Josef Witiska
Josef Witiska | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | 5 July 1894 Iglau, Moravia, Austria-Hungary |
| Died | 16 October 1946 (aged 52) Unknown |
| Political party | Nazi Party |
| Education | Doctor of Law |
| Profession | Lawyer Police official |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Austria-Hungary Austria Nazi Germany |
| Branch/service | Austro-Hungarian Army Austrian Armed Forces Schutzstaffel |
| Years of service | 1914–1918 1919–1920 1938–1945 |
| Rank | Oberleutnant SS-Standartenführer |
| Commands | Local Commander, SiPo and SD, Galicia District Commander, SiPo and SD, Slovakia Führer, Einsatzgruppe H |
| Battles/wars | World War I World War II |
| Awards | Iron Cross, 2nd class War Merit Cross, 1st and 2nd class, with swords |
Josef Witiska (5 July 1894 – 16 October 1946) was an Austrian lawyer and police official. After the 1938 Anschluss with Nazi Germany, he joined the Nazi Party and became a member of the Gestapo. While in the Gestapo leadership at Prague, he helped plan and execute the Lidice massacre. He participated in Holocaust-related mass murders during World War II in occupied Poland and in Slovakia where he commanded Einsatzgruppe H and rose to the rank of SS-Standartenführer. Taken into custody after the end of the war, he took his own life before he could be tried for his crimes.