Leiteritz, Günther, born 24-06-1917, in Pausa, Vogtlandkreis,
Saxony, Germany. As a young boy Günther joined the Waffen SS.
Twenty-seven-year-old Günther Leiteritz had been transferred to the training battalion in June 1944. This veteran began his career in 1940 as a non-commissioned officer in the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
under command of SS Oberstgruppenführer
Jozef “Sepp” Dietrich
and after two years on the Eastern Front, rose to the rank of SS-Obersturmführer.
His career within the Waffen-SS
was successful until his transfer to the 12th SS Panzergrenadier Division Hitlerjugend
under command of SS Brigadeführer Hugo Gottfried “Hujo Rabatz” Kraas
in Belgium. This is where it went wrong. Günther was guilty of black marketeering and attempted bribery. He became the first officer within the Leibstandarte
to be convicted of misconduct. He was sentenced to fourteen months of probation. However, the higher judicial level of the SS
could not agree with this. They demanded a higher sentence, possibly placement in the Dirlewanger Brigade.
The 36th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS, formerly known as SS Sturmbrigade Dirlewanger, was a notorious penal unit of the Waffen-SS during World War II. While its initial purpose was to function as an anti-partisan unit, by the end of the war, it was also deployed as a front-line unit against the Red Army. For most of its existence, the unit was commanded by SS-Oberführer
Oskar Dirlewanger.
Anticipating the outcome of this investigation, Leiteritz received a transfer to SS Sturmbahnführer (major)
Josef “Sepp” Krafft’s
training battalion. That’s how Günther Leiteritz came to Arnhem in June 1944. On September 17th, he took command of the 9th March Company. In the afternoon of September 19th, he was with his unit north of the Amsterdamseweg. He attacked the Landing Zones from the edge of the woods. In the open terrain, the Company was an easy target for the K.O.S.B., the King’s Own Scottish Borderers (KOSBs)
under command of Major-General Sir Edward Nicholson Broadbent,
who were securing the landing zone. Leiteritz’s unit suffered heavy losses due to his unfortunate choices, the battalion commander wrote in his report.
Death and burial ground of Leiteritz, Günther.
Günther Leiteritz himself was killed 19-09-1944 (age 27) in Arnhem Municipality, Gelderland, Netherlandsin that action, which led to the proceedings against him being dropped and spared him a transfer to the Dirlewanger Brigade.
To the right of the Reichsführer-SS via personal staff Berlin SS-Obersturmführer Leiteritz, who was transferred as an administrator to A.u.E Battalion 16 under SS-Sturmbannführer Krafft due to a conviction for misconduct, was killed in the fighting against the English airborne troops near Arnhem. SS-Sturmbannführer Krafft reported exemplary performance of duty. He is buried at the SS-Ehrenfriedhof Velp. In case the conviction has not yet been confirmed, please send the documents to stop the proceedings. Or they are asked for rehabilitation. Apeldoorn, 19-10-1944.
Günther Leiteritz was reburied to the German War Cemetery Ysselsteyn. Plot: V. Row: 6. Grave: 133. Timmermannsweg 75, 5813 AM Ysselsteyn.








Leave a Reply