Early Life
Born as the son of a social democratic engine driver and a master baker's daughter, Peter joined the NSDAP in 1938 and volunteered for the Waffen-SS at the age of barely 17. During World War II, he served at the western and eastern fronts and achieved the rank of Obersturmführer in the 10th regiment of the 1st SS Infantry Brigade. This unit was part of the Einsatzgruppen which systematically shot hundreds of thousands of Jews behind the front during the summer of 1941. Although his unit was almost exclusively engaged in this activity, Peter denied any involvement or knowledge about them after the war. He was interned by American forces for a year in Glasenbach.
After his release, he became an elementary school and special education teacher, later Landesschulinspektor (state school supervisor).
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Famous quotes related to early life:
“... goodness is of a modest nature, easily discouraged, and when much elbowed in early life by unabashed vices, is apt to retire into extreme privacy, so that it is more easily believed in by those who construct a selfish old gentleman theoretically, than by those who form the narrower judgments based on his personal acquaintance.”
—George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)