Jürgen Wagner

Jürgen Wagner
Born	9 September 1901
Died	27 June 1947 (aged 45) Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Waffen SS
Rank	Brigadeführer
Service number	NSDAP #707,279 SS #23,692
Unit	SS Division Nederland 4th SS Polizei Division
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Jürgen Wagner (9 September 1901 in Strasbourg – 27 June 1947 in Belgrade) was a Brigadeführer in the Waffen SS during World War II, he was the commander of the SS Division Nederland and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves.

Wagner was extradited to Yugoslavia in 1947 to stand trial for war crimes. Found guilty before the Yugoslav military tribunal, he was sentenced to death and executed on 27 June 1947. In April 1944 Wagner was promoted to SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS and given command of the 4th SS Polizei Division. In August 1944, Wagner was given command of a kampfgruppe, against the Tartu Offensive of the Soviet 3rd Baltic Front.^[1]

Wagner was extradited to Yugoslavia in 1947. There, he was put on trial before the military tribunal of the 3rd Yugoslav Army from 29 May to 6 June 1947 in Zrenjanin. It is not precisely known for what he was indicted for, however his orders for the mass executions of civilians in 1941 and later on reportedly played a role in his conviction. Found guilty of the charges, he was sentenced to death by firing squad and executed on 27 June 1947.^[2]

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (16 May 1940) & 1st Class (1 July 1940)^[3]
• German Cross in Gold on 8 December 1942 as SS-Standartenführer in SS-Infanterie-Regiment "Germania"^[4]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 24 July 1943 as SS-Oberführer and commander of SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment "Germania".^[5]
  • 680th Oak Leaves on 11 December 1944 as SS-Brigadeführer and Generalmajor of the Waffen-SS and commander of the 4. SS-Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Brigade "Nederland"^[5]

References

Citations

1. Hiio 2006, pp. 1035–1094.
2. Böhme 1964, p. 19–20.
3. Thomas 1998, p. 407.
4. Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 492.
5. Scherzer 2007, p. 764.

Bibliography

• Böhme, Kurt W. (1964). Zur Geschichte der deutschen Kriegsgefangenen des Zweiten Weltkrieges. Die deutschen Kriegsgefangenen in Jugoslawien 1949-1953. Vol. I/2, Gieseking, Ernst und Werner, GmbH, Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7694-0004-5.
• Hiio, Toomas (2006). "Combat in Estonia in 1944". In Toomas Hiio; Meelis Maripuu; Indrek Paavle. Estonia 1940–1945: Reports of the Estonian International Commission for the Investigation of Crimes Against Humanity. Tallinn.
• Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Thomas, Franz (1998). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2: L–Z [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 2: L–Z] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2300-9.