Otto Hitzfeld

Otto Hitzfeld
Hitzfeld as colonel on 25 February 1942
Birth name	Otto Maximilian Hitzfeld
Born	(1898-05-07)7 May 1898 Schluchsee, German Empire
Died	6 December 1990(1990-12-06) (aged 92) Dossenheim, Germany
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918) Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany
Service / branch	Army (Wehrmacht)
Years of service	1914–45
Rank	General of the Infantry
Commands	102nd Infantry Division LXVII Army Corps 11th Army
Battles / wars	World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords

Otto Maximilian Hitzfeld (7 May 1898 – 6 December 1990) was a German general during World War II. He was listed as a recipient of the Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords by the West German Association of Knight's Cross Recipients. He is the uncle of retired football manager Ottmar Hitzfeld.

Career

Hitzfeld received command of the 102nd Infantry Division in April 1943. He was promoted to Generalleutnant early November 1943 and had to turn over command of the Division. He then took command of the infantry school in Döberitz and again turned over command on 1 November 1944. Hitzfeld was given command of the LXVII Army Corps, which he led in the Battle of the Bulge. He was promoted to General of the Infantry on 1 March 1945 and made commanding general of the LXVII Army Corps.

He became commander of the 11th Army in April 1945. He declared Göttingen, which was crowded with refugees, as an open city. He was taken prisoner of war by American forces on 19 April 1945 from which he was released on 12 May 1947. He received news that he had been awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords after his release from captivity.

Awards

• Iron Cross (1914) 2nd Class (5 November 1915 & 1st Class (5 September 1916))
• Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (25 August 1940) & 1st Class (15 August 1941)
• Officers Cross of the Order of the Crown with Swords (22 June 1942)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
  • Knight's Cross on 30 October 1941 as Oberstleutnant and commander of Infanterie-Regiment 213
  • 65th Oak Leaves on 17 January 1942 as Oberstleutnant and commander of Infanterie-Regiment 213
  • 158th Swords on 9 May 1945 as General der Infanterie and commanding general of the LXVII. Armeekorps

References

Bibliography

• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer [in German] (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
• Hitzfeld, Otto Maximilian (1983). Bradley, Dermot (ed.). Ein Infanterist in zwei Weltkriegen: Erinnerungen 1898–1980 [An Infantryman in two World Wars: Memories 1898–1980] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio. ISBN 978-3-7648-1269-0.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die 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 [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Thomas, Franz (1997). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 1: A–K [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 1: A–K] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2299-6.