View source for 3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf

{{short description|German armored division}}
{{distinguish|text=''[[SS-Totenkopfverbände]]'', the SS organization responsible for administering the German Nazi concentration camps}}
{{more citations needed|date=November 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name                     = 3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf
| image                         = 3rd SS Division Logo.svg
| caption                       = Divisional insignia
| dates                         = 1939–45
| country                       = {{flag|Nazi Germany}}
| branch                        = {{flagicon|Schutzstaffel}} [[Waffen-SS]]
| type                          = [[Panzer]]
| role                          = [[Armoured warfare]]
| size                          = [[Division (military)|Division]]
| command_structure             = 
| garrison                      = <!-- Commanders -->
| nickname                      = Death's Head Division
| patron                        = 
| motto                         = 
| colors                        = 
| march                         = 
| mascot                        = 
| battles                       = {{tree list}}
*[[World War II]]
**[[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]]
***[[Budapest Offensive]]
****[[Operation Konrad III]]
***[[Operation Spring Awakening]]
{{tree list/end}}
| notable_commanders            = {{ubl|[[Theodor Eicke]]|[[Max Simon]]}}
<!-- Insignia -->| identification_symbol         = 
| identification_symbol_2       = <!-- Culture and history -->
| Past Commanders               = 
| native_name                   = {{lang|de| 3. SS-Panzerdivision "Totenkopf"}}
}}

The '''3rd SS Panzer Division "Totenkopf"''' ({{langx|de| 3. SS-Panzerdivision "Totenkopf"}})<ref>Official designation in German language as to "Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv* in [[Freiburg im Breisgau]], stores of the [[Wehrmacht]] and [[Waffen-SS]].</ref> was an elite [[Division (military)|division]] of the [[Waffen-SS]] of [[Nazi Germany]] during [[World War II]], formed from the [[Standarte (Nazi Germany)|Standarten]] of the [[SS-TV]]. Its name, ''[[Totenkopf]]'', is German for "death's head"{{snd}}the [[Skull and crossbones (symbol)|skull and crossbones symbol]]{{snd}}and it is thus sometimes referred to as the '''Death's Head Division'''.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Mann|first=Chris|title=SS-Totenkopf: The History of the 'Death's Head' Division, 1940–45 (Waffen-SS Divisional Histories)|year=2015|publisher=MBI Publishing Company |isbn=978-0760310151}}</ref>

The division was formed through the expansion of  '''''[[Kampfgruppe]] Eicke''''', a battle&nbsp;group named – in keeping with German military practice – after its commander, [[Theodor Eicke]]. Most of the battle&nbsp;group's personnel had been transferred to the [[Waffen-SS]] from [[concentration camp]] guard units, which were known collectively as ''[[SS-Totenkopfverbände]]''; others were former members of ''[[Selbstschutz]]'': ethnic German militias that had committed war crimes in Poland.

The division became notorious for its brutality, and committed numerous war crimes, including the [[Le Paradis massacre|Le Paradis]] and [[Chasselay massacre]]s. The remnants of the division surrendered on 9 May 1945 to American forces in Czechoslovakia.

==Formation==
The SS Division Totenkopf was formed in October 1939.{{sfn|Stein|1984|pp=32–35}} The division had close ties to the camp service and its members. When it was first formed a total of 6,500 men from the ''[[SS-Totenkopfverbände]]'' (SS-TV) were transferred into the Totenkopf Division.{{sfn|Stein|1984|p=259}} The Totenkopf was initially formed from concentration camp guards of the 1st ("Oberbayern"), 2nd ("Brandenburg") and 3rd ("Thüringen") Standarten (regiments) of the ''SS-Totenkopfverbände'' and men from the [[SS Heimwehr Danzig]]. Members of other SS militias were also transferred into the division in early 1940; these units had been involved in multiple massacres of Polish civilians, political leaders and prisoners of war.{{sfn|Sydnor|1990|pp=37, 44}} The division had officers from the ''SS-Verfügungstruppe'' ([[SS-VT]]), of whom many had already seen action in Poland. The division was commanded by SS-''Obergruppenführer'' [[Theodor Eicke]].{{sfn|Stein|1984|p=34}} At the time of the Battle of France, the division was equipped with ex-Czech weapons.<ref>Niehorster, Leo W. G. ''German World War II Organizational Series, Vol. 2/II: Mechanized GHQ units and Waffen-SS Formations (10 May 1940)'', 1990</ref>

