Joachim Peiper is remembered today as a convicted war criminal responsible for the bloody massacre of US Army prisoners of war in Malmedy during World War II. He held a high rank, served Heinrich Himmler as his adjutant, and was considered a valued member of the SS. He personally witnessed the mass murder that Himmler ordered carried out in the concentration camps. He also served as a tank commander on the Eastern and Western Fronts with his Kampfgruppe Peiper, which became notorious for its involvement in war crimes against prisoners of war and civilians.
After World War II, he was tried and investigated for war crimes. Although he was sentenced to death, the sentence was commuted to imprisonment due to the way he had been treated by US soldiers during interrogations and detention. This led to the prevailing view that he had escaped justice in the postwar trials, particularly regarding the murder of American soldiers. In the 1970s, his whereabouts in France were discovered, and he was subsequently brutally killed by anti-Nazis.
Join us today as we take a look at the brutal post-war execution of Joachim Peiper. Joachim Peiper was born on January 30, 1915, in Berlin into a middle-class family. His father was a soldier in the German army, participated in the Freikorps movement, and was enraged by Germany’s defeat in the First World War. At the age of 11, Joachim became a Boy Scout, which sparked his interest in a military career.
His older brother joined the SS, later became a guard in a concentration camp, and was killed in action in Poland. Joachim, on the other hand, joined the Hitler Youth at the age of 18. He volunteered for the SS, joined the SS Cavalry, and received several promotions. His reputation attracted the attention of Heinrich Himmler. For Himmler, Peiper was the ideal Aryan and a person who embodied the “master race” propagated by the Nazis. He was sent to military leadership courses and received positive evaluations from his instructors.
Psychologists noted, however, that he had a negative attitude and tried to impress others through his personal relationship with Himmler. He continued serving in the SS and trained to become an officer. During his time at the officer candidate school, he was also indoctrinated with Nazi antisemitic values, which would have devastating consequences. He completed a period of service in a Panzer division, and Himmler saw him as a promising SS leader. Afterward, he served as a staff officer in the anteroom of the SS Main Office in Berlin. His friendship with Himmler flourished, and he was considered a favored aide.
Peiper was always present when Himmler paid official visits. When the Nazis invaded Poland in September 1939, Peiper traveled on Himmler’s personal train. He also attended meetings with Hitler when the Führer traveled with Rommel and other generals of the Wehrmacht and SS. Peiper personally witnessed the brutality of the German officers carrying out mass executions of the Polish population; it was noted that he was a witness to these acts. He also witnessed the poison gas murders of disabled and mentally ill people in psychiatric hospitals as part of “Action T4.”
Together with Himmler, Peiper undertook numerous inspections of concentration camps in Nazi Germany and was involved in organizing the deportation of Jews from cities such as Warsaw and Lublin. As they continued their tour of the concentration camps, they witnessed further euthanasia murders and executions. When Germany invaded France, Peiper became a platoon leader in a Panzer division. He received the Iron Cross Second Class and later the Iron Cross First Class, and achieved many victories.
He was then informed of the impending invasion of the Soviet Union. He had four months to prepare the Waffen-SS soldiers of the Kampfgruppe for the conflict with the Red Army. He continued to travel with Himmler to the occupied territories, observed the ghettos established during the occupation of Poland, and witnessed the brutality of the German soldiers firsthand. In June 1941, he attended a conference where Himmler discussed plans to kill 30 million Slavs in Europe and Russia. When the invasion of the Soviet Union began, Peiper was personally on site to inspect the work of the Einsatzgruppen, which executed thousands of civilians by shooting.
He returned to fighting on the Eastern Front. Peiper wrote about close combat with the Soviets and became known for war crimes himself. During an invasion of a village on the Eastern Front, Peiper and his men discovered 25 Germans who had been killed by partisans and Soviets. He then ordered the entire village burned down and all its inhabitants shot.
