Paul Hausser
Born	7 October 1880 Brandenburg, Germany
Died	21 December 1972 Ludwigsburg, Germany

Paul "Papa" Hausser (October 7, 1880 - December 21, 1972) was an officer in the German Army, achieving the high rank of Lieutenant General in the inter-war Reichswehr, after retirement from regular Army he became the "father" (thus the nickname “Papa”) of the Waffen-SS and one of its most eminent leaders, battling in both the Eastern and Western fronts of World War II, he was seriously wounded twice, losing an eye in the former. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (586x872, 139 KB) This work is copyrighted and unlicensed. ... October 7 is the 280th day of the year (281st in leap years). ... 1880 (MDCCCLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Brandenburg (Lower Sorbian: Bramborska; Upper Sorbian: Braniborska) is one of Germanys sixteen Bundesländer (federal states) and lies in the east of the country. ... December 21 is the 355th day of the year (356th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Ludwigsburg is a city in Germany, about 12 km north of Stuttgarts city center, near the river Neckar. ... October 7 is the 280th day of the year (281st in leap years). ... 1880 (MDCCCLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... December 21 is the 355th day of the year (356th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... The Reichswehr (help· info) (literally National Defense or Imperial Defense) formed the military organization of Germany from 1919 until 1935, when the government rebranded it as the Wehrmacht (Defence Force). ... Waffen-SS recruitment poster; Volunteer to the Waffen-SS The Waffen-SS was the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel. ... This article is becoming very long. ...

Hausser was born in Brandenburg an der Havel to a Prussian military family, his father Kurt Hausser was a Major in the Imperial German Army. He entered the army in 1892 and from then until 1896 was at the cadet school in Köslin, and from 1896 he attended the cadet academy Berlin-Lichterfelde where he successfully graduated in 1899. On March 20, 1899 he was commissioned as a Lieutenant and assigned to Infantry-Regiment 155 stationed at Ostrowo in Posen (Poznań); on October 1, 1903 he became the Adjutant of the regiment’s 2nd battalion and he served in this capacity for five years, until October 1, 1908. Noted for his military gift, he attended the War Academy in Berlin from October 1908 until his graduation on July 21, 1911. Brandenburg an der Havel is a town in the state of Brandenburg, Germany. ... Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 Prussia (German: ; Latin: Borussia, Prutenia; Lithuanian: ; Polish: ; Old Prussian: PrÅ«sa) was, most recently, a historic state originating in East Prussia, an area which for centuries had substantial influence on German and European history. ... 1892 (MDCCCXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1896 (MDCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Motto: none Voivodship West Pomerania Municipal government Rada Miasta Koszalin Mayor MirosÅ‚aw MikietyÅ„ski Area 83,2 km² Population  - city  - urban  - density 108. ... 1896 (MDCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1899 (MDCCCXCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... March 20 is the 79th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (80th in Leap years). ... 1899 (MDCCCXCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Ostrów Wielkopolski (often abbreviated , formerly called only Ostrów or Ostrowo, Latin: Ostrovia) is a town in central Poland with 73,100 inhabitants (2005), situated in the Greater Poland Voivodship. ... PoznaÅ„ (?· i; full official name: The Capital City of PoznaÅ„, Latin: , German: , Yiddish: פּױזן Poyzn) is a city in west-central Poland with over 578,900 inhabitants (2002). ... October 1 is the 274th day of the year (275th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1903 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... October 1 is the 274th day of the year (275th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Berlin is the capital city and a state of Germany. ... 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... July 21 is the 202nd day (203rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 163 days remaining. ... 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ...

From 1912, onwards, including the First World War, Hausser served in a number of General Staff assignments, he stayed in the much-reduced post-war German army, the Reichswehr and by 1927 became a Colonel. He retired from the Reichswehr on January 31, 1932 with the rank of Lieutenant General. As a retiree, Hausser joined the right wing WWI veterans organization Stahlhelm, becoming the head of its Brandenburg-Berlin chapter in 1933. Soon, Stahlhelm was incorporated into the SA, and with SA’s demise, into the SS. Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Colonel (IPA: or ) is a military rank of a commissioned officer, with the corresponding ranks existing in nearly every country in the world. ... January 31 is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will take you to a full 1932 calendar). ... The Stahlhelm, Bund der Frontsoldaten (German: Steel Helmet, League of Frontline Soldiers) was one of the many paramilitary Freikorps organizations that arose after the defeat of World War I in the Weimar Republic. ... Brandenburg (Lower Sorbian: Bramborska; Upper Sorbian: Braniborska) is one of Germanys sixteen Bundesländer (federal states) and lies in the east of the country. ... Berlin is the capital city and a state of Germany. ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... The seal of SA The (SA, German for Storm Division, usually translated as stormtroops or stormtroopers) functioned as a paramilitary organization of the NSDAP – the German Nazi party. ... SS or ss or Ss may be: The Schutzstaffel, a Nazi paramilitary force Steamship (SS) (ship prefix) The United States Secret Service A submarine not powered by nuclear energy (SS) (United States Navy designator), see SSN A Soviet/Russian surface-to-surface missile, as listed by NATO reporting name Shortstop...