==Battle of France==
Totenkopf was initially held in reserve during the [[Battle of France]] and invasion of the [[Low Countries]] in May 1940.{{sfn|Flaherty|2004|p=152}} The division was committed on 16 May to the front in Belgium. Later, it was decided that Totenkopf would reinforce the breakthrough of [[Erwin Rommel]]'s [[7th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)|7th Panzer Division]] in the [[Cambrai]] area. Reaching the [[Bazuel]] area straddling both sides of the river it arrived on the front on 19 May, facing elements of the French [[1st Moroccan Division (1939)|1st Moroccan Infantry Division]], [[5th North African Infantry Division]], and [[9th Motorized Division]]. Totenkopf suffered 16 dead and 53 wounded while killing 200 Moroccan soldiers in its first day in action.<ref>"Soldiers of Destruction: The SS Death's Head Division, 1933–1945" p. 93</ref> In its first major battle it captured the town of [[Catillon-sur-Sambre]] and its associated canal in fierce house-to-house fighting, blocking the exits of the town and trapping the Moroccan force in the center around the market square, eventually captured thousands of remaining troops. Soldiers from Totenkopf executed many captured Moroccans, due to Arabs being considered "racially inferior".<ref>"Hitler's Elite: The SS 1939–45" p. 170</ref> On the morning of the next day, May 20 it contained a major Moroccan counter attack near Ribeauville, driving it back with its own counter attack, before crossing the Selle river and linking up with Rommel's division in the outskirts of Cambrai.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Afiero |first1=Massimiliano |title=The Axis Forces 14 |date=19 June 2020 |publisher=Soldiershop Publishing |isbn=978-88-9327-612-2 |pages=30–45 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=slLsDwAAQBAJ |access-date=6 September 2022 |language=en}}</ref> Overall in the actions around the Cambrai/Sambre area the division captured 16,000 troops.

Whilst subsequently trying to drive through to the coast, Totenkopf was involved in the [[Battle of Arras (1940)|Battle of Arras]]. On 21 May units of the [[1st Army Tank Brigade (United Kingdom)|1st Army Tank Brigade]], supported by the [[50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division]], overran some of Totenkopf's positions, their standard [[anti-tank gun]], the [[3.7&nbsp;cm PaK 36]], being no match for the British [[Matilda II|Matilda tank]]{{sfn|Harman|1980|p=100}} although they quickly halted the British. In the following days, the unit committed several large-scale massacres of French civilians, most notable the Berles-Monchel and Aubigny-en-Artois massacres.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Leleu |first1=Jean-Luc |title=La division SS-Totenkopf face à la population civile du Nord de la France en mai 1940 |journal=Revue du Nord |date=2001 |volume=342 |issue=4 |pages=821–840 |doi=10.3917/rdn.342.0821 |url=https://www.cairn.info/revue-du-nord-2001-4|url-access=subscription }}</ref> On 27 May, the 4 Company of the Totenkopf under the command of ''Hauptsturmführer'' [[Fritz Knöchlein]], committed the [[Le Paradis massacre]], where 97 soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, [[Royal Norfolk Regiment]] were machine-gunned after surrendering, with survivors killed with [[bayonet]]s. Only two men survived.{{sfn|Cooper|2004}}{{sfn|Jackson|2001|pp=285–288}}

==Invasion of the Soviet Union==
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101III-Wiegand-117-01, Russland, motorisierte Einheit der SS-Totenkopf-Division.jpg|thumb|Motorized troops during [[Operation Barbarossa]], September 1941]]
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101III-Wiegand-117-02, Russland, Kradschütze, Beiwagenkrad.jpg|thumb|Motorized infantry on their way to [[Leningrad]], 1941]]
In April 1941, the division was ordered East to join Field Marshal [[Wilhelm von Leeb]]'s [[Army Group North]]. Leeb's force was tasked with advancing on [[Saint Petersburg|Leningrad]] and formed the northern wing of [[Operation Barbarossa]]. It soon moved into a staging area near Insterburg and was assigned to [[4th Panzer Army|Panzer Group 4]]. Totenkopf took part in the advance through [[Lithuania]] and [[Latvia]], and by July had breached the [[Stalin Line]]. The division then advanced past [[Demyansk]] to Leningrad where it was involved in heavy fighting in August.

During Soviet winter counter-offensive, the division was encircled for several months near Demyansk in what became known as the [[Demyansk Pocket]]. During the fighting in the pocket, it was re-designated "Kampfgruppe Eicke" due to its reduced size. In April 1942, the division broke out of the pocket. At Demyansk, about 80% of its men were killed, wounded or missing in action. The division was sent to France to be refitted in late October 1942. While there, the division took part in [[Case Anton]], the takeover of [[Vichy France]] in November 1942. For this operation, the division was supplied with a tank battalion and redesignated 3rd SS Panzergrenadier Division Totenkopf. The division remained in France until February 1943, when its previous commander, Theodor Eicke, resumed control.

