Karl Wolff
Karl Wolff | |
|---|---|
Wolff in 1937 | |
| Birth name | Karl Friedrich Otto Wolff |
| Born | 13 May 1900 |
| Died | 16 July 1984 (aged 84) |
| Allegiance | German Empire Nazi Germany |
| Service years | 1917–1918 1931–1945 |
| Rank | SS-Obergruppenführer and General of the Waffen-SS |
| Unit | Schutzstaffel |
| Commands | Chief, Personal Staff Reichsführer-SS Supreme SS and Police Leader, occupied Italy |
| Conflicts | World War I World War II |
| Awards | Iron Cross, 1st and 2nd class Clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st and 2nd class German Cross in Gold |
| Relations | Fatima Grimm (daughter) |
Karl Friedrich Otto Wolff (13 May 1900 – 16 July 1984) was a senior German Schutzstaffel (SS) officer who served as Chief of Personal Staff Reichsführer-SS (Heinrich Himmler) and an SS liaison to Adolf Hitler during World War II. He ended the war as the Supreme SS and Police Leader in occupied Italy and helped arrange for the early surrender of Axis forces in that theatre, effectively ending the war there several days sooner than in the rest of Europe. He escaped prosecution at the Nuremberg Trials as a result of his participation in Operation Sunrise. In 1962, Wolff was arrested in West Germany and prosecuted for the deportation of Polish Jews. In 1964, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for being an accessory to murder. He was released in 1971 and died 13 years later.