Theodor Scherer

Theodor Scherer
Theodor Scherer
Born	17 September 1889 Höchstädt an der Donau
Died	17 May 1951 (aged 61) Ludwigsburg
Allegiance	German Empire  Weimar Republic  Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Army
Years of service	1909–20 1935–45
Rank	Generalleutnant
Commands held	281st Security Division
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
Other work	Police officer

Theodor Scherer (17 September 1889 – 17 May 1951) was a German general and divisional commander in the Wehrmacht during World War II. Scherer was commissioned into the army in 1910 and served during World War I. For the next 15 years, he served as a police officer; he rejoined the army in 1935. In 1940 he was given command of an infantry regiment, which took part in the invasion of France and the Low Countries.

In October 1941, Scherer took command of 281st Security Division, stationed in Kholm, in the occupied Soviet Union. (The security divisions were not frontline combat formations, but were posted to the rear area and engaged in eliminating any form of resistance, real or imagined, including partisans, communists, Red Army stragglers, Jews and Roma.^[1]) In January 1942, the division, along with other Wehrmacht and police units, was encircled at Kholm, and was not relieved until 5 May 1942. Scherer was decorated with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 20 February 1942.

Scherer was subsequently appointed commander of the 34th and then the 83rd Infantry Division. The division was deployed in Velikije Luki on the left flank of Army Group Center, when it was encircled by the Soviet 3rd Shock Army in November 1942 and subsequently destroyed by mid-January 1943. Scherer then served in a staff role in the 4th Panzer Army and at the end of the war was in charge of the defence of the Schwarzen Elster river, near the Elbe. He was killed in a car accident at Ludwigsburg in May 1951.

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914) 2nd Class (26 August 1914) & 1st Class (17 January 1920)^[2]
• Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class & 1st Class (20 June 1940)^[2]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 20 February 1942 as Generalmajor and commander of the 281. Sicherungs-Division^[3]
  • 92nd Oak Leaves on 5 May 1942 as Generalmajor and commander of the 281. Sicherungs-Division^[4]
• Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht (6 May 1942)

References

Citations

1. Lower, Wendy (2005):Nazi Empire-Building and the Holocaust in Ukraine
2. Thomas 1998, p. 253.
3. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 305.
4. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 53.

Bibliography

• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [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] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Thomas, Franz (1998). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2: L–Z [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 2: L–Z] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2300-9.