==Battle of Kursk and retreat on the Eastern Front ==

In February 1943 the division was moved back to the [[Eastern Front (WWII)|Eastern Front]] as part of [[Erich von Manstein]]'s [[Army Group South]]. The division, as a part of SS-Obergruppenführer [[Paul Hausser]]'s [[II SS Panzer Corps]], took part in the [[Third Battle of Kharkov]], blunting the Soviet offensive. During this campaign, Theodor Eicke was killed when his spotter aircraft was shot down. [[Hermann Priess]] succeeded Eicke as commander. The SS Panzer Corps, including the division, was then shifted north to take part in [[Battle of Kursk|Operation Citadel]], the offensive aimed at reducing the [[Kursk]] salient. It was during February 1943 that the 3rd SS Panzer Regiment received a company of [[Tiger I]] heavy tanks.

The attack was launched on 5 July 1943 with the [[II SS Panzer Corps]] attacking the southern flank of the salient as the spearhead for Generaloberst [[Hermann Hoth]]'s [[German Fourth Panzer Army|4th Panzer Army]]. The division covered the advance on the left flank of the II SS Panzer Corps, with the [[SS Division Leibstandarte]] forming the spearhead. With the advance slower than had been planned, Hausser ordered his II SS Panzer Corps to split in two, with the Totenkopf crossing the [[Psel River]] northwards and then continuing on towards the town of [[Prokhorovka]]. In the early morning of 9 July, 6th SS Motorised Regiment Theodor Eicke attacked northwards, crossing the Psel and attempted to seize the strategic Hill 226.6, but failed to do so until the afternoon. This meant that the northern advance slowed and the majority of the division was still south of the Psel, where elements of 5th SS Motorised Regiment 5 Thule continued to advance towards Prokhorovka and cover the flank of the Leibstandarte.

By 11 July, elements of the division crossed the Psel and secured Kliuchi. In the afternoon of 12 July, near the village of Andreyevka on the south bank of the Psel, the Soviet forces launched a major counterattack against Regiment Thule and the division's battalion of assault guns during the [[Battle of Prokhorovka]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kahZBAAAQBAJ&q=Andreyevka+psel&pg=PA386|title=Thunder at Prokhorovka: A Combat History of Operation Citadel, Kursk, July 1943|last=Schranck|first=David|date=2014-01-19|publisher=Helion and Company|isbn=9781909384545|language=en}}</ref> Elements of the division engaged lead units of the [[5th Guards Tank Army (Soviet Union)|5th Guards Tank Army]], halting the Soviet advance and inflicting severe damage to the Soviet forces, but at the cost of the majority of the division's remaining operational tanks. While the II SS Panzer Corps had halted the Soviet counteroffensive, it had exhausted itself. Citadel was called off on 14 July.

<!--- [[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-024-3535-22, Ostfront, Waffen-SS-Angehörige bei Rast.jpg|thumb|upright|Men of the Totenkopf break for a meal beside the wreck of a Soviet [[T-34]] somewhere in [[Romania]], 1944.]] --->
Along with the [[SS Division Das Reich]], the division was reassigned to General [[Karl-Adolf Hollidt]]'s reformed [[6th Army (Wehrmacht)|6th Army]] in southern Ukraine. The 6th Army was tasked with eliminating the Soviet bridgehead over the [[Mius River]].  The division was involved in heavy fighting over the next several weeks. During the July–August battles for Hill 213 and the town of [[Stepanovka]], the division suffered heavy losses, and over the course of the campaign on the [[Mius-Front]], it suffered more casualties than it had during Operation Citadel. By the time the Soviet bridgehead was eliminated, the division had lost 1,500 troops; the Panzer regiment was reduced to 20 tanks.

The division was then moved north, back to Kharkov. Along with Das Reich, Totenkopf took part in the battles to halt [[Operation Rumyantsev]] and to prevent the Soviet capture of the city. The city was abandoned on 23 August due to the threats on the German flanks. In October 1943, the division was reformed as a Panzer division. The Panzer battalion was officially upgraded to a regiment, and the two motorised regiments were given the titles "Theodor Eicke" and "Totenkopf". The division, along with other Axis formations, continued its retreat towards the [[Romania]]n border. By November, the division was engaged in fighting against [[Red Army]]'s attacks over the vital town of [[Kryvyi Rih|Krivoi Rog]] to the west of the Dniepr.

