Karl Burk
| Surname | Burk |
| Given Name | Johannes |
| Born | 14 Mar 1898 |
| Died | 23 Sep 1963 |
| Country | Germany |
| Category | Military-Ground |
| Gender | Male |
Contributor: C. Peter Chen
ww2dbaseJohannes Karl Burk was born in Buchenau, southern Germany in 1898. He saw combat during WW1 and was awarded Iron Cross 1st Class and 2nd Class medals. He remained in the German military during the inter-war years, serving with two artillery regiments before retiring from the army in 1927. In 1933, he joined the Nazi SS organization and then the Nazi Party. Just prior to the war, he was made the commanding officer of the para-military 8th SS-Standarte (Niederschlesien) regiment, starting his second military career. He served in several positions on the Eastern Front, notably commanding various SS volunteer units consisted of Belgians, Norwegians, Russians, and other nationalities. When the European War ended he was the commanding officer of the 15th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Latvian) at the rank of Generalmajor. He passed away in Fritzlar, Hessen, Germany in 1963 and was buried at the Georgengasse cemetery in Fritzlar.
ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia
Last Major Revision: Dec 2016
Karl Burk Timeline
| 14 Mar 1898 | Karl Burk was born in Buchenau, southern Germany. |
| 15 Apr 1913 | Karl Burk joined the German Army and was given the rank Fahnenjunker. |
| 4 Feb 1927 | Karl Burk retired from the German Army at the rank of Oberwachtmeister. |
| 1 Mar 1933 | Karl Burk joined the Nazi SS organization and was given the rank of SS-Hauptscharführer. |
| 7 May 1933 | Karl Burk joined the Nazi Party. |
| 20 Apr 1935 | Karl Burk was promoted to the rank of SS-Untersturmführer. |
| 9 Nov 1935 | Karl Burk was promoted to the rank of SS-Obersturmführer. |
| 13 Sep 1936 | Karl Burk was promoted to the rank of SS-Hauptsturmführer. |
| 12 Sep 1937 | Karl Burk was promoted to the rank of SS-Sturmbannführer. |
| 9 Nov 1938 | Karl Burk was promoted to the rank of SS-Obersturmbannführer. |
| 9 Jan 1939 | Karl Burk was made the commanding officer of the 8th SS-Standarte (Niederschlesien) regiment. |
| 30 Oct 1941 | Karl Burk was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class. |
| 8 Dec 1941 | Karl Burk was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class. |
| 6 Mar 1942 | Karl Burk was promoted to the rank of SS-Standartenführer. |
| 15 Nov 1942 | Karl Burk was awarded the German Cross in Gold. |
| 20 Apr 1943 | Karl Burk was awarded the War Merit Cross 1st Class with Swords. |
| 9 Nov 1943 | Karl Burk was promoted to the rank of SS-Oberführer. |
| 21 Jun 1944 | Karl Burk was made the commanding officer of SS Volunteer Sturmbrigade Wallonien. |
| 20 Apr 1945 | Karl Burk was promoted to the rank of SS-Brigadeführer and was made Generalmajor of Waffen-SS. |
| 23 Sep 1963 | Karl Burk passed away in Fritzlar, Hessen, Germany. |
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Visitor Submitted Comments
David Stubblebine says:7 Aug 2019 08:17:59 AM
Georg Schwab (above):
You are completely correct and the photo has been updated to a photo that is more reliably Karl Burk. Thank you for pointing this out.
All visitor submitted comments are opinions of those making the submissions and do not reflect views of WW2DB.
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James Forrestal, Secretary of the Navy, 23 Feb 1945
6 Aug 2019 06:28:31 AM
The photo you claim is Karl Burk is in fact Adolf Ax.
Best regards
Georg