Karl Pfeffer-Wildenbruch

Karl Pfeffer Wildenbruch (June 12, 1888 – January 29, 1971) was a staff officer of the German General Staff during World War I and an Obergruppenführer General der Waffen-SS und der Polizei, during World War II, he commanded the 4th SS Polizei Division and the VI SS Army Corps and the IX SS Mountain Corps, he was awarded the Knight's Cross with Oakleaves.

Early life
Karl Pfeffer-Wildenbruch was born on 12 June 1888, in Kalkberge, Rüdersdorf. After finishing high school he became a Fahnenjunker in the 22 Field Artillery Regiment in March 1907 and promoted to Leutnant, in August 1908 and in 1911 was assigned to the Military Technical School in Berlin.

World War I
On the outbreak of World War I, he commanded a Battery and was a Regimental Adjutant, then became a staff officer on the German General Staff. He served under Field Marshal General, Colmar von der Goltz, in Baghdad who was the commander of the 1st Turkish Army, his next posting was as the IA to the German Military mission in Constantinople from May to November 1917. At the end of 1917 he returned to Germany, as a staff officer with the 11th Infantry Division. At the end of the war he remained on the General staff of the ZBV 55 and XXIV reserve corps.

Interwar period
In August 1919 he joined the police service, and spent time in the Reich Ministry of the Interior and was the police commander in Osnabrück and Magdeburg. From 1928 he was in Santiago de Chile as the Chief of the Chilean Carabineros de Chile, returning to Germany in 1933.

In June 1933, Pfeffer Wildenbruch became an Oberstleutnant in the National Police Regiment at Frankfurt an der Oder and from May 1936 he was the Inspector General of Police schools, being promoted to Generalmajor der Polizei in May 1937.

In March 1939, he joined the SS, service number was 292 713 and served on the staff of the Reichsführer-SS, being promoted to SS-Brigadeführer in April 1939.

World War II
At the end of 1939, he was given command of the 4th SS Polizei Division with the rank of SS-Gruppenführer and Generalleutnant der Polizei. After the Battle of France he returned to the staff of the Reichsführer-SS, next serving as chief of the colonial police from 1941 to 1943.

In October 1943 he took over as commander of the VI SS Corps, with a promotion to SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS und Polizei.

In December 1944 Pfeffer-Wildenbruch was appointed commander of the IX SS Mountain Corps, stationed in Budapest, Hungary. He was responsible for the defence of the Hungarian capital against advancing Russian forces, from 24 December 1944 to 11 February 1945.

The siege of Budapest was one of the longest and bloodiest city struggles of the Second World War and the fight lasted 46 days. For his defence of the city he was awarded with the Knight's Cross on 11 January 1945 and the Oakleaves on 1 February 1945. During the attempt to break out from Budapest Pfeffer-Wildenbruch was seriously wounded and captured by the Russians. On 10 August 1949 he was sentenced to 25 years of labor camps, but after Joseph Stalin's death he was released together with some 10,000 other "last prisoners of war" due to an informal agreement reached between German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and Soviet Premier Nikolai Bulganin in September 1955 one month later.

Karl Pfeffer Wildenbruch, was killed in a traffic accident on 29 January 1971 at Bielefeld.

Awards and decorations

 * Iron Cross (1914)
 * 2nd Class
 * 1st Class (14 September 1917)
 * Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939)
 * 2nd Class (20 June 1940)
 * 1st Class (22 June 1940)
 * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
 * Knight's Cross on 11 January 1945 as SS-Obergruppenführer and General of the Waffen-SS and commanding general of the IX. SS-Gebrigskorps
 * 723th Oak Leaves on 1 February 1945 as SS-Obergruppenführer and General of the Waffen-SS and commanding general of the IX. Waffen-Gebrigskorps of the SS