==Warsaw==
In January 1944, Totenkopf was still engaged in heavy defensive fighting east of the Dniepr near [[Kryvyi Rih|Krivoi Rog]]. In February 1944, Totenkopf took part in the relief attempt of German troops encircled in the [[Korsun Pocket]]. In the second week of March, after a fierce battle near [[Kropyvnytskyi|Kirovograd]], Totenkopf fell back behind the [[Bug River]]. Totenkopf took up new defensive positions. After two weeks of heavy fighting, again alongside the [[Panzer-Grenadier-Division Grossdeutschland]], the Axis forces retreated to the [[Dniestr]] on the Romanian border near [[Iaşi]]. In the first week of April, the division received replacements and new equipment, including [[Panther tank]]s. In the second week of April, Totenkopf took part in fighting against a heavy Soviet Army attacks towards [[Second Battle of Târgu Frumos]]. By 7 May, the front had quieted and Totenkopf resumed its reorganizing.

In the [[Second Battle of Târgu Frumos]], elements of the division, together with elements of the Großdeutschland, managed to halt an armoured assault by the Red Army. The assault, which in many aspects bore similarities to those of the later British Operation [[Operation Goodwood|''Goodwood'']], was carried out by approximately 500 tanks.<ref>Tamelander M, Zetterling, N, ''Avgörandets Ögonblick'', p. 279.</ref>{{request quotation|Why compare this operation to Goodwood?|date=July 2016}} In early July, the division was ordered to the area near [[Grodno]] in Poland, where it formed a part of SS-Obergruppenführer [[Herbert Gille]]'s [[IV SS Panzer Corps]], covering the approaches to Warsaw near the [[Modlin Fortress]].

After the Soviet [[Operation Bagration]] and the destruction of [[Army Group Centre]] the German lines had been pushed back over 480 kilometres, to the outskirts of the Polish capital. The division arrived at the Warsaw front in late July 1944. After the collapse of the German [[Army Group Centre]], the IV SS Panzer Corps was one of the few functioning formations on the central section of the Eastern Front. On 1 August 1944, the [[Armia Krajowa]] (the Polish Home Army) launched the [[Warsaw Uprising]]. A column of Totenkopf Tiger tanks were caught up in the fighting, and several were lost. The Totenkopf itself was not involved in the suppression of the uprising, instead guarding the front lines, and fighting off several Red Army probe attacks into the city's eastern suburbs.

In several battles near the town of Modlin in mid-August, the Totenkopf, fighting alongside the [[SS Division Wiking]] and the [[Hermann Göring Division]] destroyed the [[Soviet 3rd Tank Corps]]. The terrain around Modlin is excellent for armour, and Totenkopf's panzers exploited this to their advantage, engaging Soviet tanks from a range where the superiority of the German optics and the 75&nbsp;mm high-velocity gun gave the Panthers an edge over the T-34s.

==Budapest relief attempts==
The efforts of the Totenkopf, "Wiking" and "Hermann Göring" divisions allowed the Germans to hold the [[Vistula]] line and establish [[Army Group Vistula]]. In December 1944, the [[9th SS Mountain Corps|IX SS Mountain Corps]] (Alpine Corps-Croatia) was encircled in [[Budapest]]. Hitler ordered the IV SS Panzer Corps to redeploy south to relieve the 95,000 Germans and Hungarians trapped in the city. The corps arrived just before New Year's Eve. The relief attempts were to be codenamed [[Operation Konrad]]. The first attack was ''Konrad I''. The plan was for a joint attack by the Wiking and Totenkopf from the town of [[Tata, Hungary|Tata]] attacking along the [[Bicske]]-Budapest line. The attack was launched on New Year's Day, 1945.

Despite initial gains, ''Konrad I'' ran into heavy Red Army opposition near Bicske and during the battle the 1st Battalion, 3rd SS Panzer Regiment's commander, SS-''Sturmbannführer'' Erwin Meierdress was killed. After the failure of the first operation, Totenkopf and Wiking launched an assault aimed at reaching the city centre. Named Operation ''Konrad II'', the attack was launched on 7 January from just south of [[Esztergom]]. It reached as far as Budapest's northern suburbs, by 12 January motorised infantry of the Wiking division spotted the Hungarian capital's skyline. However, Gille's corps was overextended and vulnerable, so it was ordered to fall back.

Operation ''Konrad III'' got underway on 20 January 1945. Attacking from the south of Budapest, it aimed at encircling 10 Red Army divisions. However, the relief forces could not achieve their goal, despite making a 24-kilometre bulge in the Soviet forces line and destroying the [[Soviet 135th Rifle Corps|135th Rifle Corps]]. The encircled troops capitulated in mid-February. The division was pulled back to the west, executing a fighting withdrawal from Budapest to the area near [[Lake Balaton]], where the [[6th Panzer Army|6th SS Panzer Army]] under SS-Oberstgruppenführer [[Josef Dietrich]] was massing for the upcoming [[Operation Spring Awakening]].

