native American art and artist. Hinrich currently lives in Frankfurt. He was born 14-04-1942. Elke is a language professor (retired). born on 07-07-1940. Silke was born on 07-03-1944, she was a business women.
Himmler was particularly fond of Jochen Peiper and took a keen interest in Peiper’s ascension towards command. At age 29 Peiper was a full Oberst of the Waffen-SS, well respected and a holder of one of wartime Germany’s highest decorations, the Knight’s Cross with Swords personally awarded to him by Adolf Hitler.
Peiper was a skilled combat leader and took part in a number of major Panzer battles of the war. His men were fiercely loyal to him, regarded by many as a “charismatic leader.” Peiper participated in some of the most notable battles of the war to include the two battles for Kharkov and the Kursk offensive of 1943 on the Eastern Front of Russia. Most notably, he commanded the Kampfgruppe Peiper of the LSSAH, assigned to the 6th SS Panzer Armee under Sepp Dietrich and SS Brigade General, Wilhelm Mohnke
during Operation Wacht am Rhein, Battle of the Bulge. Kampfgruppe Peiper advanced to the town of La Gleize, Belgium, before being turned back by American forces. Peiper was forced to abandon over a hundred vehicles in the town, including six Tiger II tanks, and made his way back to German lines with 800 men on foot. Peiper has been accused of, but never prosecuted for, the Boves Massacre. On another note, while in Italy, Peiper discovered that the Italian government had captured a group of Jews. Peiper had them released to him, and he then set them free. One of the Jews was a rabbi, who later wrote a testimony to Peiper’s kindness during his war crimes trial. After the end of World War II, Peiper and other members of the Waffen-SS were tried for war crimes in the Malmédy Massacre Trial. About 81 American POWs were killed during the Malmédy incident. According to John M. Bauserman (“The Malmédy Massacre”, a number of 40 of them had been shot in the head, 3 of them were killed by shrapnel, 4 of them died from bleeding, 3 of them from blow to the head, 3 of them of high explosive shells, 1 by concussion, 19 of machine gun or small arms fire, 3 were crushed, 4 died of unkown causes and 1 was officially declared dead.
Peiper, prisoner nr. 42, volunteered to take all the blame if the court would set his men free: the court refused. Major Harold D. McCown, Battalion Commander of the 30th Infantry Division 119th Regiment of the US Army,
testified during the trials that he had conversed half the night with Peiper. McCown had heard of the allegations of Peiper’s men shooting American POWs and asked Peiper if his men were safe. Peiper gave his word that McCown’s men would not be shot; McCown also testified that he had no knowledge that any POW’s were shot. Even so, Peiper was found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging, as were many of his men. Peiper later requested that his men be shot by firing squad and was denied. However, due to issues with the case against them, many confessions had been ludicrously coerced by the use of mock hangings and harsh beatings of the prisoners; the sentences of many of the Malmedy defendants were later commuted to life and then to time served and Peiper was released on parole from prison at the end of December 1956, after serving 11 1/2 years, much in solitary confinement. Total casualties amongst the Waffen-SS will probably never be known, but one estimate indicates that they suffered 180.000 dead, 400.000 wounded, and 40.000 missing. World War II casualties indicates that the Waffen-SS suffered 314.000 killed and missing, or 34.9 per cent. By comparison, the United States Army suffered 318.274 killed and missing in all theatres of the war. Peiper remained friends with SS Obergruppenführer, Kommandeur 12 SS LSSAH, “Hitlerjugend”, Panzer Meyer,
Waffen SS Sturmführer, member of 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler before he became Adolf Hitler’s personal adjutant, Otto Günsche, SS Standartenführer, Hitler’s body guard. Falaise Pocket, 12th SS Panzer Division, Max Wünsche and Oberstgruppenführer, Kommandeur der SS-Div “LSSAH”, Josef “Sepp” Dietrich.Death and burial ground of Peiper, Joachim “Jochen”.
