|
Rudolf Holste
Rudolf Holste (9 April 1897 – 4 December 1970) was a German general during World War II. He commanded the XLI Panzer Corps during the Battle of Berlin, allegedly abandoning his troops on 1 May 1945, one day before the city capitulated. Career Holste joined the German Army on in August 1914 and was commissioned as an officer in 1915. During World War II, he commanded 14th Infantry Division, the 4th Cavalry Division and the XLI Panzer Corps. On 15 November 1944 he was promoted to major general (Generalleutnant). Battle of Berlin On 22 April 1945, Holste became part of a poorly conceived and incredibly desperate plan that Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel and Colonel General Alfred Jodl proposed to Adolf Hitler. The plan envisaged for the few remaining German forces in central Germany to attack the Soviet forces encircling Berlin. The plan called for General Walther Wenck's Twelfth Army on the Elbe and Mulde fronts to be turned around and to attack towards the east, then linking up ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hessisch Oldendorf
Hessisch Oldendorf ( is a town in the Hamelin-Pyrmont district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Weser, approximately northwest of Hamelin. The adjective "Hessisch" has been used since 1905 to distinguish it from other towns named Oldendorf. Hessisch Oldendorf was part of Landgraviate of Hessen-Kassel from 1640 until 1932. Personalities * Heinrich Beerbom (1892–1980), mayor, city manager and honorary citizen of Bramsche * Wilhelm Beisner (1911–?), German SD and SS- Guide and arms dealer, agent * Otto Deppmeyer (born 1947), politician ( CDU), Member of Landtag * Richard Krentzlin (1864–1956), died in Hessisch Oldendorf, piano teacher and composer * Heinrich Krone (1895–1989), politician ( Centre Party, CDU) Member of the Reichstag, Member of the Bundestag * Ilske Laginges (–1558), the first victim of the Witch-hunt processNiedersächsisches Jahrbuch für Landesgeschichte, Band 45, Hildesheim 1973, S. 149–151. * Konrad Schlüsselburg (1543–1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mulde
The Mulde () is a river in Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Elbe and is long. The river is formed by the confluence, near Colditz, of the Zwickauer Mulde (running through Zwickau) and the Freiberger Mulde (with Freiberg on its banks), both rising from the Ore Mountains. From here the river runs northwards through Saxony (Grimma, Wurzen, Eilenburg, Bad Düben) and Saxony-Anhalt (Jeßnitz and Dessau, the old capital of Anhalt). The Mulde flows into the Elbe north of Dessau.1911 Encyclopædia Britannica In August 2002 a flood caused severe damage, that even endangered the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Dessau-Wörlitzer Gartenreich" and the city Dessau. Its name could be derived from Old German (possibly Gothic) "Mulda" (𐌼ᚢ𐌻ᛞᚨ), meaning "dust" and a cognate of English " mould"). But more possibly it is related to the German "mahlen" which means "to mill". Therefore, Mulde probably means "the milling river" and corresponds to the great ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia established it on 17 March 1813 during the Napoleonic Wars (EK 1813). The award was backdated to the birthday (10 March) of his late wife, Queen Louise. Louise was the first person to receive this decoration (posthumously). Recommissioned Iron Cross was also awarded during the Franco-Prussian War (EK 1870), World War I (EK 1914), and World War II (EK 1939). During the 1930s and World War II, the Nazi regime superimposed a swastika on the traditional medal. The Iron Cross was usually a military decoration only, though there were instances awarded to civilians for performing military functions, including Hanna Reitsch, who received the Iron Cross, 2nd class, and Iron Cross, 1st Class, and Melitta Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg, who received ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Helmuth Weidling
Helmuth Otto Ludwig Weidling (2 November 1891 – 17 November 1955) was a German general during World War II. He was the last commander of the Berlin Defence Area during the Battle of Berlin, and led the defence of the city against Soviet forces, finally surrendering just before the end of World War II in Europe. Military career Born in Halberstadt in 1891, Weidling entered the military in 1911 and served as a lieutenant in the First World War. He remained in the reduced army of the Weimar Republic after the war. As an artillery officer, Weidling took part in the invasion of Poland, the Battle of France and during the early stages of Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. In January 1942, still on the Eastern Front, Weidling was appointed commander of the 86th Infantry Division. Corps commander On 15 October 1943, Weidling became the commander of the XLI Panzer Corps, a position he held until 10 April 1945 with a short break in his command from 19 June 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle For Berlin
The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II. After the Vistula–Oder Offensive of January–February 1945, the Red Army had temporarily halted on a line east of Berlin. On 9 March, Germany established its defence plan for the city with Operation Clausewitz. The first defensive preparations at the outskirts of Berlin were made on 20 March, under the newly appointed commander of Army Group Vistula, General Gotthard Heinrici. When the Soviet offensive resumed on 16 April, two Soviet fronts (army groups) attacked Berlin from the east and south, while a third overran German forces positioned north of Berlin. Before the main battle in Berlin commenced, the Red Army encircled the city after successful battles of the Seelow Heights and Halbe. On 20 April 1945, Hitler's birthday, the 1st Belorussian Front le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hans Krebs (Wehrmacht General)
Hans Krebs (4 March 1898 – 2 May 1945) was a German Army general of infantry who served during World War II. A career soldier, he served in the Reichswehr and the Wehrmacht. He served as the last Chief of Staff of the Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH) during the final phase of the war in Europe (1 April to 1 May 1945). Krebs tried to open surrender negotiations with the Red Army; he committed suicide in the ''Führerbunker'' during the early hours of 2 May 1945, two days after Adolf Hitler killed himself. Early life and education Krebs was born in Helmstedt. He volunteered for service in the Imperial German Army in 1914, becoming an officer in 1915. Krebs spoke fluent Russian. Career In 1931, Krebs worked in the Defence Ministry, where he maintained contacts with the Red Army in the context of joint military exercises conducted by the two countries. Krebs held strong antisemitic and anti-Communist views, as evidenced by his description of the members of the Soviet military de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