Gille's corps was too depleted to take part in the assault, instead it provided flank support to assaulting divisions during the beginning of the operation. Totenkopf, together with Wiking, performed a holding action on the left flank of the offensive, in the area between [[Lake Velence]]-[[Székesfehérvár]]. Dietrich's army made "good progress" at first, but as they drew near the Danube, the combination of the muddy terrain and strong Soviet resistance ground them to a halt.{{sfn|Stein|1984|p=238}} As the offensive stalled, the Soviets forces counterattacked in strength on 16 March. The Germans were driven back to the positions they had held before Operation Spring Awakening began.{{sfn|Dollinger|1967|p=182}} Attacking the line between the Totenkopf and the [[Hungarian 2nd Panzer Division|Hungarian 2nd Armoured Division]], contact was lost between the two formations. The 6th Army commander, ''General der Panzertruppe'' [[Hermann Balck]], recommended moving the [[I SS Panzer Corps]] north to plug the gap and prevent the encirclement of the IV SS Panzer Corps, however, by the time the divisions finally began moving, it was too late.

On 22 March, the Red Army encirclement of the Totenkopf and Wiking was almost complete. The [[9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen]] held open a route which could be used to withdraw – the Berhida Corridor – and Gille's corps escaped the encirclement. The Red Army then launched the [[Vienna Offensive]] which destroyed any resemblance of an organised German line of defence. The remnants of the division retreated into [[Czechoslovakia]] where it surrendered to the American forces on 9 May.

==War crimes==

===Poland===
[[File:Stroop Report - Warsaw Ghetto Uprising 09.jpg|thumb|right|1943 Picture of Jewish prisoners in the [[Warsaw Ghetto Uprising]]; the SS man at right has the "Totenkopf" insignia on his collar]]
With the invasion of Poland, Theodor Eicke – who was the commandant of the [[Dachau concentration camp]], inspector of the camps, and murderer of [[Ernst Röhm]] – joined the fray with one cavalry and four infantry regiments. Three of his regiments, "Oberbayern", "Brandenburg" and "Thuringen", formed the basis of the first [[Einsatzgruppen]]; the Oberbayern and Thuringen (EG II and EG z. B.V) followed the [[10th Army (Wehrmacht)|Tenth Army]] in [[Upper Silesia]]; the Brandenburg (EG III) followed the [[8th Army (Wehrmacht)|Eight Army]] across [[Warthegau]].<ref name="CS37">{{cite book |last=Sydnor |first=Charles |title=Soldiers of Destruction: The SS Death's Head Division, 1933–1945 |year=1990 |orig-year=1977 |publisher= Princeton University Press |location=Princeton, NJ |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QYU4QJsUWLYC |pages=37–38|isbn=0691008531 }}</ref> His Totenkopfverbände troops were called on to carry out "police and security measures" in the rear areas. What these measures involved is demonstrated by the record of SS Totenkopf Standarte "Brandenburg". It arrived in [[Włocławek]] on 22 September 1939 and embarked on a four-day "Jewish action" that included the burning of synagogues and the execution en masse of the leaders of the Jewish community. On 29 September the Standarte travelled to [[Bydgoszcz]] to conduct an "[[Intelligenzaktion|intelligentsia action]]".<ref name="Wardzyńska2009">{{Cite book |author=Maria Wardzyńska |year=2009 |url=http://pamiec.pl/download/49/34737/BYLROK1939.pdf |title=Był rok 1939. Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion |trans-title=The year was 1939. Operation of German security police in Poland. Intelligenzaktion |publisher=[[Institute of National Remembrance]], IPN (Portal edukacyjny Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej). |isbn=978-83-7629-063-8 |at=8-10/356 |language=pl |quote=Oblicza się, że akcja "Inteligencja" pochłonęła ponad 100 tys. ofiar. ''Translation:'' It is estimated that ''Intelligenzaktion'' took the lives of 100,000 Poles. |access-date=23 March 2016 |archive-date=29 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129035451/http://pamiec.pl/download/49/34737/BYLROK1939.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> The German ''Intelligenzaktion'' resulting in the mass murder of approximately 100,000 Poles, was a major step in the implementation of ''[[Sonderaktion Tannenberg]]'' (Operation Tannenberg a.k.a. ''Unternehmen Tannenberg'') of installing Nazi officials from [[Sicherheitspolizei|SiPo]], [[Kriminalpolizei|Kripo]], [[Gestapo]] and [[Sicherheitsdienst|SD]] to head an administrative machine in occupied Poland, leading to the ''[[Generalplan Ost]]'' colonization programme.<ref name="rosalux.de">Prof. Dietrich Eichholtz (2004), [http://www.rosalux.de/cms/fileadmin/rls_uploads/pdfs/167eichholtz.pdf  »Generalplan Ost« zur Versklavung osteuropäischer Völker.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080624220118/http://www.rosalux.de/cms/fileadmin/rls_uploads/pdfs/167eichholtz.pdf |date=24 June 2008 }} PDF file, direct download 74.5 KB.</ref> In October 1939, these Totenkopfverbände troops formed the core of the 3 Totenkopf Division, of which Eicke became the commander.{{sfn|Stein|1984|pp=32–35}} During the 1943 [[Warsaw Ghetto Uprising]] the training Battalion of the 3rd Panzer Division Totenkopf took part in the suppression of the uprising.

