Kurt Meyer(I)
Kurt Meyer was born in Jerxheim, Lower Saxony. He
joined the police force in 1929, and got his nickname "Panzer" from the
time he tried to play a prank on another policeman. He was on the roof
of a two-story building, waiting to throw water on the man, when Meyer
fell and landed on his feet, suffering multiple fractures. He lived
through his life-threatening injuries and was called "Panzer" by his
classmates, since he proved to be tough as a tank. Meyer joined the SS
in 1930, and became a 2nd Lieutenant in 1932. He fought in the invasion
of Poland in 1939 in command of the antitank company of the
Leibstandarte SS-Adolf Hitler. He then commanded the motorcycle company
of the regiment during the invasions of Holland and France. Meyer then
commanded the unit in the invasion of Greece in 1941, and later in
"Operation Barbarossa," the invasion of Russia. His unit later captured
the staff of a Soviet division, and helped the SS to retake Kharkov in
1943. Meyer then became part of the command staff of the 12th SS
division, the "Hiterjugend" division, and fought in the German effort
to repel the invasion of France in Normandy in June, 1944. In this
battle, he ordered that no prisoners should be taken, and his men
killed 18 Canadian prisoners. His division commander was killed on June
14th, and Meyer was given command of the Hitlerjugend at the age of 33.
He led his men out of the Falaise pocket in July, 1944, and was
captured on September 6th. He was presumed dead by the Germans and was
promoted to Major General. In December, 1945, he was tried by
court-martial for war crimes by Canada for the killing of prisoners. He
was sentenced to death, but the sentence was commuted to life
imprisonment. He served part of the sentence in Canada, but was
transferred to a British prison in West Germany, and was released in
1954. Kurt Meyer died of a heart attack on December 23, 1951, on his
51st birthday, in Hagen, West Germany. Some 15,000 people attended his
funeral.