After release Peiper eventually went to live in Traves, Haute-Saône, France and supported himself as a translator. During the attack of 1940 he had been in France and he liked it, it was beautiful and peaceful. Thanks to his French nationalist friend Gauthier, he managed to buy a watermill in Traves. But the building was in bad condition and Peiper did not have the necessary means to restore it. SS-Obersturmbannführer Erwin Ketelhut finally took over the mill and Peiper had a house built for his family in Spannplate in 1960. The house was like a military fort – surrounded by bushes and was not seen from the street, but power lines leading to Peiper’s house give away its secluded position in the woods in this 1982 photo.
His mailbox was on the wooden pole on the left and was sometimes ransacked. For 16 years he was threatened and received anonymous phonecalls, but he still lived peacefully and was determined as was common to a soldier. Ironically, although Peipers tactical knowhow had kept him alive through 5 years of combat in France, Italy and Russia, he made one tactical error that cost him his life as he decided to settle in France. It does seem strange that he would choose France as a place to spend the rest of his days, but maybe he no where would really be safe. The French had been hating the Germans since 1940 and many probably couldn’t just switch off the hate at the end of the war, understandable considering massacres like Oradour-sur-Glane, and the Gestapos ruthless treatment of Resistance suspects etc. Perhaps he got a kick out of living dangerously and missed the excitement of war, so he settled in the “hostile environment” of France to try to recreate that adrenaline buzz. On 11-06-1976 Peiper was in a shop in Vesoul buying wire to build a fence for his dog. The salesman, Elsassian Paul Cacheux, a member of a communist party, recognized by his accent that he was German and asked him if he had been in France during the war. Peiper paid with a cheque that had his name and address. Cacheux checked the “brown lists” that contained all names of wanted Germans for Peiper’s name. He forwarded the information on Peiper to the French left-wingers. On 22-06-1976 a French communist newspaper “L’Humanite” published an articled entitled: “What is this Nazi doing in France?”. People demanded the government to make Peiper leave France. Leaflets were distributed in Traves where Peiper was called a war criminal and a Nazi. On the walls in Versoul people wrote: “Peiper, we’re gonna do July 14 for you!” (July 14 is a national holiday in France). Following explicit death threats there, Peiper was murdered in a fire attack on his house in the woods on 13-07-1976, age 61. The house was firebombed with Peiper inside as his wife Sigurd “Sigi”
, who had cancer, and his daughter Elke were away visiting Germany. He did not want to leave the house himself because he was afraid that it would be burnt down. His neighbour Erwin Ketelhut proposed that Peiper could spend a night in the watermill but Peiper refused. He also didn’t want Ketelhut to stay with him because Ketelhut had shot the attackers. “No,” said Peiper, “There has been enough killing already.” Jochen Peiper waited on his roof terrace from where he could see the whole area. Ketelhut had lent his gun to Peiper. 11.30 PM he heard some kind of rustle in the bushes and saw a dozen men climbing up the steep shore. He shot in the air to scare the drunk men away. They jelled at him to come out and he opened the door to talk to them. What happened next, only those know who were there. When the fire brigade found him, Peiper lay in his bedroom, on the left side with his back to the wall, one arm bowed before his chest. Nothing had fallen upon him. He died by the immense heat. The body was not cremated but shrunken. Jochen Peiper’s corps was burned and only a meter long, it had no arms or legs.
His body was really badly charred and an autopsy found smoke in his lungs, he’d gone down fighting, firing his .22 rifle and a pistol. It’s a pity he was killed like that, but sad to say, he practically asked for it. He had died approximately 1 AM and nobody was ever caught or admitted responsibility, but were suspected to be French Communists.Both Peiper’s dogs had been wounded, and there were four 6.35mm bullets in the bloodstained kennel. A 6.35mm pistol is a very small weapon indeed, usually carried by ladies for self-protection.
Joachim Peiper Trial By Fel Samuel
