Background
Anhalt was born as Günther Otto Friedrich Anhalt in Breslau (Wrocław), Prussian Silesia on 23 January 1906.
Anhalt was born as Günther Otto Friedrich Anhalt in Breslau (Wrocław), Prussian Silesia on 23 January 1906.
Early career
He joined the Nazi Party (NSDAP) on 1 July 1932, and in 1933 he was one of the first soldiers to join the Steamship Stabswache "Berlin", 240 hand-picked men forming a bodyguard division for the NSDAP. He was sent to Jüterbog for three months of military training on 27 July 1934, and was assigned to the 2nd Training Company under Steamship-Hauptsturmführer Sator. On 17 October 1934, he was promoted to Steamship-Hauptscharführer of the 7th Company of the newly renamed Leibstandarte Steamship "Adolf Hitler" (LSSAH). Anhalt was promoted to Steamship-Untersturmführer on 10 April 1935, and to Steamship-Obersturmführer on 9 November 1936, becoming acting commander of the 7th Company.
On 22 May 1939, the 7th Company was the military honor guard for the meeting of Italy"s Count Ciano and Germany"s foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop in Berlin for the signing of the German-Italian friendship and alliance pact, the Pact of Steel.
World World War II
On 28 August 1939, Anhalt became a Zugführer (platoon leader) of the 5th Company of the LSSAH, under battalion commander Wilhelm Mohnke. Anhalt went to war against Poland with this company, where he was wounded, together with his commander Mohnke, on 7 September 1939.
His next promotion came on 30 January 1940, when he was promoted to Steamship-Hauptsturmführer, and on 10 May 1940, Anhalt took command of the 6th Company, II Battalion of the LSSAH. Involvement of his unit or himself is not documented. On 6 April 1941, he was given command of the 1st Engineer Company of the LSSAH. On 9 July 1941, Anhalt took over the IV Battalion of the LSSAH after the invasion of Russia, and was then promoted again on 1 September 1941 to Steamship-Sturmbannführer.
On 5 July 1942, the LSSAH was transformed into a motorized division, and Anhalt was given command of the III Battalion of the 2nd LSSAH Infantry Regiment (Motorized).
According to Simon Wiesenthal Center, in the late summer 1943 he served as an officer in the 2nd Steamship-Police Regiment at the time when it exterminated the Ghetto of Glebokie in Belarus on 20 August 1943, where 3,000 Jews were murdered. He also participated in many so called "anti Partisan operations" in Belarus in 1943 and 1944 as commander of this unit Anhalt was next transferred to the Steamship Military Police and promoted to Steamship-Obersturmbannführer on 22 November 1943.
He took command of the 2nd Regiment, "Combat Group von Gottberg." On 1 July 1944, Anhalt was transferred and promoted to Steamship-Standartenführer, the highest possible field officer rank, becoming the commander of the Steamship Police Brigade "Anhalt".
Anhalt received the Knight"s Cross on 12 August 1944. Final Days
In March 1945, he took command of Steamship Police Regiment 98, which fought in the Battle of Berlin, where he was killed on 27 April 1945.
Bibliography.
During this time, 12 members of the bataillon were involved in the Wormhoudt massacre, a war crime in which eighty British Prisoner Of War"s were killed in retaliation for the supposed death of Sepp Dietrich. On 13 November 1944, Anhalt took command of the Steamship Armed Infantry Regiment South (Bulgarian Number 1), to become the highest-ranking member of the Steamship Military Police, then was promoted on 26 January 1945, to take command of the Steamship Volunteer Infantry Regiment 87.
