What is Joachim Peiper?
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-R65485, Joachim Peiper.jpg|thumb|Joachim Peiper (1943) as Sturmbannfuhrer (Major)]] '''Joachim Peiper''', (30 January 1915 in [[Berlin]] – 14 July 1976 in [[Traves, Haute-Saône|Traves]], [[Haute-Saône]]), also known as '''Jochen Peiper''', was a [[waffen-SS]] [[military]] [[officer]] of [[Nazi Germany]] during [[World War II]]. He was a [[field officer]] of the [[Waffen-SS]] (he had the rank of SS-[[Standartenführer]] der Waffen-SS, comparable with the rank of [[colonel]]). He was personal [[adjutant]] to the commander of the [[Schutzstaffel]] (SS), [[Heinrich Himmler]]. He held this position between November 1940 and August 1941. Peiper fought on both the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]] against the [[Red Army]] and the [[Western Front (World War II)|Western Front]] against the [[Western Allies]]. He won the [[Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords]] for bravery on the battlefield and his leadership skills. By 1945, he was in command of a [[regiment]] of the Waffen-SS. He was the Waffen-SS's youngest regimental [[colonel]]. Peiper was convicted of [[war crime]]s committed in [[Belgium]]. He was imprisoned for almost 12 years. He was also accused of war crimes in [[Italy]]. However, Italian and German courts decided that there was not enough evidence. After his release from prison, Peiper worked for both [[Porsche]] and [[Volkswagen]]. He then moved to [[France]]. In France he translated books from English to German under the [[pseudonym]] '''Rainer Buschmann'''. Peiper was murdered in France in July 1976. He was shot by unknown people who then burned his house to the ground using [[Molotov cocktail]]s. '''Promotions and Ranks in the SS (1936-1945)''' SS-Untersturmfuhrer (Second Lieutenant) ; 1936-1939 SS-Obersturmfuhrer (First Lieutenant) ; 1939-1940) SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer (Captain) ; 1940-1943 SS-Sturmbannfuhrer (Major),Obersturmbannfuhrer (Lieutenant-Colonel) ; 1943-1945 SS-Standartenfuhrer (Colonel) ; 1945 == Other websites == {{Commonsca