In November 1934 he was transferred to the SS-Verfügungstruppe and assigned to SS-Führerschule Braunschweig. In 1935 he became Inspector of SS-Junkerschule and was promoted to Brigadeführer in 1936. Hausser served in the Polish campaign of 1939 as an observer with the mixed Wehrmacht/SS Panzer Division "Kempf". In October 1939 SS-VT was formed as a motorized infantry division with Hausser in command. He led the division through the French campaign of 1940 and in the early stages of Operation Barbarossa. For his services in Russia, Hausser was awarded the Knight's Cross in 1941 and the Oak Leaves in 1943 (he was to get the Swords for his services in Normandy) and was severely wounded, losing an eye. After recovering he commanded the newly formed SS-Panzer Korps (renamed II. SS Panzer Korps in June 1943) and against Hitler's explicit orders withdrew his troops from Kharkov to avoid encirclement, only to recapture the city in March 1943. He led Das Reich, Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler and Totenkopf during the Battle of Kursk. After Kursk, his Korps was reformed (substituting the 1st, 2nd and 3rd SS Pz. Divisions with the 9th and 10th SS Pz. Divs.) and sent to France were he commanded them in the early stages of the Normandy campaign. After the death of the commander of 7. Armee - Friedrich Dollmann - Hausser was promoted to command of 7. Armee. During the Falaise encirclement, Hausser remained with his troops until he was wounded (shot through the jaw). Paul Hausser ended the war as an Oberstgruppenführer on Feldmarschal Albert Kesselring's staff. Brigadeführer was an SS rank that was used in Nazi Germany between the years of 1932 and 1945. ... Combatants Axis Powers Soviet Union Commanders Supreme commander: Adolf Hitler Supreme commander: Josef Stalin Strength ~ 3. ... Kharkov (rus: Ха́рьков) or Kharkiv (ukr: Ха́рків) is the second largest city in Ukraine, a center of Kharkivska oblast. It is situated in the northeast of the country and has a population of two million. ... SS-Division Verfügungstruppe SS-Division Deutschland SS-Division Reich SS-Division Das Reich 2. ... The Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler started life in the early days of the NSDAP as Adolf Hitlers personal elite bodyguard. ... SS-Division Totenkopf Kampfgruppe Eicke 3. ... Combatants Germany Soviet Union Commanders Erich von Manstein, Günther von Kluge, Walther Model Georgy Zhukov, Konstantin Rokossovsky, Nikolai Vatutin Strength 800,000 infantry, 2,700 tanks, 2,000 aircraft 1,300,000 infantry, 3,600 tanks, 2,400 aircraft Casualties 500,000 dead, wounded, or captured 500 tanks 200... The official cuff title worn by men of 9. ... The 10. ... The German Seventh Army (German: ) was a World War II field army. ... Friedrich Dollmann Friedrich Dollmann (1876-June 30, 1944) was a German general during World War II, most notably serving during the early phases of the D-Day Invasion. ... During World War II, the Falaise pocket (also known as the Chambois pocket, Chambois-Montcormel pocket, Falaise-Chambois pocket and in French: Poche de Falaise) was the area between the four cities of Trun-Argentan-Vimoutiers-Chambois near Falaise, France, in which Allied forces tried to encircle and destroy the... SS-Oberstgruppenführer Collar Insignia Oberstgruppenführer was the highest commissioned SS rank with the exception of Reichsführer-SS, which was a special rank held by Heinrich Himmler. ... Albert Kesselring Albert Kesselring (August 8, 1881 - July 16, 1960) was a German Generalfeldmarschall who commanded Army Group C during World War II. One of the most respected and skillful German generals, he was nicknamed Smiling Albert or smiling Kesselring. Biography Kesselring was born in Marktsteft, Germany, in 1881. ...