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Wolfsschanze
The ''Wolf's Lair'' (german: Wolfsschanze; pl, Wilczy Szaniec) served as Adolf Hitler's first Eastern Front military headquarters in World War II. The headquarters was located in the Masurian woods, near the small village of Görlitz in Ostpreußen (now Gierłoż), about 8 kilometres (5 miles) east of the small East Prussian town of Rastenburg (now Kętrzyn), in present-day Poland. Being one of the most heavily guarded places in the world, the central complex and the ''Führer'''s bunker was surrounded by three security zones guarded by two SS units: the ''SS-Begleitkommando des Führers'', and the ''Reichssicherheitsdienst''. The ''Wehrmacht''s armoured ''Führerbegleitbrigade'' was held in readiness nearby but, as a part of the '' Heer'''s elite ''Großdeutschland'' Division, was used to counter-attack Red Army break-throughs in Army Group Centre's front and rescue cut-off ''Heer'', ''Luftwaffe'' '' Fallschirmjager'' and SS panzer troops. The most notable event that oc ... [...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 of World War II, 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 Nazism, German resistance to overthrow the Nazi German government. The failure of the assassination attempt an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Führer Headquarters
The ''Führer'' Headquarters (german: Führerhauptquartiere), abbreviated FHQ, were a number of official headquarters used by the Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and various other German commanders and officials throughout Europe during the Second World War.Raiber, Richard, ''Guide to Hitler's Headquarters, After The Battle, No. 19'', Introduction and p. 1. The last one used, the ''Führerbunker'' in Berlin, where Hitler committed suicide on 30 April 1945, is the most widely known headquarters. Other notable headquarters are the ''Wolfsschanze'' (Wolf's Lair) in East Prussia, where Claus von Stauffenberg in league with other conspirators attempted to assassinate Hitler on 20 July 1944, and Hitler's private home, the '' Berghof'', at Obersalzberg near Berchtesgaden, where he frequently met with prominent foreign and domestic officials. Introduction At the beginning of World War II there were no permanent headquarters constructed for the ''Führer''. Hitler visited the frontlines using ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kętrzyn
Kętrzyn (, until 1946 ''Rastembork''; german: link=yes, Rastenburg ) is a town in northeastern Poland with 27,478 inhabitants (2019). Situated in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship (since 1999), Kętrzyn was previously in Olsztyn Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is the capital of Kętrzyn County. The town was named after historian Wojciech Kętrzyński in 1946. The first settlement was established in 1329 and Rastenburg was granted town rights and privileges in 1357. Over the centuries it was part of the Teutonic State, Poland and East Prussia in Germany. The town is known for the surrounding Masurian Lakeland and numerous monuments of historical value such as the Wolf's Lair in nearby Gierłoż, where an assassination attempt against Hitler was made in 1944. History The original inhabitants of the region were the Balt tribe of the Aesti, mentioned by Tacitus in his ''Germania'' (AD 98). The town, known in German as ''Rastenburg'' and in Polish as ''Rastembork'', was establish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Werwolf (Wehrmacht HQ)
''Führerhauptquartier Werwolf'' was the codename used for one of Adolf Hitler's World War II Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front military headquarters located in a pine forest about north of Vinnytsia, in Ukraine, which was used between 1942 and 1943. It was one of a number of Führer Headquarters, ''Führer'' Headquarters throughout Europe, and the most easterly ever used by Hitler in person. Naming The name is derived from ''Werwolf'' or ''Wehrwolf'' in German, which can be translated as werewolf. The Nazis also used the term ''Werwolf'' as a codename for Clandestine operation, clandestine resistance groups which were intended to carry out guerrilla attacks against the occupying forces towards the end of World War II. The naming scheme is in accord with other code-names given to ''Führerhauptquartiere'' during the Second World War, such as ''Wolf's Lair, Wolfsschanze.'' Several were named for Hitler himself, whose nickname was ''Wolf''. The site was also the easter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hochtief
Hochtief AG is a German construction company based in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.Hochtief investor relations website Retrieved 16 February 2006 Hochtief is Germany's largest construction company and operates globally, ranking as one of the largest general construction companies in the United States through its subsidiary, and in Australia through a 90% shareholding in . In 2010 it employed more than 70,000 employees across five corporate divisions. One of these, [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SS-Begleitkommando Des Führers