His unit became known as the “Blowtorch Battalion” after massacring two Soviet villages, shooting all the inhabitants and burning the villages to the ground. Hundreds were killed by Peiper’s actions. He himself was said to have been eager to carry out the order to burn the villages. His group was notorious for its terror, and he was proud of this reputation. Peiper was used as a propaganda hero for his leadership within the Waffen-SS. This also occurred in Italy, where Kampfgruppe Peiper was deployed.
On September 19, 1943, partisans of the Italian resistance killed one soldier and captured two others near Boves in northwestern Italy. During a firefight with the partisans, the Germans were unable to rescue the men. Kampfgruppe Peiper then seized control of the access roads to the village. Peiper threatened the partisans with the destruction of the entire village unless they released the SS men. A local priest negotiated the release of the prisoners, and the body of the SS soldier killed earlier was recovered. However, despite having gotten his way, Peiper still ordered his men to kill 24 people in the village. They also killed a woman and, in the process, looted and burned her house.
Peiper’s combat experience continued during the Battle of Normandy. After a brief deployment on the Eastern Front, he was withdrawn and sent to Belgium, where he participated in training new recruits. The rigorous training for Kampfgruppe Peiper even resulted in five men being shot for failing to meet the required standards. Following Operation Overlord, he was stationed in the Pas-de-Calais region but rarely saw front-line action. He suffered a nervous breakdown, was relieved of his command on August 2, 1944, and hospitalized for treatment.
Just in time for the Ardennes Offensive and the counterattack, in which the American army entrenched itself against the Germans, he returned to the front. He commanded Kampfgruppe Peiper, which, with its massive Tiger II tanks, was the best-equipped unit. He attempted to capture bridges across the rivers, but during this operation, Peiper became notorious for carrying out a series of massacres.
He and his soldiers were particularly responsible for the Malmedy massacre. His armored units encountered a lightly armed convoy of American vehicles at the Baugnez crossroads, which quickly surrendered to the Germans. However, the American troops were driven back into a field near the crossroads. Enraged by the delay caused by the skirmish, Joachim Peiper ordered the execution of 84 American soldiers. Their bodies were left lying in the snow for weeks until the Americans discovered them. Further killings occurred in other Belgian towns and villages. Eventually, Peiper’s battle group was isolated and cut off. This led Peiper and his men to abandon their tanks and retreat.
After the war, Joachim Peiper was sentenced to death for his involvement in the Malmedy massacre and other atrocities committed by the unit under his command. At his trial, he claimed that he had been tortured to extract information and confessions, and that these had been obtained through inappropriate interrogations. As a result, Peiper’s death sentence, which would have been by hanging, was commuted to a prison term. Over the next decade, all those imprisoned in connection with this trial were released. Peiper’s death sentence was initially reduced to 35 years and then further shortened.
In December 1956, he was released from Landsberg Prison. By the time of his release, he was a bitter man whose glory days at the side of Himmler and Hitler were behind him. He subsequently worked in sales for a Volkswagen dealership and declared in a postwar interview: “I was a Nazi and I will remain one. Today’s Germany is no longer a great nation; it has become a province of Europe. Therefore, I will settle elsewhere at the first opportunity, undoubtedly in France. I don’t like the French, but I love France.”
In 1968, new trials were held in which Peiper was accused of killing Italian civilians. However, the court ruled that the evidence was insufficient for a formal indictment. In the winter of 1970, Joachim Peiper, now around 55 years old, moved into a small house he and his wife had built in Traves. The French authorities had granted him permission to live there, even though they knew exactly who he was and what his background was. The family was not particularly wealthy, but with their children grown, Peiper and his wife lived comfortably. They owned enough land to live quietly and avoid attracting attention. Their house was rather modest, secured by trees and a barbed-wire fence.
Although the Peipers led a quiet life and kept to themselves, they had some friends in the village. But in June 1976, a smear campaign began. On June 21, leaflets were distributed throughout the village, proclaiming: “Citizens of Traves, the war criminal SS-Peiper is among us, a monster.” The leaflets demanded his expulsion from France. This was soon picked up by national newspapers. There was widespread outrage throughout France that the man who had caused such massacres and suffering was allowed to settle there. Within days, all national and international media outlets were reporting on it. Swastikas, SS runes, and Peiper’s name were painted on walls and streets in the surrounding area.
