Weiss, Walter Otto.

Weiss, Walter Otto, born 05-09-1890 in Tilsit, East Prussia the son of Rittmeister Richard Weiß and his wife Anna, born Reisch. Walter had been married to Elisabeth, born Heyn, since 1918. He had two sons. Helmut, born in 1920, died of accidents as a child. Walter, born in 1922, died on 24-06-1941, the third day of the Barbarossa company, with the Infantry Regiment 1 as a leutnant. From 1897 to 1901, Weiss attended a private school in Rosenberg, then Weiß graduated from the Cadet Corps. He joined the military service on 19-03-1908, age 18. At the beginning of World War II, during the Polish Campaign, he was, as an Oberst then, WW2 began on 01-09-1939, with the German invasion of Poland.

The vast majority of the world’s countries, including all of the great powers, fought as part of two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. Many participants threw their economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind this total war, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and the delivery of the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in history, resulting in an estimated 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, massacres, and disease. In the wake of Axis defeat, Germany, Austria and Japan were occupied, and war crimes tribunals were conducted against German and Japanese leaders.

Hitler provoked the war againt Poland with the Gleiwitz accident.

The Gleiwitz incident (German: Überfall auf den Sender Gleiwitz; Polish: alse flag attack on the radio station Sender Gleiwitz in Gleiwitz

(then Germany and now Gliwice, Poland) staged by Nazi Germany on the night of 31-08-1939. Along with some two dozen similar incidents, the attack was manufactured by Germany as a casus belli to justify the invasion of Poland. Prior to the invasion, Adolf Hitler gave a radio address condemning the acts and announcing German plans to attack Poland, which began the next morning. Despite the German government using the attack as a justification to go to war with Poland, the Gleiwitz assailants were not Polish but were German SS officers wearing Polish uniforms.

During his declaration of war, Hitler did not mention the Gleiwitz incident but grouped all provocations staged by the SS as an alleged “Polish assault” on Germany. The Gleiwitz incident is the best-known action of Operation Heinrich Luipold “Reichsheini” Himmler, a series of special operations undertaken by the Schutzstaffel (SS) to serve German propaganda at the outbreak of war. The operation was intended to create the appearance of a Polish aggression against Germany to justify the invasion of Poland. On September 3, Britain and France declared war on Germany, and the European theatre of World War II had begun. Manufactured evidence for the Gleiwitz attack by the SS was provided by the German SS officer Alfred Naujocks in 1945.

Weiss was given command of I. Armee-Korps under General Walter Petzel   , holding the position Chief of the General Staff, and was promoted to Generalmajor on 01-09-1940. Walter Petzel died age 81 on 01-10-1965 in Hameln. On 15-12-1940 Weiss took command of the 97^th Leichten Division. The division was formed on 10-12-1940 near Bad Tölz. It was redesignated 97^th Jäger Division

 on 06-07-1942. Weiss on 15-01-1941 got the command of the 26^th Infanterie-Division , succeeding General der Infanterie Sigismund von Förster ,.Förster died 12-01-1959, age 71, in Bremen. This Division was subordinated to Army Group Centre and participated in Operation Barbarossa. This division renamed in 26^th Volksgrenadier Division  spent the rest of the war on the Western Front under Army Group B, Heeresgruppe B , commander Fieldmarschal Erwin Model   until it entered U.S. captivity in the Harz in 1945. Promoted to Generalleutnant on 01-01-1942, Weiss took command of the XXVII. Armee-Korps on 01-07-1942, where he succeeded General Joachim Witthöft

who died age 78, on 07-07-1966 in Dalheim-Rodgen. Again promoted on 01-09-1942, to General der Infanterie, Weiss led the German 2^nd Army, where he succeeded General der Infanterie Hans von Salmuth   on the Eastern Front from 03-02-1943 on.  Weiss was promoted to Generaloberst on 30-01-1944. In 1945 the army was redisgnated AOK Ostpreußen under General der Panzertruppe Dietrich von Saucken    and was pivotal in the defense of East and West Prussia before finally surrendering on 09-05-1945. Weiss received command of Heeresgruppe Nord on 12-03-1945 where he followed Generaloberst Lothar Rendulic. Because of a dispute with Adolf Hitler, he was transferred to the command reserve of the High Command of the Army. At the end of the war he was taken prisoner and held in American captivity until 1948 .After captivity (including in the Neu-Ulm and Dachau camps), he was released in March 1948. In 1948 Weiss was classified by the Neustadt Chamber of Appeal as “not contaminated” during the denazification process.

Death and burial ground of Weiss, Walter Otto.

Walter Otto Weiss retired in Aschaffenburg, where he at the age of 77 died on 21-12-1967. He is buried on the Waldfriedhof of Aschaffenburg, but his gravestone is alas removed. Wolfgang Linke from Frankfurt am Main, visited the cemetery and took the pictures of the cleared graveside.

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