ϟϟ-Obersturmbannführer der Waffen-SS Meyer

SS-Obersturmbannführer Kurt Meyer

Kurt Meyer aka Panzermeyer was accepted in the SS on October 15 1931. In May 1934, he was transferred to the SS most prestigious unit, the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler. SS-Obersturmbannführer Kurt Meyers battalion proved to be extremely valuable during the defensive operations of Armeeabteilung Lanz and Kempf in early 1943, which shielded the key railroad complex of Krasnograd, which allowed the other two divisions of the SS-Panzerkorps to assemble in preparation for Generalfeldmarschall Erich von Manstein's counterattack on Kharkov. The SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Leibstandarte SS was heavily outnumbered and was forced to use aggressive defensive thrusts to keep the Soviets continually off balance while Das Reich and Totenkopf assembled at Krasnograd. After Leibstandarte SS joined the other two divisions of the SS-Panzerkorps southwest of Kharkov, Meyer and his battalion played a key role in the Kharkov counteroffensive that recaptured Kharkov. For his exploits during the Kharkov fighting, Meyer was personally awarded the Oakleaves on February 23 1943 by Adolf Hitler. He was flown to Germany so that Hitler could personally bestow upon him the Oakleaves to his Knight's Cross. After talking in private with Hitler for a time, answering questions about the fighting in the Soviet Union, Meyer soon returned to the Eastern front, rejoining his battalion in time to take part in the recapture of Kharkov. In the summer of 1943, Hitler declared the formation of a new SS division. The SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Hitlerjugend was to be filled by members of the Hitler Youth organization born in 1926. The division's commanding officers were to come from the Leibstandarte SS and was to be commanded by Meyer's old comrade SS-Brigadeführer Fritz Witt. SS-Obersturmbannführer Kurt Meyer was selected to command the young Panzergrenadiers of SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 25. He was promoted to SS-Standartenführer on June 21 1943. Credit: George Nipe and Remy Spezzano: Platz der Leibstandarte. Image: a battlefield portrait of the 33-year-old SS-Ostubaf. Kurt Meyer, shortly after the award of the Oakleaves. Picture taken in the outskirts of Kharkov 1943. Commons: Bundesarchiv.