Friedrich Fromm

Friedrich Fromm
Generaloberst Friedrich Fromm
Born	8 October 1888 Berlin, Germany
Died	12 March 1945 (aged 56) Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918) Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Rank	Generaloberst
Commands held	Chef der Heeresausrüstung und Befehlshaber des Ersatzheeres
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Friedrich Fromm (8 October 1888 – 12 March 1945) was a German army officer. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

Early life

Fromm was born in Charlottenburg. He served as a lieutenant during World War I.

20 July Plot

Main article: 20 July plot

In World War II, Fromm was Commander in Chief of the Reserve Army (Ersatzheer), in charge of training and personnel replacement for the German Army, a position he occupied for most of the war. Though he was aware that some of his subordinates—most notably Claus von Stauffenberg, his Chief of Staff—were planning an assassination attempt against Adolf Hitler, he remained quiet. When the plot failed, Fromm immediately had the conspirators executed (against Hitler's orders to take the conspirators alive) to cover up potential allegations that he himself was involved. However, these actions did not save him.

Trial and execution

Fromm was discharged from the German Army on 14 September 1944. The civilian Fromm was sentenced to death and considered unworthy for military duty by the Volksgerichtshof on 7 March 1945. Since the court failed to prove a direct association with the 20 July plotters, he had been charged and convicted for cowardice before the enemy. The loss of his worthiness for military service led to a permanent loss of all honors, ranks and orders. On 12 March 1945, Fromm was executed at the Brandenburg-Görden Prison by firing squad as part of the post-conspiracy purge. His last words before the firing squad were reported to be "I die, because it was ordered. I had always wanted only the best for Germany".

Awards

• Iron Cross (1914)
  • 2nd Class
  • 1st Class
• Wound Badge (1914)
  • in Black
• Hanseatic Cross of Hamburg
• Cross of Honor
• Anschluss Medal
• Sudetenland Medal with Prague Castle Bar
• Memel Medal
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class
  • 1st Class
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 6 July 1940 as General der Artillerie and chief of the Heeresrüstung (armament of the army) and commander in chief of the Ersatzheeres (replacement army)

Film portrayals

• By Helmut Lohner in the 1990 film The Plot to Kill Hitler.
• By Axel Milberg in the 2004 film Stauffenberg (also known as Operation Valkyrie).
• By Tom Wilkinson in the 2008 film Valkyrie.

References

Bibliography

• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000). Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945. Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
• Kroener, Bernhard R. (2005). "Der starke Mann im Heimatkriegsgebiet". Generaloberst Friedrich Fromm. Eine Biographie. Paderborn: Schoeningh, Oler family (Alberta, Canada)
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.

External links

• Media related to Friedrich Fromm at Wikimedia Commons
• Friedrich Fromm in the German National Library catalogue (German)
• Lexikon der Wehrmacht