7th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)
The 7th Panzer Division was an armored formation of the German Army in World War II. It participated in the Battle of France, the invasion of the Soviet Union, the occupation of Vichy France, and on the Eastern Front until the end of the war. The 7th Panzer Division is also known by its nickname, Ghost Division. The division met with great success in France in 1940 and then again in the Soviet Union in 1941. In May 1942, the division was withdrawn from the Soviet Union and sent back to France to replace losses and refit. It returned to Southern Russia following the defeat at Stalingrad, and helped to check a general collapse of the front in a series of defensive battles as part of Army Group Don, and participated in General Erich von Manstein's counterattack at Kharkov. The division fought in the unsuccessful offensive at Kursk in the summer of 1943, suffering heavy losses in men and equipment and was further degraded in the subsequent Soviet counteroffensive. Through 1944 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
25th Panzergrenadier Division (Wehrmacht)
The 25th Infantry Division was a military unit of the German Wehrmacht. It was later reclassified to 25th Infantry Division (mot.), and in June 1943 to the 25th Panzer Grenadier Division. The 25th Panzergrenadier Division fought in the central sector of the Eastern front from June 1943 to July 1944. It was destroyed in the encirclement east of Minsk and reformed in October 1944. It then fought in Western Europe between October 1944 and January 1945 and in eastern Germany January to May 1945. Most of the survivors of the division surrendered to the western Allies. History Battle of France and Eastern Front The 25th Panzergrenadier Division was originally formed as an infantry unit, designated 25th Infantry Division and made up of Swabian and Bavarian personnel. It participated in the Polish Campaign and the Battle of France. In late 1940, it was reorganized as the 25th motorized infantry division and took part in Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, in Ju ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Felix Steiner
Felix Martin Julius Steiner (23 May 1896 – 12 May 1966) was a German SS commander during the Nazi era. During World War II, he served in the Waffen-SS, the combat branch of the SS, and commanded several SS divisions and corps. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. Together with Paul Hausser, he contributed significantly to the development and transformation of the Waffen-SS into a combat force made up of volunteers and conscripts from both occupied and un-occupied lands. Steiner was chosen by Heinrich Himmler to oversee the creation of and then command the SS Division Wiking. In 1943, he was promoted to the command of the III SS Panzer Corps. On 28 January 1945, Steiner was placed in command of the 11th SS Panzer Army, which formed part of a new Army Group Vistula, an ad-hoc formation to defend Berlin from the Soviet armies advancing from the Vistula River. On 21 April 1945, during the Battle for Berlin, Steiner was placed in comman ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oranienburg
Oranienburg () is a town in Brandenburg, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Oberhavel. Geography Oranienburg is a town located on the banks of the Havel river, 35 km north of the centre of Berlin. Division of the town Oranienburg consists of nine districts: * Friedrichsthal * Germendorf * Lehnitz * Malz * Oranienburg * Sachsenhausen * Schmachtenhagen * Wensickendorf * Zehlendorf History Originally named Bötzow, the town of Oranienburg dates from the 12th century and was first mentioned in 1216. Margrave Albert the Bear (ruled 1157–1170) allegedly ordered the construction of a castle on the banks of the Havel. Around the castle stood a settlement of traders and craftsmen. In 1646, Friedrich Wilhelm I of Brandenburg married Louise Henriette of Orange-Nassau (German: ''Oranien-Nassau''). She was so attracted by the town of Bötzow that her husband presented the entire region to her. The princess ordered the construction of a new castle in the Dutch style and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spandau
Spandau () is the westernmost of the 12 boroughs () of Berlin, situated at the confluence of the Havel and Spree rivers and extending along the western bank of the Havel. It is the smallest borough by population, but the fourth largest by land area. Overview Modern industries in Spandau include metalworking, and chemical and electrical factories. BMW Motorrad's Spandau factory made all BMW's motorcycles from 1969 until final assembly plants were added in Rayong, Thailand in 2000, and Manaus, Brazil in 2016. , Spandau's seat of government, was built in 1913. Other landmarks include the Renaissance-era Spandau Citadel, the 1848 St. Marien am Behnitz Catholic church designed by August Soller, and Spandau arsenal. That arsenal's Spandau machine gun inspired the slang ''Spandau Ballet'' to describe dying soldiers on barbed wire during the First World War, and later was applied to the appearance of Nazi war criminals at Spandau Prison. In 1979, the English New Romantic band Spa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constituent states, Berlin is surrounded by the State of Brandenburg and contiguous with Potsdam, Brandenburg's capital. Berlin's urban area, which has a population of around 4.5 million, is the second most populous urban area in Germany after the Ruhr. The Berlin-Brandenburg capital region has around 6.2 million inhabitants and is Germany's third-largest metropolitan region after the Rhine-Ruhr and Rhine-Main regions. Berlin straddles the banks of the Spree, which flows into the Havel (a tributary of the Elbe) in the western borough of Spandau. Among the city's main topographical features are the many lakes in the western and southeastern boroughs formed by the Spree, Havel and Dahme, the largest of which is Lake Müggelsee. Due to its l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
