Werner von Fritsch

Werner Freiherr von Fritsch
File:VonFritsch.jpg Werner Freiherr von Fritsch
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918) Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany
Years of service	1898 –1939
Rank	General
Awards	Pour le Mérite

Werner Freiherr (Baron) von Fritsch (4 August 1880 – 22 September 1939) was a prominent Wehrmacht officer, member of the German High Command, and the first German general to die in the Second World War.

Early life

Von Fritsch was born in Benrath in the Rhine Province. He entered the army at the age of 18, and won the attention of the German General Staff with his superior military qualities. In 1901, at the age of 21, he transferred to the Kriegsakademie. As a first lieutenant in 1911, he was appointed to the General Staff. Between 1914 and 1918, during World War I, he gradually increased in importance and received, among other awards, the Iron Cross First Class and a black wound badge for a head wound he received while visiting the front lines.

Interwar period

After World War I, von Fritsch served in the Reichswehr. He was promoted to lieutenant-general in 1932. After the Nazis came to power in 1933, von Fritsch was appalled by their lawlessness and suppression of civil liberties, but did not openly criticise them. He was worried, however, that Hitler would cause a war with the Soviet Union, as he had supported the Weimar liaison with them.

In 1934, von Fritsch was promoted to the army High Command, the OKH, and made Commander-in-Chief the next year. He, alongside Werner von Blomberg, set about rearming Germany. In 1936, when von Blomberg was promoted to field marshal, General von Fritsch received promotion to von Blomberg's vacated rank of generaloberst. Generaloberst von Fritsch was among the officers present at the Hossbach Conference in 1937 where Adolf Hitler made his aggressive intentions known, but was dismayed by this, as he knew the army was not ready.

The Blomberg-Fritsch Affair

Main article: Blomberg-Fritsch Affair

Heinrich Himmler and Hermann Göring, inspired by the resignation of Werner von Blomberg, accused the unmarried Fritsch, who had never been a womaniser and had preferred to concentrate on his army career, of engaging in homosexual activity. He was forced to resign on 4 February 1938, and was replaced by Walther von Brauchitsch, whom von Fritsch himself recommended for the post. Also, Hitler took advantage of the situation by replacing several generals and ministers with people even more loyal to him, taking control of the Wehrmacht. Soon, it became known that the charges were false, and an honour court of officers examined the Blomberg-Fritsch Affair, although it was presided over by Göring himself. The successful Anschluss of March 12 silenced all critics of Hitler, Göring and Himmler. Fritsch was acquitted on March 18, but the damage to his name had been done.

World War II

Commemorative stone placed by Germans in the spot where Werner Freiherr von Fritsch died.

Just before the outbreak of World War II, Fritsch was recalled, and chose to personally inspect the front lines during the Invasion of Poland, a very unusual activity for someone of his rank. On 22 September 1939, in Praga during the Siege of Warsaw, a stone chipped by gunfire tore an artery in his leg. In his book Berlin Diary, William Shirer wrote that although von Fritsch had suffered a serious wound, it was not mortal. His adjutant attempted to stop the bleeding and carry him to the rear, but von Fritsch took off his monocle, looked at him and stated: "Ach, don't bother!". He bled to death shortly thereafter.

As von Fritsch was the first German general to be killed in combat in World War II, the event was closely examined. It is believed that he deliberately sought death. Von Fritsch received a ceremonial state funeral four days later in Berlin.

Legacy

Freiherr von Fritsch Kaserne in Darmstadt was named after von Fritsch after his death. It was later combined with the adjoining Cambrai Kaserne. The facilities were combined when the United States Army occupied Darmstadt in 1945. Cambrai-Fritsch Kaserne is scheduled to be turned over to the German government by March 2009.

Notes

Regarding personal names: Freiherr was a title before 1919, but now is regarded as part of the surname. It is translated as Baron. Before the August 1919 abolition of nobility as a legal class, titles preceded the full name when given (Graf Helmuth James von Moltke). Since 1919, these titles, along with any nobiliary prefix (von, zu, etc.), can be used, but are regarded as a dependent part of the surname, and thus come after any given names (Helmuth James Graf von Moltke). Titles and all dependent parts of surnames are ignored in alphabetical sorting. The feminine forms are Freifrau and Freiin.

References

• Wheeler-Bennett, Sir John The Nemesis of Power : The German Army in Politics 1918-1945 Palgrave Macmillan, London, 1953, 1964, 2005.
• Read, Anthony The Devil's Disciples: The Lives and Times of Hitler's Inner Circle Pimlico, London, 2003, 2004.
• Barnett, Correlli, Ed. Hitler's Generals Grove Weidenfeld, New York, NY, 1989.