Karl Schümers

Karl Schümers (17 October 1905 – 16 August 1944) was a high-ranking commander in the Waffen-SS and Ordnungspolizei (police) of Nazi Germany during World War II. He commanded the SS Polizei Division in July – August 1944 and was directly or indirectly involved in many of the major atrocities committed in Greece during 1944. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 30 September 1942.

Karl Schümers
Born17 October 1905
Düsseldorf, German Empire
Died16 August 1944(1944-08-16) (aged 38)
Árta, Greece
Allegiance Nazi Germany
Service/branch Waffen-SS
Years of service1939–44
RankSS-Brigadeführer
UnitSS Polizei Division
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross

War-time atrocities
  • On 5 April 1944, Schümers commanded the 7th unit of the 4th SS Polizei Panzergrenadier Division in the execution of 277 unarmed women, children and elders in the village of Kleisoura in Greece in retaliation for the killing of 3 German soldiers.[1] In the official investigations by his command hierarchy for the massacre he testified that his soldiers had to kill them all because guerrilla forces were hiding in the village, and was acquitted, while it was proven after the war that his testimony was false.[1]: 587 
  • On 24 April his 7th unit committed the Pyrgoi massacre where 368 men, women, and children were killed.[2]
  • Men from the same 7th unit, under the command of Hans Zampel and Fritz Lautenbach committed the Distomo massacre, on 10 June 1944, where 228 civilians were killed in retaliation, No-one was tried for this war crime.
  • On 17 June 1944 Schümers ordered the execution of 28 civilians and destruction of Ipati, and the next day, the burning down of Spercheiada and the killing of 35 civilians.[3]
  • After he was assigned the command of the 4th Panzer Grenadier Division, on 22 July 1944, the 8th unit of his forces took part in the operation Kreuzotter (5-31 August 1944) in a failed attempt to eradicate ELAS bases from the mountains of central Greece, Roumeli, Greece, that resulted, among others, in the killing of approximately 170 civilians and the partial or complete destruction of dozens of villages and cities.[3][4]

He was killed on 16 August 1944 when his car drove over a landmine in the area of Arta (northwestern Greece).[5]

Commands
  • II.Battalion, 7th SS Polizei Panzer Grenadier Regiment
  • 7th SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment
  • 4th SS Polizei Panzer Grenadier Division

References
  1. Dordanas, Stratos (2002), Αντιποινα των Γερμανικων Αρχων Κατοχης στη Μακεδονία 1941-1944 [Retaliations of the German occupation authorities in Macedonia 1941-1944] (phd) (in Greek), Αριστοτέλιο Πανεπιστημιο Θεσσαλονίκης, archived from the original on 27 December 2016, retrieved 27 Dec 2016
  2. Φωτιάδης, Kostas; Dordanas, Stratos; Michailidis, Iakovos (25 Oct 2014). Αθώα θύματα στο Βέρμιο: οι Πύργοι και το Μεσόβουνο στην Κατοχή (1941-1944) [Innocent victims on mountain Vermio: The Pyrgi and Mesovouno villages during the German occupation]. Thessaloniki: Εκδοτικός Οίκος αδελφών Κυριακίδη Α.Ε. ISBN 978-960-602-052-0.
  3. Barsos, Chronis (14 Aug 2015). "5-31 Αυγούστου 1944: Η μεγάλη γερμανική εκκαθαριστική επιχείρηση "Kreuzotter" (Έχιδνα) στην κεντρική Ρούμελη" [5-31 August 1944: The extensive German extermination operation «Kreuzotter» (viper) in Central Roumeli]. www.mag24.gr (in Greek). Archived from the original on 6 October 2015. Retrieved 28 Dec 2016.
  4. Perdue, Robert (2 Apr 2010). Behind the Lines in Greece: The Story of OSS Operational Group II. Greece: AuthorHouse. p. 222. ISBN 9781449067892. Retrieved 2 Jan 2017.
  5. Μάγερ, Χέρμαν Φρανκ, Αιματοβαμμένο Έντελβαϊς. Η 1η Ορεινή Μεραρχία, το 22ο Σώμα Στρατού και η εγκληματική δράση τους στην Ελλάδα, 1943-1944, Τόμος Β', Βιβλιοπωλείον της Εστίας, Αθήνα 2009, σελ. 245

Further reading
  • Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
  • Mitcham, Samuel W (2007). Retreat to the Reich : the German defeat in France, 1944. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-3384-7.
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