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Army Personnel Office (Wehrmacht)
__NOTOC__The Army Personnel Office (''Heeres Personal Amt'', ''Heerespersonalamt'' or ''Heeres Personalamt'') was a German military agency formed in 1920 and charged with the personnel matters of all officers and cadets of the army of the Reichswehr and later the Wehrmacht. With increased recruitment of officers in 1935 and especially in the Second World War, it was given multiple new tasks. The growing demands led to numerous organisational changes. In October 1942 Major General Rudolf Schmundt became the new head of the HPA. After his death from injuries received during the assassination attempt on Hitler's life of 20 July 1944 General Wilhelm Burgdorf took over the function. The agency had several departments (''Abteilung'').Stone 2009, p. 245. * ''Abteilung'' P 1: Planning human resources, personnel management of the officers * ''Abteilung'' P 2: Disciplinary matters of the officers * ''Abteilung'' P 3: Staffing of the General Staff officers; transferred to the central departm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reichswehr
''Reichswehr'' () was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first years of the Third Reich. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshaped into a peacetime army. From it a provisional Reichswehr was formed in March 1919. Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, the rebuilt German army was subject to severe limitations in size and armament. The official formation of the Reichswehr took place on 1 January 1921 after the limitations had been met. The German armed forces kept the name 'Reichswehr' until Adolf Hitler's 1935 proclamation of the "restoration of military sovereignty", at which point it became part of the new . Although ostensibly apolitical, the Reichswehr acted as a state within a state, and its leadership was an important political power factor in the Weimar Republic. The Reichswehr sometimes supported the democratic government, as it did in the Ebert ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previously used term and was the manifestation of the Nazi regime's efforts to rearm Germany to a greater extent than the Treaty of Versailles permitted. After the Nazi rise to power in 1933, one of Adolf Hitler's most overt and audacious moves was to establish the ''Wehrmacht'', a modern offensively-capable armed force, fulfilling the Nazi régime's long-term goals of regaining lost territory as well as gaining new territory and dominating its neighbours. This required the reinstatement of conscription and massive investment and defense spending on the arms industry. The ''Wehrmacht'' formed the heart of Germany's politico-military power. In the early part of the Second World War, the ''Wehrmacht'' employed combined arms tactics (close- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rudolf Schmundt
Rudolf Schmundt (13 August 1896 – 1 October 1944) was a German officer and adjutant to Adolf Hitler. Between 1942 and 1944, he was chief of the German Army Personnel Office. Schmundt was injured during the 20 July 1944 assassination attempt on Hitler and died a few months later from his wounds. Biography Schmundt was born in Metz (then in Germany) and served as a lieutenant for the German Army during World War I. In World War II he attained the rank of General of the Infantry on 1 September 1944, and became the Chief of the Personnel Department of the German Army. Throughout the war, Schmundt was one of Adolf Hitler's many adjutants, and flew with Erwin Rommel in early 1941, just before the Afrika Korps was created. Schmundt was one of the casualties of the failed 20 July plot, planned to kill the German dictator Adolf Hitler. One of the conspirators, Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, placed a bomb in a briefcase beside Hitler. Colonel Heinz Brandt moved it behind a hea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
20 July Plot
On 20 July 1944, Claus von Stauffenberg and other conspirators attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Führer of Nazi Germany, inside his Wolf's Lair field headquarters near Rastenburg, East Prussia, now Kętrzyn, in present-day Poland. The name "Operation Valkyrie"—originally referring to part of the conspiracy—has become associated with the entire event. The apparent aim of the assassination attempt was to wrest political control of Germany and its armed forces from the Nazi Party (including the SS) and to make peace with the Western Allies as soon as possible. The details of the conspirators' peace initiatives remain unknown, but they would have included unrealistic demands for the confirmation of Germany's extensive annexations of European territory. The plot was the culmination of efforts by several groups in the German resistance to overthrow the Nazi German government. The failure of the assassination attempt and the intended military , or putsch, that was to f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wilhelm Burgdorf
