Editing Walter Paap

{{Infobox person
| name = Walter Paap
| image = Walter Paap, c 1944.png
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1920|7|23|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Bad Bentheim|Bentheim]], [[Germany]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2012|10|14|1920|7|23|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Vriendendam]], [[Netherlands]]
| occupation = Freight-yard owner
| years_active = 1938–1985
| era = {{hlist|[[Vader Era]]|[[Middenvader Era]]|[[Vriend Era]]}}
| political_party = [[Nazi Party]] (1938–1945)
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Adriana van den Berg]]|1951|2007|end=died}}
| children = {{ubl|[[John Paap]]|[[Mart Paap]]|[[Koen Paap]]|[[Catharina Paap]]}}
| father = [[Theodorus Paap]]
| relatives = [[Jan Paap]] (second cousin)
| family = [[Paap family]]
| module = {{Infobox military person
 | embed = yes
 | allegiance = [[Nazi Germany]]
 | branch = [[Waffen-SS (Nazi Germany)|Waffen-SS]]
 | serviceyears = 1938–1945
 | rank = [[SS-Obersturmführer (Nazi Germany)|SS-Obersturmführer]]
 | unit = {{ubl|[[Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (Nazi Germany)|Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler]]|[[12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend (Nazi Germany)|12th SS Panzer Division "Hitlerjugend"]]|II./[[SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 26 (Nazi Germany)|SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 26]]}}
 | battles = {{ubl|[[Second World War]]|[[Invasion of Poland]]|[[Battle of France]]|[[Balkans campaign (World War II)|Balkans campaign]]|[[Operation Barbarossa]]|[[Battle of Rostov (1941)|Battle of Rostov]]|[[Battle of Normandy]]|[[Falaise Pocket]]|[[Battle of the Bulge]]}}
 | awards = {{ubl|[[Iron Cross|Iron Cross 2nd Class]] (31 May 1940)|[[Infantry Assault Badge]]|[[Wound Badge]]|[[Sudetenland Medal]]|[[Iron Cross|Iron Cross 1st Class]] (31 August 1944)}}
 }}
}}

'''Walter Paap''' (23 July 1920 – 14 October 2012) was a German former SS officer. He served with the [[Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (Nazi Germany)|Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler]] and later the [[Waffen-SS (Nazi Germany)|Waffen-SS]] during the [[Second World War]], reaching the rank of [[SS-Obersturmführer (Nazi Germany)|SS-Obersturmführer]]. 

== Early life ==

Walter Paap was born in [[Bad Bentheim|Bentheim]], Germany, on 23 July 1920. His father, [[Theodorus Paap]], had been born in the Netherlands and moved to Bentheim before the [[First World War]]. Theodorus became a naturalized German citizen in 1913 and operated a private freight yard beside the railway. He was a first cousin of [[Martinus Antonius Johannes Paap]], making Walter a second cousin of [[Jan Paap]]. Walter attended the Bentheim Mittelschule and completed the ''Mittlere Reife'' before entering SS service.

== Military service ==

Paap entered the German SS in November 1938 at the age of 18 and was assigned to the [[Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (Nazi Germany)|Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler]]. He joined the [[Nazi Party]] later that year. Paap remained with the Leibstandarte after the formation of the [[Waffen-SS (Nazi Germany)|Waffen-SS]] and served during the [[Invasion of Poland]] in 1939. He took part in the western campaign the following year and received the Iron Cross 2nd Class on 31 May 1940.

In 1941, Paap served in the [[Balkans campaign (World War II)|Balkans campaign]] before deploying to the Soviet Union during [[Operation Barbarossa]]. Shell fragments struck his upper left arm near Belgorodka on 22 July, temporarily removing him from front-line duty. He returned to the Leibstandarte later that year and received the [[Wound Badge]]. During the German withdrawal from [[Rostov-on-Don|Rostov]] in November, Paap encountered a Soviet [[T-34]] that had become separated from its supporting infantry. He reached the tank as its commander opened the turret hatch and threw a grenade inside. The commander escaped from the vehicle and fought Paap on the ground. Paap overpowered him and brought him back to his battalion as a prisoner.

