Desiderius Hampel

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Desiderius Hampel
Desiderius Hampel
Born	20 January 1895 Sisak, Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia, Austria-Hungary (now Sisak, Sisak-Moslavina County, Croatia)
Died	11 January 1981(1981-01-11) (aged 85) Graz, Styria, Austria
Allegiance	World War I Austro-Hungarian Empire World War II Kingdom of Hungary Independent State of Croatia Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Waffen SS
Years of service	1914–1918 Austro-Hungarian Army 1937–1941 Royal Hungarian Army 1941–1942 Croatian Home Guard (NDH) 1942–1945 Waffen SS
Rank	World War I Oberleutnant World War II SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS
Unit	16th Hungarian Infantry Regiment 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar (1st Croatian)
Commands held	13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar (1st Croatian) 1944–1945
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	World War I Iron Cross II class Wound Badge in Black Military Merit Cross (Austria–Hungary) with War Decoration and Swords Military Merit Medal (Austria–Hungary) in Silver Honorary Medal for bravery (Austria) World War II Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Iron Cross I Class Iron Cross II Class Wound Badge in Silver War Merit Cross with Swords

Desiderius Hampel (20 January 1895 – 11 January 1981) was a SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS during World War II who commanded the 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar (1st Croatian) and was possibly awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz), the highest award in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. After the war the Yugoslavian government asked for his extradition to charge him with war crimes, but he managed to escape from a British internment camp.