Fritz Witt was born in Hohenlimburg Germany, on 27 May 1908. His father was a salesman; his son was to follow in his father's footsteps, working as a salesman in the textile industry from 1925 until mid 1931. He joined both the NSDAP and the SS on 1 December 1931. On 17 March 1933 Witt was admitted into the SS Stabswache Berlin, one of only 117 so selected. On 9 September 1934 Witt received his first promotion as a commissioned officer to the rank of SS-Obersturmführer. Shortly thereafter he was given command of 3.Kompanie of the "Deutschland" Standarte. He led this Kompanie during the invasion of Poland and within one week of each other he was awarded the Iron Cross first (26 September) and second class (19 September).

On 1 October 1939 Witt was given command of the I.Bataillon of the Deutschland Standarte, and went on to win the Knight's Cross on 4 September 1940 for his actions in France. The award was recommended by Felix Steiner, and seconded by Paul Hausser. Hausser commented-"Witt is worthy of the award for his personal action, especially during the defense against the enemy tank attack on May 27, 1940. (20 British heavy tanks, supported by infantry attempted to smash the positions of Witt's Bataillon. Despite the lack of anti-tank weapons, the Bataillon held it's position, defending itself with all light and heavy infantry weapons that where available. This resulted in the loss of nine British tanks. Author) The opinion of the Regimental commander, describing him as the sole of the resistance, must be stressed. Witt is the model of the young leader, never retreating in the face of anything".

On 16 October 1940 Witt was transferred back to the Leibstandarte, placed in command of III.Battailon. While preparations where made for the upcoming campaign in the Balkans, Witt was transferred to command the I.Bataillon (on 26 March 1941. Author). I.Bataillon was to play a crucial role in the fall of Greece. On the morning of 10 April, I.Bataillon, supported by artillery and 88's, was responsible for the opening of Klidi pass, which led directly into the heart of Greece. The fighting lasted three days, with British resistance shattered on the 13th. Casualties over this three day action were heavy totaling 37 dead, and 95 wounded. Among the fallen was Witt's younger brother Franz. Witt's reinforced Bataillon captured over 520 prisoners, and considerable equipment. 14 soldiers were awarded the Iron cross first class, and SS-Obersturmführer Gerd Pleiss, commander of 1.Kompanie, won the Knight's Cross for the capture of Height 997, which had to be stormed and was taken only after hand to hand combat.

After the conclussion of the Balkan Campiagn, all eyes where set to Russia, where Witt distinguished himself in many battles, winning the German Cross in Gold on 8 Febuary 1942. Eventually Witt's Bataillon evolved into SS-Infanterieregiment 1, with SS-Obersturmbannführer (as of 27 November 1941. Author) Witt placed as it's first commander officially on 1 July 1942. He went on to lead this Regiment with great success, winning Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross on 1 March 1943 (the 200th so honored - Author) for various actions throughout the war. Among these were the actions in Greece, the attack on Rostov, the battles for Kharkov, and action at Merefa.

Witt was promoted to SS-Oberführer on 1 July 1943, and on the last day of the month was selected as the first commander of 12.SS-Panzerdivision "Hitlerjugend". On 20 April, 1944 Witt was promoted to the rank of SS-Brigadeführer. Unfortunately, for this extraordinary commander this was to be his final promotion. On the morning of 14 June 1944, while stationed at his headquaters in Venoix, Witt was killed from a shrapnel wound to the face, the direct result of a Allied naval bombardment. He was 36.