He joined the SS in 1940 and, after finishing the police course, became adjutant to the SS and police leader Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski in the Army Group Centre Rear Area. In 1942, he was appointed chief of the Waffen-SS units in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. From 1943 to 1944, he also commanded the newly created Latvian Division, but was replaced before the division went into combat. During the Prague uprising in May 1945, Pückler-Burghauss represented the hardline of the SS. During negotiations with the Czech National Council , he often threatened the complete destruction of Prague.