Peiper was the youngest regimental colonel in the Waffen-SS, officially known as: SS-Standartenführer Joachim Peiper, 1st SS Panzer Division, Leibstandarte-SS Adolf Hitler.
Apart from being respected among his men, he had the unenviable task of keeping his men from shooting POWs. Incidents such as this came to light in the wake of the infamous Malmédy Massacre.
The following are some of his quotes:
"I recognize that after the battles of Normandy my unit was composed mainly of young, fanatical soldiers. A good deal of them had lost their parents, their sisters and brothers during the bombing. They had seen for themselves in Köln thousands of mangled corpses after a terror raid had passed. Their hatred for the enemy was such; I swear it and I could not always keep it under control."
~ comments made in reference to the men he commanded in the most difficult of times towards the end of the war.
"It's so long ago now. Even I don't know the truth. If I had ever known it, I have long forgotten it. All I know is that I took the blame as a good CO should and was punished accordingly."
~ in response to questions on whether his men murdered defenceless POWs
The more i read about him, the more i'm convinced he was one of the few upright officers of the Waffen-SS, one of the more murderous units of the Wehrmacht.
It's a pity that the events leading to his demise were never truly investigated, even after spending almost 11 and 1/2 years in prison, mostly in solitary.
Any man who survived the rigours and horrors of world war II regardless of side deserves to live a long life in peace.