Max Seela

Quality 0.50 · 1 view · Updated 2 months ago

Recipient of the Knight's Cross

title: "Max Seela" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1911-births", "1999-deaths", "people-from-oder-spree", "military-personnel-from-the-province-of-brandenburg", "ss-obersturmbannführer", "waffen-ss-personnel", "german-prisoners-of-war-in-world-war-ii-held-by-the-united-states", "recipients-of-the-knight's-cross-of-the-iron-cross", "recipients-of-the-gold-german-cross", "military-personnel-from-brandenburg"] description: "Recipient of the Knight's Cross" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Seela" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Recipient of the Knight's Cross ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox military person"]

FieldValue
nameMax Seela
imageBundesarchiv Bild 101III-Adendorf-044-09, Max Seela.jpg
birth_date15 July 1911
death_date31 July 1999 (aged 88)
birth_placeSchöneiche, German Empire
death_placeRatingen, Germany
module{{Infobox military person
embed_titleSS-VT and Waffen-SS career
allegianceNazi Germany
serviceyears1933–45
ranklieutenant colonel (Obersturmbannführer)
unit{{ubl
battlesWorld War II
awardsKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross
German Cross in Gold
::

|name=Max Seela |image=Bundesarchiv Bild 101III-Adendorf-044-09, Max Seela.jpg |caption= |birth_date=15 July 1911 |death_date=31 July 1999 (aged 88) |birth_place=Schöneiche, German Empire |death_place=Ratingen, Germany |module={{Infobox military person |embed=yes |embed_title=SS-VT and Waffen-SS career |allegiance=Nazi Germany |serviceyears=1933–45 |rank=lieutenant colonel (Obersturmbannführer) |unit={{ubl |3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf |9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen |commands= |battles=World War II |awards=Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross German Cross in Gold

Max Seela (15 July 1911 – 31 July 1999) was a lieutenant colonel (Obersturmbannführer) in the Waffen-SS during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

Career

Max Seela was born in 1911 at Schöneiche near Berlin. He enlisted in Reichswehr (German Army) in 1929 and was then transferred into the SS-VT in 1935. His SS service number was 257,323 and his NSDAP number was 147,126. In September 1935 he joined the SS Pioneer Battalion.

By October 1939 Seela had been given command of a company in the pioneer battalion of the SS Division Totenkopf. He was awarded the Iron Cross, 2nd class, in May 1940 and the Iron Cross, 1st class, in June 1940. He took part in the invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa) and was awarded the German Cross in Gold in December 1941.

Seela was awarded the Knight's Cross in May 1942, while he was a Hauptsturmführer (captain) and in command of 3rd Company, SS Pioneer Battalion Totenkopf. Despite severe losses and meager supplies, his unit occupied the Russian village of Korowitsch (east of Staraya Russa) in the Demyansk Pocket for one month. Seela and his men prevented the village from being recaptured, denying the Soviet Army access to the crucial bridge over the Lovat River.

In July 1942, Seela was given command of the 3rd SS Pioneer Battalion Totenkopf until April 1944 when he was appointed commander of the II SS Panzer Corps Pioneers. He was then given command of the 19th SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment, 9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen.

On 8 May 1945, Seela surrendered to the American forces. He died in Ratingen, at the age of 88 on 31 July 1999.

Awards and decorations

References

Bibliography

  • {{Cite book |last=Fellgiebel |first=Walther-Peer |authorlink=Walther-Peer Fellgiebel |year=2000 |orig-year=1986 |title=Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile |trans-title=The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches |language=German |location=Friedberg, Germany |publisher=Podzun-Pallas |isbn=978-3-7909-0284-6
  • {{Cite book |last1=Henschler |first1=Henri |last2=Fey |first2=Willi |authorlink2=Willi Fey |year=2003 |title=Armor Battles of the Waffen-SS, 1943–45 |location=Mechanicsburg, PA |publisher=Stackpole Books |isbn=978-0-8117-2905-5
  • {{Cite book |last=Mitcham |first=Samuel W |year=2007 |title=Retreat to the Reich : the German defeat in France, 1944 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qBrjZ8-VtEMC&pg=PP1 |location=Mechanicsburg, PA |publisher=Stackpole Books |isbn=978-0-8117-3384-7
  • {{cite book |last=Sydnor |first=Charles W. |title=Soldiers of Destruction: The SS Death's Head Division, 1933-1945 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QYU4QJsUWLYC&pg=PA192 |year=1990 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=0-691-00853-1

| portal1=Biography | commons=y

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

1911-births1999-deathspeople-from-oder-spreemilitary-personnel-from-the-province-of-brandenburgss-obersturmbannführerwaffen-ss-personnelgerman-prisoners-of-war-in-world-war-ii-held-by-the-united-statesrecipients-of-the-knight's-cross-of-the-iron-crossrecipients-of-the-gold-german-crossmilitary-personnel-from-brandenburg