Karl Leib

Karl Leib was a German SS officer.

Leib was son-in-law of the head if the SS-Hauptamt Gottlob Berger, and served as a SS officer in that office during World War II. In 1940 he was appointed as head of the SS office Ergänzungstelle Norwest in the Hague in the Netherlands.

With the rank of SS-Sturmbannführer (Major), Leib was in charge of the Norwegian recruitment and propaganda office Germanische Leitstelle, at Drammensveien in Oslo. His office also published Germansk Budstikke and SS-Heftet, which was the Norwegian edition of SS-Leitheft. The recruiting footwork was done by the Norwegian SS-Untersturmführers Felix Thoresen and Brun Evers from Haugesund. The latter was killed in 1944 at Narva, fighting in 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland. Before that Evers was said to have recruited the third company of the Norwegian skijegerbatallion, which became part of the 6th SS Mountain Division Nord.

Leib had broad contacts in Norwegian society. He was versatile and popular among the volunteers. Much to his consternation he was arrested at the end of the war in 1945 and imprisoned at Akershus Fortress. In his defence note he portrayed himself as some sort of social welfare officer and his superior Wilhelm Rediess as an evil influence, although some of Rediess' speeches must have been written at Leib's office. Leib received a rather light sentence, as did most of the German SS-officers in Norway. After serving his sentence, Leib emigrated to the United States along with most of his family and was married, and had children. The location of his wife and children are unknown.

Literature

• Loock, Hans-Dietrich, Zur ’Großgermanischen Politik’ des Dritten Reiche, ’’Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte’’, 1960/1, p. 55-63.
• De Wever, Bruno, Rebellen an der Ostfront. Die flämischen Freiwilligen der Legion ’Flandern’ und der Waffen-SS, ’’Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte’’, 1991/4, p. 593-596.
• Eggen; Eystein, The boy from Gimle, Oslo 1993