=== France ===

====Le Paradis Massacre====
{{main|Le Paradis massacre}}
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-B14898, Calais, britische Kriegsgefangene.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Black and white photo of soldiers with a small tank|British prisoners of war with a [[Panzer I|Pz.Kpfw Ib]] German tank in [[Calais]] in May, 1940]]

While the Totenkopf Division committed numerous massacres of French Arab and African troops, the most infamous remains the murders at Le Paradis. The [[Le Paradis massacre]] was a war crime committed by members of the 14th Company, SS Division Totenkopf, under the command of ''[[Hauptsturmführer]]'' [[Fritz Knöchlein]]. It took place on 27 May 1940, during the [[Battle of France]], at a time when the [[British Expeditionary Force (World War II)|British Expeditionary Force]] (BEF) was attempting to retreat through the [[Pas-de-Calais]] region during the [[Battle of Dunkirk]].

Soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, the [[Royal Norfolk Regiment]], had become isolated from their regiment. They occupied and defended a farmhouse against an attack by Waffen-SS forces in the village of [[Le Paradis]]. After running out of ammunition, the defenders surrendered to the German troops. The Germans machine-gunned the men after they surrendered, with survivors killed with [[bayonet]]s. Two men survived with injuries, and were hidden by locals until they were captured by German forces several days later. After the war, Knöchlein was tried for war crimes by a British military court. He was found guilty, sentenced to death, and executed in 1949.{{sfn|Cooper|2004}}

====Chasselay massacre====

Thereafter, the division worked together with [[Großdeutschland Division]] to carry out racially motivated murders of hundreds of captured black African members of the French Army. They murdered captured black soldiers on account of their race, which they believed to merit their separation and execution. For example, on 19 and 20 June 1940, Totenkopf and Großdeutschland together carried out [[Chasselay massacre|a series of massacres]] of captured African soldiers in the [[Chasselay, Rhône|Chasselay]] area, murdering about captured 100 [[Senegalese Tirailleurs]].<ref>Raffael Scheck: ''Hitler's African victims. The German Army massacres of Black French soldiers in 1940.'' Cambridge UP 2006, {{ISBN|978-0-521-85799-4}}, hier besonders S. 124–126 und 154–157; deutsch: ''Hitlers afrikanische Opfer. Die Massaker der Wehrmacht an schwarzen französischen Soldaten.'' Assoziation A, Berlin 2009. Rezension von Bernhard Schmid, in ''Dschungel'', Beilage zu [[jungle world]] 14. Jan. 2010, S. 2–6 ([http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/toc/ecip0515/2005018176.html Inhalt englisch]).</ref> They are today buried in the [[Tata of Chasselay]].

