Wilhelm Mohnke

Wilhelm Mohnke (15 March 1911 – 6 August 2001) was a German military officer who was one of the original members of the Schutzstaffel SS-Stabswache Berlin (Staff Guard Berlin) formed in March 1933. Mohnke, who had joined the Nazi Party in September 1931, rose through the ranks to become one of Adolf Hitler's last remaining general officers at the end of World War II in Europe. With the SS Division Leibstandarte, Mohnke participated in the fighting in France, Poland and the Balkans. He was appointed to command a regiment in the SS Division Hitlerjugend in 1943. He led the unit in the Battle for Caen, receiving the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 11 July 1944. Mohnke was given command of his original division, the Leibstandarte, during the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944. During the Battle of Berlin, Mohnke commanded the Kampfgruppe Mohnke and was charged with defending the Berlin government district, including the Reich Chancellery and the Reichstag.[1] He was investigated after the war for war crimes, including allegations that he was responsible for the killing of prisoners in France in 1940, Normandy in June 1944 and Belgium in December 1944. Although Mohnke served 10 years in Soviet custody, he was never charged with any crimes, and died in 2001, aged 90.