Poland and France
On 1 September 1939, Germany invaded Poland and, sixteen days later, the Soviet Union attacked from the east. As one of his adjutants, Peiper joined Himmler's entourage on board the Reichsführer-SS's special train. Peiper was with Himmler on 20 September in Blomberg when they witnessed the execution of twenty Poles. Peiper later wrote that the experience left Himmler "speechless" for several days. As Peiper later told Ernst Schäfer, Hitler had previously ordered Himmler to eliminate the Polish intellectuals.
After Poland was defeated, Peiper worked with Himmler to develop policies and plans for controlling the Polish population. Later, Peiper accompanied Himmler to Feldherrnhalle commemorative ceremonies in Munich on 9 October 1939. On 13 December 1939, Peiper and Himmler witnessed the gassing of a resident of a psychiatric facility in Poznan. In post-war interrogations, Peiper described the experience in a detached, factual manner.
On 17 May 1940, Peiper accompanied Himmler as he followed Waffen SS troops during the Battle of France. In Hasselt, Peiper obtained permission to join a combat unit. and became a platoon leader in the 11th Company of 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH). He was soon promoted to company commander. After seizing a British artillery battery on the hills of Wattenberg, Peiper was awarded the Iron Cross and promoted to Hauptsturmführer.
Read more about this topic: Joachim Peiper
Famous quotes containing the words poland and/or france:
“It is often said that Poland is a country where there is anti-semitism and no Jews, which is pathology in its purest state.”
—Bronislaw Geremek (b. 1932)
“The best of America drifts to Paris. The American in Paris is the best American. It is more fun for an intelligent person to live in an intelligent country. France has the only two things toward which we drift as we grow older—intelligence and good manners.”
—F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940)