==Commanders==
{{Officeholder table start
| showorder          = y
| showimage          = y
| officeholder_title = Commander
| showtermlenght     = y
| showparty          = n
| showdefencebranch  = n
}}
{{Officeholder table
| order             = 1
| image             = Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1974-160-13A, Theodor Eicke.jpg
| military_rank     = ''SS-Gruppenführer''
| officeholder      = [[Theodor Eicke]]
| officeholder_sort = Eicke, Theodor 
| born_year         = 1892
| died_year         = 1943
| term_start        = 1 November 1939
| term_end          = 7 July 1941
| timeinoffice      = {{ayd|1939|11|01|1941|07|07}}
}}
{{Officeholder table
| order             = 2
| image             = Matthias Kleinheisterkamp (cropped).jpg
| military_rank     = ''SS-Oberführer''
| officeholder      = [[Matthias Kleinheisterkamp]]
| officeholder_sort = Kleinheisterkamp, Matthias 
| born_year         = 1893
| died_year         = 1945
| term_start        = 7 July 1941
| term_end          = 18 July 1941
| timeinoffice      = {{ayd|1941|07|07|1941|07|18}}
}}
{{Officeholder table
| order             = 3
| image             = Wolfgang Willrich - Porträt Georg Keppler, Oberführer der Waffen-SS, 1940.jpg
| military_rank     = ''SS-Brigadeführer''
| officeholder      = [[Georg Keppler]]
| officeholder_sort = Keppler, Georg 
| born_year         = 1894
| died_year         = 1966
| term_start        = 18 July 1941
| term_end          = 19 September 1941
| timeinoffice      = {{ayd|1941|07|18|1941|09|19}}
}}
{{Officeholder table
| order             = 1
| image             = Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1974-160-13A, Theodor Eicke.jpg
| military_rank     = ''SS-Obergruppenführer''
| officeholder      = Theodor Eicke
| officeholder_sort = Eicke, Theodor 
| born_year         = 1892
| died_year         = 1943
| died              = y
| term_start        = 19 September 1941
| term_end          = 26 February 1943
| timeinoffice      = {{ayd|1941|09|19|1943|02|26}}
}}
{{Officeholder table
| order             = 4
| image             = Bundesarchiv Bild 101III-Adendorf-122-28, Hermann Prieß.jpg
| military_rank     = ''SS-Gruppenführer''
| officeholder      = [[Hermann Priess]]
| officeholder_note = <ref>SS-Oberführer [[Max Simon]] was the "official" commander (on paper) of the 3rd SS-Panzer Division from 26 February 1943 to 22 October 1943, but in reality it was SS-[[Oberführer]] [[Hermann Priess]] who commanded the division in the field during those dates.</ref>
| officeholder_sort = Priess, Hermann
| born_year         = 1901
| died_year         = 1985
| term_start        = 26 February 1943
| term_end          = 27 April 1943
| timeinoffice      = {{ayd|1943|02|26|1943|04|27}}
}}
{{Officeholder table
| order             = 5
| image             = Lammerding.jpg
| military_rank     = ''SS-Gruppenführer''
| officeholder      = [[Heinz Lammerding]]
| officeholder_sort = Lammerding, Heinz
| born_year         = 1905
| died_year         = 1971
| term_start        = 27 April 1943
| term_end          = 1 May 1943
| timeinoffice      = {{ayd|1943|04|27|1943|05|01}}
}}
{{Officeholder table
| order             = 4
| image             = Bundesarchiv Bild 101III-Adendorf-122-28, Hermann Prieß.jpg
| military_rank     = ''SS-Gruppenführer''
| officeholder      = Hermann Priess
| officeholder_sort = Priess, Hermann 
| born_year         = 1901
| died_year         = 1985
| term_start        = 1 May 1943
| term_end          = 20 June 1944
| timeinoffice      = {{ayd|1943|05|01|1944|06|20}}
}}
{{Officeholder table
| order             = 6
| image             = 
| military_rank     = ''SS-Standartenführer''
| officeholder      = [[Karl Ullrich]]
| officeholder_sort = Ullrich, Karl
| officeholder_note = <ref>Ullrich, Karl "Wie Ein Fels Im Meer" pg. 13</ref>
| born_year         = 1910
| died_year         = 1996
| term_start        = 20 June 1944
| term_end          = 13 July 1944
| acting            = y
| timeinoffice      = {{ayd|1944|06|20|1944|07|13}}
}}
{{Officeholder table
| order             = 7
| image             = HelmuthBecker.jpg
| military_rank     = ''SS-Brigadeführer''
| officeholder      = [[Hellmuth Becker]]
| officeholder_sort = Becker, Hellmuth 
| born_year         = 1902
| died_year         = 1953
| term_start        = 13 July 1944
| term_end          = 8 May 1945
| timeinoffice      = {{ayd|1944|07|1|1945|05|08}}
}}
{{Officeholder table end}}

== Organisation ==
The main organisation structure of this SS [[Formation (military)|formation]] was as follows:<ref>GORDON WILLIAMSON: "The SS Hitler's Instrument of the power"; published by KAISER; appendix, page 244, "Schlachtordnung der Waffen-SS / Waffen-SS order of battle"; copyright 1994 by Brown Packaging Books Ltd., London.</ref>

