Lippach massacre

Lippach massacre
Joint grave of the 36 Waffen-SS soldiers in Lippach cemetery
Lippach is located in Baden-Württemberg
Lippach
Lippach
Location of Lippach in the German state of Baden-Württemberg
Interactive map of Lippach
Location48°53′49″N 10°15′11″E / 48.897°N 10.253°E / 48.897; 10.253 Edit this at Wikidata
Near Westhausen, Gau Württemberg-Hohenzollern
Date22 April 1945; 81 years ago (1945-04-22)
Attack type
Victims
  • ~24 POWs murdered
  • ~20 women and girls raped
Perpetrator23rd Tank Battalion, 12th Armored Division (US Army)

The Lippach massacre is a war crime committed by the 12th Armored Division of the US Army on 22 April 1945 during the Western Allied invasion of Germany. Some 25 US soldiers from the 3rd Provisional Company killed 36 Waffen-SS soldiers and reportedly raped 20 women and girls in the village of Lippach, near Westhausen. Around two-thirds of the soldiers had already surrendered, and were thus legally considered prisoners of war (POWs) according to the 1929 Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War.

Battle

At noon on 22 April, the 12th Armored Division's 23rd Tank Battalion attacked 300 Waffen-SS troops at the village of Lippach. German artillery, Nebelwerfer, Panzerfaust and small arms fire held the Americans back until 4 pm.

Massacre and mass rape

As the rest of the 23rd Tank Battalion advanced toward Lauchheim, the 3rd Provisional Company came across an alcohol warehouse. Some 25 drunken US soldiers then shot at least 10 unarmed German POWs at a meadow on the outskirts of the village, while six more were herded through the streets and into the cemetery, where they were beaten and had their skulls bashed in.

Elsewhere, a captured German officer was beaten by US soldiers, who then bashed his head with a rifle and drove a bayonet through his chest. Two German POWs were taken to a farm, where US soldiers attempted to kill them using a circular saw, although they were unable to due to a power failure. Both POWs were subsequently shot by the soldiers, although one survived severely injured and was later treated by locals. On a country road east of the village, two more German POWs were reportedly run over by tanks.

Residents later found the remains of the soldiers, some of which had gunshot wounds to the back and the head, while four bodies appeared to have been burnt. In total, thirty-six Waffen-SS soldiers lost their lives near Lippach, about two-thirds of them after the battle. The US soldiers also reportedly raped about 20 women and girls, some of whom were pregnant, ranging in age from 17 to 40. Ten of the soldiers killed were known to be 16 years old, while the oldest known soldier was born in 1909.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Jauß (2025).
  2. 1 2 Mayer (2025).
  3. ↑ Landtag von Baden-Württemberg (1997), p. 3.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Fritz 2004, pp. 180–182.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Zigan 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Königer (2021).
  7. ↑ Landtag von Baden-Württemberg (1997), p. 2.
  8. ↑ Bradstreet (1991), p. 7.
  9. ↑ Gemeinde Lippach (1985), pp. 2–9.

Sources