Werner Poetschke

In March 1945 he received the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross. During the fighting in Hungary, Poetschke was seriously wounded in battle and he died two days later from his wounds.

Werner Poetschke (6 March 1914 – 24 March 1945) was a German SS-Sturmbannführer and battalion commander. He commanded SS Panzer Regiment 1 LSSAH during the Ardennes Offensive and is considered to be the primary person responsible for the Malmedy massacre.

Werner Poetschke was born in Brussels in 1914. In 1935 he entered the SS and served in the Leibstandarte. From March 1938 he was a platoon commander in the SS standard "Der Führer", with whom he participated in the Polish campaign and won the Iron Cross 1st class. In the French Campaign, he commanded a platoon in the 1st Company of the Reconnaissance Battalion with which he captured a bridge over the Maas–Waal Canal. In France he destroyed a motor cycle unit and six anti-tanks guns near Dissen. His evaluation by his superiors however was negative, they considered him to be overreckless and a bad people manager, and Poetschke was transferred to the division Das Reich. Werner Poetschke then took part in the Balkan campaign and in the battles on the Eastern Front for which he received the German Cross in Gold. From April 1942 he was commander of the 2nd company of the reconnaissance battalion of the SS division Das Reich. In early 1943 he was transferred to the 1st Battalion of the 1st Panzer Regiment of the SS Division "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler" as commander of the 1st company. In August 1943, he was sent to Italy, and in December 1943 to Russia. Poetschke received the Knight's Cross in 1944.