{|
!align="left" colspan="1"| Designation (English)<ref>MILITÄRISCHES STUDIENGLOSAR ENGLISCH Teil II/ Teil III, Deutsch – Englisch, Abkürzung Begriff, Bundessprachenamt (Stand Januar 2001).</ref>
!align="left" colspan="1"| Designation (German)<ref>Official designation as to "Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv" in [[Freiburg im Breisgau]], stores of the [[Wehrmacht]] and [[Waffen-SS]].</ref>
|- align="left" valign="top"
|
*SS Panzer [[Grenadier]] [[Regiment]] 5 "Thule"
*SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment 6 "Theodor Eicke"
*SS Panzer Regiment 3
*SS Panzer [[Artillery]] Regiment 3
|
*SS-Panzergrenadierregiment 5 "Thule" 
*SS-Panzergrenadierregiment 6 "Theodor Eicke"
*SS-Panzerregiment 3
*SS-Panzerartillerieregiment 3
|}
<!---==Order of Battle in 1943==
* Regimental Headquarters
* ''SS [[Panzergrenadier]] Regiment 5 "Totenkopf"'' 
** II.Battalion
** III. Battalion
* ''SS Panzergrenadier Regiment 6 "Theodor Eicke"'' (formerly Regiment 3 ''Theodor Eicke'')
** I. Battalion
** II. Battalion
** III .Battalion
* ''SS Panzer Regiment 3''
** I. Battalion
** II. Battalion
* ''SS [[Panzerjäger]] (anti-tank) ''Battalion 3''
* ''SS [[Sturmgeschütz]] Battalion 3''
* SS Motorized Artillery Regiment 3
* ''SS [[Flak]] Battalion 3''
* ''SS'' Motorized Signals Battalion 3
* ''SS'' Motorized Reconnaissance Battalion 3
* ''SS'' Motorized Pioneer Battalion 3
* ''SS Dina 3''
* ''SS'' Field Hospital 3
* ''SS'' Combat Reporter Platoon 3
* ''SS'' Military Police Troop 3
* ''SS Reserve Battalion 3'' -->

==See also==

*[[List of Waffen-SS divisions]]
* [[SS Panzer Division order of battle]]
* [[Waffen-SS in popular culture]]
{{Clear}}

==References==
===Notes===
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* {{cite web | last = Cooper | first = D. | title = WW2 People's War: Le Paradis: The murder of 97 soldiers in a French field on the 26/27th May 1940 | date = 22 February 2004 | work = [[BBC History]] | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/83/a2328383.shtml | access-date = 22 March 2016 }}
* {{cite book | last = Dollinger | first = Hans | title = The Decline and Fall of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan | year = 1967 | orig-year = 1965 | publisher = Bonanza | location = New York | isbn = 978-0-517-01313-7 | url = https://archive.org/details/declinefallofnaz0000doll }}
* {{cite book | last = Flaherty | first = T. H. | title = The Third Reich: The SS | publisher = Time-Life Books | year = 2004 | orig-year = 1988 | isbn = 1-84447-073-3 }}
* {{cite book | last = Harman | first = Nicholas | title = Dunkirk: The Necessary Myth | publisher = Hodder and Stoughton | year = 1980 | isbn = 0-340-24299-X | url = https://archive.org/details/dunkirknecessary0000harm }}
* {{cite book | last = Jackson | first = Julian | title = The Fall of France: The Nazi Invasion of 1940 | year = 2001 | publisher = Oxford University Press | isbn = 0-19-280550-9 }}
* {{cite book| author = Tamelander M, Zetterling N|author2= Niklas Zetterling| title = Avgörandes ögonblick| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=QFcGaAEACAAJ| year = 2003| publisher = Norstets Förlag| location = Stockholm | isbn = 978-91-7001-203-7 }}
* {{cite book | last = Stein | first = George | title = The Waffen-SS: Hitler's Elite Guard at War 1939–1945 | url = https://archive.org/details/waffensshitlers00stei | url-access = registration | publisher = Cornell University Press | location = Ithaca, N.Y. | year = 1984 | orig-year = 1966 | isbn = 978-0-8014-9275-4 }}
* {{cite journal|last1=Sydnor|first1=Charles|title=The History of the SS Totenkopfdivision and the Postwar Mythology of the Waffen SS|journal=Central European History|date=December 1973|volume=6|issue=4|pages=339–362|jstor=4545684|doi=10.1017/s0008938900000960|s2cid=144835004 }}
* {{cite book| author = Sydnor, Charles| title = Soldiers of Destruction: The SS Death's Head Division, 1933–1945| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=QYU4QJsUWLYC| date = 1 May 1990| publisher = Princeton University Press| isbn = 978-0-691-00853-0 }}

===External links===
{{Commons and category}}
* [https://honors.libraries.psu.edu/files/final_submissions/2965 ''Pride of the Fatherland: The Impact of Nazi Ideology on SS Division Totenkopf''], Penn State baccalureate thesis

{{SS Divisions}}
{{German Armoured Divisions of World War II}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf}}
[[Category:Panzer divisions of the Waffen-SS]]
[[Category:Panzergrenadier divisions of the Waffen-SS]]
[[Category:1939 establishments in Germany]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1939]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1945]]
[[Category:War crimes of the Waffen-SS]]
[[Category:Warsaw Ghetto Uprising]]
[[Category:Danzig in World War II]]