Peiper complained to the police. They agreed to guard his property during the day, but not at night. The West German embassy in Paris advised him to leave. However, two days after distributing the leaflets, he gave a newspaper interview. When asked about his Nazi past, he replied: “That’s a ridiculous question. I was young and idealistic against Bolshevism. I don’t understand why people keep dredging up this history. As the Italians say: The coffee’s cold. It’s time for reconciliation in Europe. I wasn’t political. I was never a member of the Nazi party. I was a soldier.”
In July, threats against Peiper’s life and property began to surface. He received letters and phone calls announcing plans to burn down his house and kill his dogs. There was no specific threat to kill him, but during this time, his wife left for her own safety. Peiper felt as if his house had become a fortified camp, and the situation was escalating. Peiper said he wasn’t worried, as he didn’t believe those making the threats would carry anything out. He was armed with a .38 Colt revolver and a .22 caliber rifle for self-defense. He also received a shotgun to further bolster his arsenal. These weapons were kept loaded at all times.
On Bastille Day, July 14, 1976, Peiper’s house was attacked in the early morning hours. Sirens wailed and flames erupted from the building. The local fire brigade arrived but found their pump malfunctioning, delaying firefighting efforts. When the fire was finally extinguished, they discovered the charred remains of a body in the study. Joachim Peiper’s remains had shrunk to about 60 centimeters in length due to the intensity of the fire. They were said to be barely recognizable as human.
His identity was confirmed. Underneath his body, police found a fire-damaged rifle with a cartridge in the chamber. Nearby lay a revolver from which five shots had been fired. Another 13 rounds and five spent cartridges from the rifle were found in the next room. On the terrace, they discovered three spent shotgun shells from the weapon he had borrowed. These had been fired, and there was a strong smell of gunpowder.
During the examination of the garden, shotgun pellets were found near an oak tree, about 10 meters from the house. It is believed that Peiper attempted to shoot those attacking his home. His two dogs were wounded, and projectiles were found in their kennels. Forensic evidence confirmed several details: Joachim Peiper tried to save some of his wife’s clothing by throwing it from the house onto the porch. Peiper’s wristwatch was also found on his body. It had stopped at 1:00 a.m., while the clock inside the house stopped seven minutes later.
Fire investigators determined that the fire had started at the rear of the house near the street and spread very rapidly. It was started by Molotov cocktails. The remains of one were found near the house. After the house had been attacked with incendiary devices, it was also discovered that the wire fence between the garden and the meadow had been cut with bolt cutters. Peiper had apparently noticed the attackers and fired at them.
He fired all three weapons at them, and there was no indication that any other weapons had been fired toward the house. It is believed that Peiper fired the shotgun from the terrace to repel the attackers. As the fire engulfed his house, he re-entered it to save important papers and his wife’s clothing. After throwing these out the window, he continued to try to defend himself but was overcome by the smoke, collapsed, and perished in the flames.
Following Joachim Peiper’s death, an anti-Nazi group calling itself “The Avengers” contacted the London Times and claimed responsibility. Shortly afterward, Peiper’s charred house became a temporary tourist attraction for locals who wanted to see the ruins of the former SS commander’s home.
Joachim Peiper was a brutal and cruel leader within the Waffen-SS, responsible for the deaths of thousands through war crimes and atrocities. He was closely connected to the SS leadership and personally witnessed the crimes of genocide committed by the Nazis in the concentration camps.
His death came 30 years after the end of the Second World War. Many viewed it as retribution for the crimes he had ordered and committed in the preceding decades. One thing, however, seems certain: the most likely consequence for Peiper after the Second World War would have been his execution for war crimes. It is highly probable that he would have been executed had those guards not tortured and beaten him during his interrogations. Nevertheless, Peiper’s burning at the stake on Bastille Day in 1976 was shocking.