Paap entered [[SS-Junkerschule Bad Tölz (Nazi Germany)|SS-Junkerschule Bad Tölz]] in December 1942 for officer training. He was promoted to [[SS-Untersturmführer (Nazi Germany)|SS-Untersturmführer]] on 10 March 1943 and later transferred to the [[12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend (Nazi Germany)|12th SS Panzer Division "Hitlerjugend"]]. He initially served on the divisional staff before joining [[SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 26 (Nazi Germany)|SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 26]]. During the German withdrawal from the [[Falaise Pocket]] in August 1944, Allied artillery separated Paap from part of his battalion. He gathered the soldiers cut off with him and organized their withdrawal along another route. Several damaged vehicles were brought out with the group before it rejoined the regiment. Paap received the Iron Cross 1st Class on 31 August.

Paap was promoted to SS-Obersturmführer on 9 November 1944. During the [[Battle of the Bulge]], he fought around Domäne Bütgenbach. American artillery isolated Paap and approximately 20–30 men from their battalion on 21 December. While returning during the night, the group encountered an American patrol in the woods and became engaged in a short close-range firefight. Several members of the patrol were killed before Paap disengaged and continued toward the German lines. By spring 1945, he was serving as adjutant of II Battalion, SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 26. Paap surrendered to United States forces near [[Steyr]], Austria, on 8 May 1945 and entered American captivity.

== Postwar life ==

Paap was released on 18 September 1947 and returned to Bentheim, where he resumed work at his father's freight yard. In 1948, [[Jan Paap]] invited him to join the [[Tanoa Einsatzgruppen]].<ref name="jan-tanoa"/> Walter refused because he intended to remain in Germany and eventually take over the family business. Jan regarded the refusal as disloyal, and the two largely ceased contact afterward. Walter never served in the Tanoa Einsatzgruppen or its [[Allgemeine SS]]. Theodorus retired in 1956 and transferred control of the freight yard to Walter, who operated it until 1985.

== Personal life ==

Paap married [[Adriana van den Berg]], a Dutch woman from [[Rotterdam]], in 1951. They maintained their family home in Rotterdam while Walter continued working in Bentheim. Their son [[John Paap]] was born on 14 August 1952.<ref name="john"/> Another son, [[Koen Paap]], was born on 14 August 1958 and later became a freight train operator.<ref name="koen"/> Walter and Adriana also had a son, [[Mart Paap]], and a daughter, [[Catharina Paap]].

== Retirement and death ==

Paap sold the Bentheim freight yard to a German company in 1985 and retired at the age of 65. He and Adriana moved to [[Vriendendam]] that year. Adriana died there on 3 May 2007. Walter remained in Vriendendam until his death on 14 October 2012, aged 92.

== See also ==
* [[Paap family]]
* [[Paap family members]]
* [[Theodorus Paap]]
* [[Jan Paap]]
* [[Koen Paap]]
* [[Waffen-SS (Nazi Germany)]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="jan-tanoa">"[[Jan Paap#Founding of the Tanoa Einsatzgruppen|Founding of the Tanoa Einsatzgruppen]]". ''Jan Paap''. ''Vrienden Universe Wiki''.</ref>
<ref name="john">"[[John Paap#Career|Career]]". ''John Paap''. ''Vrienden Universe Wiki''.</ref>
<ref name="koen">"[[Koen Paap#Career|Career]]". ''Koen Paap''. ''Vrienden Universe Wiki''.</ref>
}}

[[Category:Paap family]]
[[Category:German people]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:1920 births]]
[[Category:2012 deaths]]
[[Category:Vader Era]]
[[Category:Middenvader Era]]
[[Category:Vriend Era]]