Otto Kumm

Otto Kumm, (1 October 1909 – 23 March 2004) was an SS-Brigadeführer and Generalmajor of the Waffen-SS, and a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves and Swords was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. After the war, he became one of the founders and the first head of the veteran organization HIAG.

Childhood, education and early career
Kumm was born on 1 October 1909 in Hamburg, at the time a sovereign state of the German Empire. He was the fifth and youngest child of merchant Eduard Kumm and his wife Frieda, née Block. Following his graduation from the Oberrealschule (secondary school) in Hamburg-Hamm he received a vocational education as type setter from 1 April 1925 and 31 March 1929 at the Hamburger Abendblatt (Hamburg Evening Newspaper). He then worked in a printer factory. He joined the SS-Verfügungstruppe (SS Dispositional Troops) on 1 April 1934 and came to the I./SS-Standarte Germania in Hamburg.

Division Commander
SS-Brigadeführer Otto Kumm was officially appointed the new Division Commander of the 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH) as of 15 February 1945. This after the LSSAH had been transferred to Hungary to bolster the crumbling situation and the prior LSSAH Division Commander, SS-Brigadeführer Mohnke was injured in an air raid.

Eastern Front 1945
As the division commander, Otto Kumm and the LSSAH took part in Operation Spring Awakening (Frühlingserwachen) (6 March 1945 – 16 March 1945). It was the last major German offensive launched during World War II on 6 March 1945. The Germans launched attacks in Hungary near the Lake Balaton area on the Eastern Front. This area included some of the last oil reserves still available to the Germans. Almost inevitably, Operation Spring Awakening was a failure. Despite early gains the offensive was far too ambitious in scope. After the failure of Operation Spring Awakening, Sepp Dietrich's 6th SS Panzer Army and the LSSAH retreated to the Vienna area. The Germans desperately prepared defensive positions in an attempt to guard the city against the fast arriving Soviets, in what become known as the Vienna Offensive.

Final days
After Vienna fell, the bulk of the LSSAH division surrendered to U.S. forces in the Steyr area on 8 May 1945. The demarcation line between the Soviets and U.S. troops was Enns. Therefore, the roads to Enns were jammed with civilians and soldiers as they hurried to get to the west before 0100 hours on 9 May when the bridges over the river would be blocked. For the men of the LSSAH who made it west, they were marched off to different Prisoner of War camps. Most of the men went to the Ebensee camps for captivity.

The rest of the LSSAH (made up of the Leibstandarte SS Guard Battalion assigned to guard the Führer) ended its fighting days in Berlin.

Post-war
Otto Kumm survived the war and went on to become a successful businessman. Kumm was a founder and the first head of the Waffen SS veteran organization, HIAG. He died on the 23 March 2004. At the time of his death, Kumm was the last surviving SS-Brigadeführer and Generalmajor of the Waffen-SS. He was also the last surviving Waffen-SS holder of Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords.

Works

 * Kumm, Otto (2007). Vorwärts, Prinz Eugen! : Geschichte der 7. SS-Freiwilligen-Division "Prinz Eugen" (in German). Dresden, Germany: Winkelried. ISBN 978-3-938392-13-3.
 * Kumm, Otto (1983). 7. [Siebte] SS-Gebirgs-Division "Prinz Eugen" im Bild (in German and English). Osnabrück, Germany: Munin . ISBN 3-921242-54-1.

Awards

 * Iron Cross (1939)
 * 2nd Class (30 May 1940)
 * 1st Class (3 June 1940)
 * Wound Badge in Black
 * Infantry Assault Badge in Silver
 * German Cross in Gold on 29 November 1941 as SS-Obersturmbannführer in the SS-Regiment "Der Führer"
 * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
 * Knight's Cross on 16 February 1942 as SS-Obersturmbannführer and commander SS-Infanterie-Regiment (motorized) "Der Führer"
 * 221st Oak Leaves on 6 April 1943 as SS-Obersturmbannführer and commander SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment "Der Führer"
 * 138th Swords on 17 March 1945 as SS-Brigadeführer and Generalmajor of the Waffen-SS and commander of the 7. SS-Freiwilligen-Gebirgs-Division "Prinz Eugen"
 * Mentioned twice in the Wehrmachtbericht on 6 June 1944 and 10 October 1944