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Walter Koch (Fallschirmjäger)
Walter Koch (10 September 1910 – 23 October 1943) was a commander of the Fallschirmjäger during World War II who died in mysterious circumstances after openly criticising Adolf Hitler. Koch, who was the recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for his actions during the Battle of Fort Eben-Emael in May 1940, had publicly denounced the Führer's infamous Commando Order, which ordered that all captured enemy commandos were to be executed. Shortly afterwards the '' Oberstleutnant'' and commander of ''Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 5'' died in Berlin from injuries allegedly resulting from a motor vehicle collision. Early career Walter Koch joined the ''Landespolizei'' as an officer on 3 April 1929. As a '' Leutnant'' he had served in the state police and a police battalion for special purposes (''Polizeiabteilung z.b.V. Wecke''). In 1935 the new commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe, Hermann Göring, transferred this police unit into the reformed Luftwaffe and renamed it th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bonn
The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region, Germany's largest metropolitan area, with over 11 million inhabitants. It is a university city and the birthplace of Ludwig van Beethoven. Founded in the 1st century BC as a Roman settlement in the province Germania Inferior, Bonn is one of Germany's oldest cities. It was the capital city of the Electorate of Cologne from 1597 to 1794, and residence of the Archbishops and Prince-electors of Cologne. From 1949 to 1990, Bonn was the capital of West Germany, and Germany's present constitution, the Basic Law, was declared in the city in 1949. The era when Bonn served as the capital of West Germany is referred to by historians as the Bonn Republic. From 1990 to 1999, Bonn served as the seat of government – but no longer capital – ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fallschirmjäger
The ''Fallschirmjäger'' () were the paratrooper branch of the German Luftwaffe before and during World War II. They were the first German paratroopers to be committed in large-scale airborne operations. Throughout World War II, the commander of the branch was Kurt Student. Pre-war history During the interwar years the rapid development of aircraft and aviation technology drew the attention of imaginative military planners. The idea of aerially inserting a large body of troops inside enemy territory was first proposed during World War I by Brigadier General Billy Mitchell, commander of the U.S. Army Air Corps in France.Ailsby, Christopher: ''Hitler's Sky Warriors: German Paratroopers in Action, 1939-1945'', page 12. Spellmount Limited, 2000. However, the Allied High Command was forced to abandon the idea, as it was unprepared for such an undertaking, both logistically and in materiel. Among the first to recognize the potential of airborne forces were Italy and the Soviet Union ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fall Gelb
The Manstein Plan or Case Yellow (german: Fall Gelb) also known as Operation Sichelschnitt (german: Sichelschnittplan, from the English language, English term sickle cut), was the Military operation plan, war plan of the German Army (Wehrmacht), German armed forces (german: Wehrmacht) during the Battle of France in 1940. The original invasion plan was an awkward compromise devised by General Franz Halder, the chief of staff of (OKH, Army High Command) that satisfied no one. Documents with details of the plan fell into Belgian hands during the Mechelen incident on 10 January 1940 and the plan was revised several times, each giving more emphasis to an attack by Army Group A through the Ardennes, which progressively reduced the offensive by Army Group B through the Low Countries to a diversion. In the final version of the plan, the main effort of the German invasion was made against the Ardennes, the weakest part of the Allied line, where the defence was left to second-rate French ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hauptmann
is a German word usually translated as captain when it is used as an officer's rank in the German, Austrian, and Swiss armies. While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has and originally had the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literally translates to 'head-man', which is also the etymological root of ''captain'' (from Latin , 'head'). It equates to the rank of captain in the British and US Armies, and is rated OF-2 in NATO. Currently there is no female form, like ''Hauptfrau'' within the military, the correct form of address is "''Frau Hauptmann''". More generally, a Hauptmann can be the head of any hierarchically structured group of people, often as a compound word. For example, a is the captain of a fire brigade, while refers to the leader of a gang of robbers. Official Austrian and German titles incorporating the word include , , , and . In Saxony during the Weimar Republic, the titles of , and were held by senior civil servants. (from Early Modern High German ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bundesarchiv Bild 146-2006-0084, Heimtransport Des Verletzten Majors Walter Koch
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Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1945. A veteran World War I fighter pilot ace, Göring was a recipient of the ("The Blue Max"). He was the last commander of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 1 (Jasta 1), the fighter wing once led by Manfred von Richthofen. An early member of the Nazi Party, Göring was among those wounded in Adolf Hitler's failed Beer Hall Putsch in 1923. While receiving treatment for his injuries, he developed an addiction to morphine which persisted until the last year of his life. After Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933, Göring was named as minister without portfolio in the new government. One of his first acts as a cabinet minister was to oversee the creation of the Gestapo, which he ceded to Heinrich Himmler in 1934. Following the establishment of th ... [...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] |
Leutnant
() is the lowest Junior officer rank in the armed forces the German (language), German-speaking of Germany (Bundeswehr), Austrian Armed Forces, and military of Switzerland. History The German noun (with the meaning "" (in English "deputy") from Middle High German «locum tenens» (in English "place holder") was derived from the French word about 1500. In most German-speaking armies it is the lowest officer rank (in German-speaking navies (English "Lieutenant at sea")). In the German Bundeswehr the ranks and belong to the rank group. In some other armed forces (such as the former National People's Army) there is the lower grade of Unterleutnant. From about 1500 until the middle of the 17th century the designation of was commonly used for any deputy to a commanding officer. So at the army level there was the appointment of (English "lieutenant-general"), at the regimental level there was that of (English "lieutenant-colonel"), and at the company level the was deputy to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Landespolizei
''Landespolizei'' (; ) is a term used to refer to the state police of any of the states of Germany. History The ''Landespolizei'' of today can trace its origins to the late 19th century, when Germany united into a single country in 1871, under Otto von Bismarck. Various towns and cities also maintained police forces, as the increasing number of new laws and regulations made controlling urban life more complicated. In Nazi Germany, all state and city forces were absorbed into the ''Ordnungspolizei'', which existed from 1936 to 1945. After World War II, massive numbers of refugees and displaced persons, hunger and poverty characterised everyday life in Germany. Attacks by armed gangs, robbery, looting and black-marketing were commonplace, and the military police could not cope with this troubling security situation. Thus each of the Western Allies quickly permitted the formation of civilian police forces, including small numbers of heavily armed and military like organ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Commando Order
The Commando Order () was issued by the OKW, the high command of the German armed forces, on 18 October 1942. This order stated that all Allies of World War II, Allied commandos captured in Europe and Africa should be summary execution, summarily executed without trial, even if in proper uniforms or if they attempted to surrender. Any commando or small group of commandos or a similar unit, agents, and saboteurs not in proper uniforms who fell into the hands of the German forces by some means other than direct combat (by being apprehended by the police in occupied territories, for instance), were to be handed over immediately to the ' (SD, or Security Service) for immediate execution. According to the OKW, this was to be done in retaliation for their opponents "employing in their conduct of the war, methods which contravene the International Convention of Geneva". The German high command alleged that they had ascertained from "captured orders" that Allied commandos were "instructed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
