We've heard a lot about Hitler's generals lately. Who were they, really? I've looked up the stories of a few of them.
Walther Heinrich Alfred Hermann von
Brauchitsch was Commander-in-Chief of the German Army during the first two years of World War II. Brauchitsch and others considered overthrowing Hitler, but he decided against it. Although Brauchitsch led several successful campaigns, Hitler blamed him for the failure of the attack on Moscow. Brauchitsch was forced into retirement. After the war, he was charged with war crimes, but died before he could be prosecuted, age 67.
Friedrich
Olbricht was a commander in the invasion of Poland. He was eventually promoted to Chief of the Armed Forces Reserve Office. Olbricht was a key figure in Operation Valkyrie, a plot to assassinate Hitler and take over the government. Following the failure of the plot, he was executed by firing squad, age 55.
Fritz Erich Georg Eduard von
Manstein was considered one of the most talented field commanders. He commanded several successful operations and took 430,000 Soviet prisoners. At the Nuremberg trials, he presented a document and oral testimony in defense of the General Staff. He was tried for war crimes in Hamburg in 1949, where he was found guilty of nine charges and sentenced to 18 years. His sentence was reduced, and he served only four years. In 1955 Manstein was a consultant on rebuilding the German army. His memoir, published in 1955, became a best-seller. He died of a stroke in 1977, age 85.
Henning Hermann Karl Robert von
Tresckow was involved in the 1940 invasion of France. He served in several campaigns and invasions, and signed orders to kidnap thousands of Polish and Ukrainian children to use as slave labor. Tresckow tried to kill Hitler by having a colleague plant a bomb in his plane; the bomb failed to explode. He participated in several other failed assassination plots, including Operation Valkyrie. After Valkyrie’s failure, he killed himself with a grenade, age 43.
Johannes Erwin Eugen
Rommel led German and Italian forces in North Africa. He was given the nickname “Desert Fox,” and had a reputation for chivalry. He later commanded German forces opposing the Normandy invasion. Rommel was implicated in a plot to assassinate Hitler, and was encouraged to commit suicide. He took a cyanide pill, age 52.
Friedrich Wilhelm Waldemar
Fromm was commander of Germany’s Reserve Army in World War II. He was part of Operation Valkyrie. When the plot failed, he attempted to hide his involvement by ordering a quick court-martial and execution for some of the other conspirators. His participation in the plot could not be proved because the witnesses were dead, so he was instead convicted of cowardice and executed by firing squad, age 56.
Oskar Wilhelm Robert Paul Ludwig Hellmuth von Beneckendorff und von
Hindenburg was the son of a former German president. As a retired general, he came out of retirement in World War II to supervise several prisoner of war camps. He resigned because he considered the position a demotion. He was a prosecution witness at the Nuremberg trials. He died of a heart attack in 1960, age 77.
Karl Rudolf Gerd von
Rundstedt came out of retirement for World War II, becoming a commander in the invasion of Poland, and in the Battle of France. He requested the Halt Order during the Battle of Dunkirk. He was commander the largest encirclement in history, the Battle of Kiev. Hitler dismissed him after the defeat at Normandy, then recalled him as Commander-in-Chief in the West. Rundstedt knew about some of the plots to depose Hitler, but neither joined nor reported them. Ater the war he was accused of war crimes, but was considered too old and sick to stand trial, although he did appear as a defense witness. He died of heart failure in 1953, age 77.
