After eleven years in
Allied custody,
Joachim Peiper decided to relocate in France with his family. He was released as the last of his comrades in December 1956. With the help of former French prisoner of war Mr. Gauthier, he managed to buy a watermill in Traves in the Haute-Saône department in eastern France in 1957.
Jochen Peiper had a house built there for his family in 1960, high up on the bank of the river Saône. The house was like a military fort – surrounded by bushes and was not seen from the street. He and his family lived there quite peacefully for over sixteen years when Paul Cacheux, member of the French communist party, recognized him. This resulted in a hate-campaign openly directed by the communist party. Flyers showing Jochen Peiper as a war criminal and Nazi were distributed all over Traves. He decided to send his beloved wife and daughter to their family in Germany. Jochen Peiper was convinced he would be unable to protect his family adequately in case of an attack. Fearing his neighbor and friend, the former Leibstandarte officer SS-Obersturmbannführer Erwin Ketelhut, would shoot at any attacker caused him to refuse his friend's offer to spend the nights at his house. At 23:30 Jochen Peiper shot in the air trying to intimidate the intruders. What happened afterwards can only be told by the culprits. The winner of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oakleaves and Swords SS-Standartenführer Joachim Peiper's charred and asphyxiated corpse was found in his burned down house on July 14 1976, the Bastille Day in France. He died at about 01:00. The perpetrators were never identified, but were suspected to be French communists. Jochen Peiper is buried alongside his wife Sigurd at Friedhof Schondorf am Ammersee. Left image: post-war photography of Jochen Peiper taken by the Wiking veteran Benno Müller in 1957. Private collection, with permission. Right image: photo by Osamu Suzuki. PD.
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ReplyDeleteOf the estimated 13-15 million men who served in the German Armed Forces in World War II only 160 were awarded the Knight's Cross with Oak-leaves and Swords.
ReplyDeleteForget the political aspects. May this war hero rest in peace.
DeleteRIP Jochen, thank you for fighting for our freedom.
ReplyDeletePeiper originally posted this photo in 1957 to the Waffen-SS panzer veteran Wilhelm Fey, who at the time served as Hauptmann in the German Bundeswehr. Fey, who was also an author, wrote about the photograph: Peiper sendte Bild nebst Widmung nach meiner Wiederverwendung in der Bundeswehr und aus Anlaß seiner Entlassung aus jahrelanger Haft in Landsberg.
ReplyDeletePeiper was a war criminal. His unit burned down a hole village at Kharkov and murdered civilians in Italy and during the BoB. I cannot unterstand how someone like him can be worshipped!
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DeleteYou’re mid informed Pascal K
DeleteThe guys on the receiving end always get the blame - and not every war crime can get proven (which is especially true for some that supposedly happened during the Ardennes offensive). In regard to your comment, Mr. Pascal, I would encourage you to read the comments under the post 'Soviet Skachok and Zvezda Operations (III)'. And while you're on it, you might as well want to read the posts about the Boves and the Malmedy Massacres. Educate yourself. You're being ignorant. Read books and articles. Continue reading.
DeleteIt is a terribly sad story, and every new detail makes it even more sad.
ReplyDeleteMay his soul rest in peace.
ReplyDeleteJohn Wood
Peiper wurde nach langer Haft begnadigt. Vorwürfe im Fall Malmedy erwiesen sich als nicht haltbar. Damit hat sich der Fall für mich. Ruhe in Frieden.
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