Wilhelm Emanuel Burgdorf (15 February 1895 – 2 May 1945) was a German general during World War II, who served as a commander and staff officer in the German Army. In October 1944, Burgdorf assumed the role of the chief of the Army Personnel Office and chief adjutant to Adolf Hitler. In this capacity, he played a role in the forced suicide of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. Burgdorf committed suicide in the '' Führerbunker'' on 2 May 1945 at the conclusion of the Battle of Berlin. Military career Burgdorf joined the Prussian Army at the outbreak of World War I as an officer cadet and was commissioned as an infantry officer in Grenadier Regiment 12 in 1915. After the war he served in the Reichswehr and was promoted to captain in 1930. In the Wehrmacht, he became an instructor in tactics at the military academy in Dresden with the rank of major in 1935 and was appointed an adjutant on the staff of the IX corps in 1937. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1938 and served ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German General Staff
The German General Staff, originally the Prussian General Staff and officially the Great General Staff (german: Großer Generalstab), was a full-time body at the head of the Prussian Army and later, the German Army, responsible for the continuous study of all aspects of war, and for drawing up and reviewing plans for mobilization or campaign. It existed unofficially from 1806, and was formally established by law in 1814, the first general staff in existence. It was distinguished by the formal selection of its officers by intelligence and proven merit rather than patronage or wealth, and by the exhaustive and rigorously structured training which its staff officers undertook. Its rise and development gave the German armed forces a major strategic advantage over their adversaries for nearly a century and a half. The Prussian General Staff also enjoyed greater freedom from political control than its contemporaries, and this autonomy was enshrined in law on the unification of German ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wilhelm Heye
August Wilhelm Heye (31 January 1869, Fulda – 11 March 1947, Braunlage) was a German officer who rose to the rank of Generaloberst and became head of the Army Command within the Ministry of the Reichswehr in the Weimar Republic. One of his sons was admiral Hellmuth Heye. Biography The son of a Prussian officer, Heye joined the Army in 1888 and subsequently became a member of the German General Staff. During the First World War, he served on both the East and Western fronts, eventually becoming the last chief of the operations department at the Oberste Heeresleitung (Supreme Army Command). After the end of the war, he assisted Hans von Seeckt in organising the new Reichswehr, serving as the second Chief of the Truppenamt and later commander of the Wehrkreis I (Military District I). In 1926, he replaced Seeckt as Chief of Army Command and held that position until retiring in 1930. Decorations and awards * Iron Cross of 1914, 1st and 2nd class * Knight's Cross of the Royal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Viktor Von Schwedler
Viktor von Schwedler (18 January 1885 – 30 October 1954) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany who commanded an army corps and a military district during World War II. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Schwedler was made commanding general of the IV. Army Corps following the Blomberg-Fritsch Affair of 1938. He was transferred to the '' Führerreserve'' in October 1942. On 1 March 1943 he was appointed commanding general of the 4th Military District in Dresden a position he held until 31 January 1945. He was still responsible for the measures after the bombing of Dresden on 13 February and 15 February 1945. Awards and decorations * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. The Knight' ... on 29 June 1940 as ''General der ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bodewin Keitel
Bodewin Claus Eduard Keitel (; 25 December 1888 – July 29 1953) was a German general during World War II who served as head of the Army Personnel Office. Pre-war career Bodewin Keitel was born on 25 December 1888 in Helmscherode, the son of a landowner. He was the brother of Wilhelm Keitel, later a field marshal and head of the High Command of the Wehrmacht. Bodewin joined the army in 1909 and served during World War I. After the end of World War I, he was retained in the ''Reichswehr'', eventually reaching the rank of colonel. In 1937, he was appointed as the Chief of Training Department ("T4") and was added in the General Staff of the Army. On 28 February 1938, he was promoted to Generalmajor (major general) and appointed head of the Army Personnel Office. He held this position until 1 October 1942. World War II On 1 April 1940 Keitel received his promotion to Generalleutnant (lieutenant general) and one year later the General of Infantry (general of infantry). ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chief Of The Luftwaffe Personnel Office
Chief of the Luftwaffe Personnel Office (german: Chef des Luftwaffen-Personalamtes) was not a rank but a leading position within the German ''Luftwaffe'' High Command in Nazi Germany. List of chiefs See also *Oberkommando der Luftwaffe *Inspector of Fighters * Inspector of Bombers *Army Personnel Office (Wehrmacht) __NOTOC__The Army Personnel Office (''Heeres Personal Amt'', ''Heerespersonalamt'' or ''Heeres Personalamt'') was a German military agency formed in 1920 and charged with the personnel matters of all officers and cadets of the army of the Reichswehr ... (army equivalent) References {{Germany-WWII-stub Luftwaffe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
