Dietrich, Sepp (1892-1976)

German SS officer. He founded the Liebstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, Hitler's personal bodyguard, 1928 and led it during World War II when it operated as a combat unit of the Waffen SS. He was convicted of war crimes 1945, notably the murder of US prisoners at Malmédy, and served 10 years of a 25-year sentence. He received a further 18-month sentence from a German court 1957 for his part in suppressing the SA (Sturmabteilung) in the ‘Night of the Long Knives’ 1934.

A sergeant-major during World War I, Dietrich joined the Nazi party in the 1920s. He led the Liebstandarte SS Adolf Hitler as a regiment in Poland 1939, a combat group in France 1940, and a division in the invasion of Greece 1941. The division served two tours of duty in the USSR and when resting in Belgium 1944 was called upon to fight against British and US forces in Normandy. Dietrich was then promoted to colonel-general and given command of the 6th SS Panzer Army, which he led in the Battle of the Bulge December 1944. After this he took his army to Hungary to recapture Budapest but failed to reach the city and fell back into Austria March 1945 before surrendering to US forces May 1945 to keep his men out of the reach of Soviet forces.