After his arrest on 8 May 1945 he was extradited to France on charges of having ordered the execution of 17 members of the Resistance in Nîmes. The trial revealed that Bittrich had not given such an order and had even opened procedures against the responsible officers. As the overall commander of the troops who committed the execution, he was held responsible for their misconduct and sentenced to five years in prison. The sentence was considered as served after a long pretrial detention. He was put on trial for a second time in 1953 and sentenced to five years in prison for tolerating hangings, pillage and arson, and was released the same year. Activities within HIAG Following his release from prison, Bittrich became active in HIAG, a revisionist organization of former Waffen-SS members. In the 1970s, he served as the organization's chairman. Bittrich died in Wolfratshausen, Bavaria on 19 April 1979. Cultural portrayals In the 1977 film, A Bridge Too Far, Bittrich is portrayed by actor Maximilian Schell. Summary of SS career Decorations Iron Cross of 1914, Second and First Class Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 (1934) Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (25 September 1939) & 1st Class (7 June 1940) Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords Knight's Cross on 14 December 1941 as SS-Oberführer and commander of SS-Infanterie-Regiment "Deutschland" of the SS-Division "Reich" (in 1942 "Das Reich") Oak Leaves on 28 August 1944 as SS-Obergruppenführer and General of the Waffen-SS, and commanding general of the II. SS-Panzerkorps Swords on 6 May 1945 as SS-Obergruppenführer and General of the Waffen-SS, and commanding general of the II. SS-Panzerkorps German Cross in Gold on 6 March 1943 as SS-Brigadeführer and Generalmajor of the Reserves in the 8. SS-Kavallerie-Division "Florian Geyer" Promotions {| style="background:none;" |- | 19 October 1941: || SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS|- | 1 May 1943: || SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS|- | 1 August 1944: || SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS|} Notes References Citations Bibliography Further reading Kershaw, Robert J. (1994): It never snows in September. Ian Allan Ltd. . Mühleisen, Horst (2000). Wilhelm Bittrich.'' Paderborn: Ronald Smelser / Enrico Syring (Hrsg.): Die SS, Elite unter dem Totenkopf. External links 1957 CIA document on Bittrich, released under FOIA 1894 births 1979 deaths People from Wernigerode People from the Harz Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the clasp