Friedrich Hossbach
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Friedrich Hossbach | |
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![]() Hossbach in 1934 | |
Born | Unna, German Empire | 22 November 1894
Died | 10 September 1980 Göttingen, West Germany | (aged 85)
Allegiance | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Service/ | Army |
Years of service | 1913–45 |
Rank | General of the Infantry |
Commands | 82nd Infantry Division LVI Panzer Corps 4th Army |
Battles/wars | World War I World War II |
Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves |
Friedrich Hossbach (22 November 1894 – 10 September 1980) was a German staff officer in the Wehrmacht who, in 1937, was the military adjutant to Adolf Hitler. Hossbach created the document which later became known as the Hossbach Memorandum.
Career
Hossbach created the document which later became known as the Hossbach Memorandum. This was a report of a meeting held on 5 November 1937 between Hitler and Feldmarschall von Blomberg, General von Fritsch, Admiral Dr. Raeder, Generaloberst Hermann Göring, Baron von Neurath and Hossbach. His account was found among the Nuremberg papers, where it was an important piece of evidence.[1]
In early 1938, Hossbach was present when Hitler was presented by Goering with a file purporting to show that General von Fritsch, the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, was guilty of homosexual practices. In defiance of Hitler's orders, Hossbach took the file to Fritsch to warn him of the accusations he was about to face. Fritsch gave his word as an officer that the charges were untrue, and Hossbach passed this message back to Hitler. This did not, as it might have, cost Hossbach his life, though he was dismissed from his post as Hitler's adjutant two days later.[2]
Hossbach was restored to the general staff in 1939 and promoted to major general on the 1st of March 1942. Exactly 5 months later he was promoted again to lieutenant general and his last promotion happened on 1 November 1943, where he became general of infantry and was given command of the 16th Panzer Corp. He spent the next 2 years on the Russian front, taking over as commander of the 4th Army on 28 January 1945, only to be dismissed two days later for defying Hitlers orders and withdrawing his troops from East Prussia in fear of a second Stalingrad.[3]
Awards
- Iron Cross (1914) 2nd Class (26 September 1914) & 1st Class (26 May 1916)[4]
- Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (11 May 1940) and 1st Class (30 May 1940)[4]
- Honour Roll Clasp of the Army (22 July 1941)[4]
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
- Knight's Cross on 7 October 1940 as Oberst and commander of Infanterie-Regiment 82
- Oak Leaves on 11 September 1943 as Generalleutnant and acting commander of LVI. Panzerkorps
References
Citations
Bibliography
- Jones, Michael (2011) "Total War. From Stalingrad to Berlin". John Murray, London. ISBN 978 1 8485 4231 0
- Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (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.
- 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.
- Who's Who in Nazi Germany. Routledge, 1995. ISBN 0-415-12723-8