Josef "Sepp" Dietrich | |
|---|---|
 Dietrich in 1944 | |
| Birth name | Josef Dietrich |
| Born | 28 May 1892 Hawangen, Kingdom of Bavaria, German Empire |
| Died | 21 April 1966 (aged 73) Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany |
| Allegiance |
|
| Service |
 SS & Waffen-SS |
| Years of service | 1911–1918 1928–1945 |
| Rank |
|
| Service number | NSDAP #89,015 SS #1,117 |
| Commands | Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler I SS Panzer Corps 5th Panzer Army 6th Panzer Army |
| Battles / wars | World War I
|
| Awards | Iron Cross First Class (1914) Tank Memorial Badge Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds |
| Other work | Member of HIAG, Waffen-SS lobby group |
| Signature |  |
| Known for | Night of the Long Knives Malmedy massacre Wormhoudt massacre |
| Criminal status | Deceased |
| Conviction(s) | U.S. Military War crimes West Germany Accessory to manslaughter (6 counts) |
| Criminal penalty | U.S. Military Life imprisonment; commuted to 25 years imprisonment West Germany 18 months imprisonment |
Josef "Sepp" Dietrich (28 May 1892 – 21 April 1966) was a German politician and a general in the Schutzstaffel (SS) during the Nazi era. He joined the Nazi Party in 1928 and was elected to the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic in 1930. Prior to 1929, Dietrich was Adolf Hitler's chauffeur and bodyguard.
Despite having no formal staff officer training, Dietrich was, along with Paul Hausser, the highest-ranking officer in the Waffen-SS, the military branch of the SS. Reaching the rank of Oberst-Gruppenführer, he commanded units up to army level during World War II. As commanding officer of the 6th Panzer Army during the Battle of the Bulge, Dietrich bore responsibility for the Malmedy massacre, the murder of U.S. prisoners of war in December 1944.
After the war, an American military tribunal convicted Dietrich of war crimes at the Malmedy massacre trial. Upon his release from Landsberg Prison in 1955, Dietrich became active in HIAG, a lobby group established by former high-ranking Waffen-SS personnel. He died in 1966.