''SS-Begleitkommando des Führers'' ("SS Escort Command of the Führer"; SS-BKdF), later known as the ''Führerbegleitkommando'' ("Führer Escort Command"; FBK), was originally an eight-man SS squad formed from a twelve-man security squad (known as the ''SS-Begleitkommando'') tasked with protecting the life of Adolf Hitler during the early 1930s. Another bodyguard unit, the ''Reichssicherheitsdienst'' (Reich Security Service; RSD) was formed 1933, and by the following year replaced the FBK in providing Hitler's overall security throughout Germany. The FBK continued under separate command from the RSD and provided close, personal security for Hitler. The two units worked together for Hitler's security and protection, especially during trips and public events, though they operated at such events as separate groups and used separate vehicles. When the FBK unit was expanded, the additional officers and men were selected from the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH). The majority o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
East Prussia
East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's Free State of Prussia, until 1945. Its capital city was Königsberg (present-day Kaliningrad). East Prussia was the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast. The bulk of the ancestral lands of the Baltic Old Prussians were enclosed within East Prussia. During the 13th century, the native Prussians were conquered by the crusading Teutonic Knights. After the conquest the indigenous Balts were gradually converted to Christianity. Because of Germanization and colonisation over the following centuries, Germans became the dominant ethnic group, while Masurians and Lithuanians formed minorities. From the 13th century, East Prussia was part of the mon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johann Rattenhuber
Johann Rattenhuber (30 April 1897 – 30 June 1957), also known as Hans Rattenhuber, was a German police and SS general (''Gruppenführer'', i. e. Generalleutnant). Rattenhuber was the head of German dictator Adolf Hitler's personal ''Reichssicherheitsdienst'' (Reich Security Service; RSD) bodyguard from 1933 to 1945. In January 1942, Rattenhuber's RSD units participated in the mass shooting of 227 Jews at Strizhavka. After the war, he was released from Soviet prison on 10 October 1955 and allowed to go to West Germany. He died in Munich in 1957. Biography Rattenhuber was born in Munich, where he made a career as a police officer. During World War I he served in the 16th and 13th Bavarian Infantry Regiments. He later joined the ''Freikorps''. On 15 March 1933 he was appointed head of one of Hitler's personal bodyguard units then known as the ''Führerschutzkommando'' (Führer protection command; FSK). His deputy was Peter Högl. Its original members were Bavarian criminal-po ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panzergrenadier Division Großdeutschland
The Panzergrenadier Division "Greater Germanic Reich, Großdeutschland", also commonly referred to simply as Großdeutschland or Großdeutschland Division, was an elite combat unit of the German Army (1935–1945), German Army (''Heer'') that fought on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front in World War II. Originally formed in 1921 it was known as the ''Wachregiment Berlin'' and served as a Guard of honour, ceremonial guard unit and by the 1939 had grown into a regiment of the combined Wehrmacht German armed forces. The regiment would later be expanded and renamed Infantry Division Großdeutschland in 1942, and after significant reorganization was renamed Panzergrenadier Division Großdeutschland in May 1943. In November 1944, while the division retained its status as a panzergrenadier division, some of its subordinate units were expanded to Division (military), divisional status, and the whole group of divisions were reorganized as Panzerkorps Großdeutschland. 1939– ... [...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-cover ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Army (1935–1945)
The German Army (german: Heer, ; ) was the Army, land forces component of the ''Wehrmacht'', the regular German Armed Forces, from 1935 until it effectively ceased to exist in 1945 and then was formally dissolved in August 1946. During World War II, a total of about 13.6 million soldiers served in the German Army. Army personnel were made up of volunteers and conscripts. Only 17 months after Adolf Hitler announced the German rearmament program in 1935, the army reached its projected goal of 36 Division (military), divisions. During the autumn of 1937, two more corps were formed. In 1938 four additional corps were formed with the inclusion of the five divisions of the Austrian Army after the ''Anschluss'' in March. During the period of its expansion under Hitler, the German Army continued to develop concepts pioneered during World War I, combining ground and air assets into combined arms forces. Coupled with operational and tactical methods such as encirclements and "battle of a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabteilung'' of the Imperial Navy, had been disbanded in May 1920 in accordance with the terms of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles which banned Germany from having any air force. During the interwar period, German pilots were trained secretly in violation of the treaty at Lipetsk Air Base in the Soviet Union. With the rise of the Nazi Party and the repudiation of the Versailles Treaty, the ''Luftwaffe''s existence was publicly acknowledged on 26 February 1935, just over two weeks before open defiance of the Versailles Treaty through German rearmament and conscription would be announced on 16 March. The Condor Legion, a ''Luftwaffe'' detachment sent to aid Nationalist forces in the Spanish Civil War, provided the force with a valuable testing grou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
