Despite having no formal staff officer training, Dietrich was, along with Paul Hausser, the highest-ranking officer in the Waffen-SS, the paramilitary branch of the SS. Reaching the rank of Oberst-Gruppenführer, he commanded units up to army level during World War II. As commanding officer of the 6th Panzer Armyduring the Battle of the Bulge, Dietrich bore responsibility for the Malmedy massacre, the murder of U.S. prisoners of war in December 1944.
After the war, Dietrich was convicted of war crimes at the Malmedy massacre trial, conducted by the U.S. military tribunal, and later in West Germany for his involvement in the 1934 purge. Upon his release from the U.S. prison, he became active in HIAG, a lobby group established by former high-ranking Waffen-SS personnel. Dietrich died in 1966.
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