Joseph Berchtold 1897 – 1962

Biography

Joseph Berchtold was born on March 6, 1897, in Ingolstadt, Germany. He would go on to serve in a significant military capacity during one of history’s most consequential periods, holding the position of Second Commander of the SS, the paramilitary organization that played a central role in Nazi Germany’s operations.

Throughout his life, Berchtold witnessed and participated in the transformative—and devastating—events of early twentieth-century Germany. His military career reflected the trajectory of the Nazi regime itself, rising through ranks during years that fundamentally altered European history and left profound impacts on millions of lives.

Berchtold spent his final years in Herrsching am Ammersee, a town in Bavaria where he lived until his death on August 23, 1962. He passed away at the age of sixty-five, having survived the fall of Nazi Germany and the subsequent postwar period by nearly two decades. His life and service remain part of the historical record of this turbulent era.