Friedrich Altrichter (3 September 1890 – 10 December 1948) was a German officer, last in the rank of ''

Generalleutnant is the Germanic variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO rank of ...

'' of the

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 previo ...

. He was also an influential military writer and military instructor at the

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

military academy from 1936 to 1939. He was a divisional commander during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Notable divisional command posts held by Altrichter included the 1st, 58th and 154th Infantry Divisions.

Life

Friedrich Altrichter was born on 3 September 1890 in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

. Altrichter joined the German Army in March 1910 at the age of 19 and joined the Grenadier Regiment ''König Friedrich Wilhelm II'' at the rank of

Fahnenjunker ''Fahnenjunker'' (short Fhj or FJ, en, officer cadet; ) is a military rank of the Bundeswehr and of some former German armed forces. In earlier German armed forces it was also the collective name for many officer aspirant ranks. It was establi ...

. He served as an adjutant and then a staff officer during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He held assignments at the 99th Reserve Infantry Brigade, Reserve Infantry Regiment 230 and 50th Reserve Division. After Germany's defeat in the First World War, Altrichter continued to serve in the Weimar Republic's

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 reshape ...

. During this time, he also began his activity as a military author. In March 1934, about a year after

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

took power, he became a battalion commander at the 9th Prussian Infantry Regiment in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream o ...

. His adjutants included, among others,

Henning von Tresckow Henning Hermann Karl Robert von Tresckow (; 10 January 1901 – 21 July 1944) was a German military officer with the rank of major general in the German Army who helped organize German resistance against Adolf Hitler. He attempted to assassina ...

and Wolf Graf von Baudissin. In 1936, the year after the redesignation of the German forces as ''Wehrmacht'', he attained a doctorate from

Heidelberg University } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, B ...

before going on to serve as a military instructor at the military academy in Dresden. He attained his first military command with the Wehrmacht when he became the commander of Infantry Regiment 54 in 1938. At the beginning of

, he served as commander of Infantry Regiment 188 under 68th Infantry Division. From January 1940 to March 1941, he served as a military instructor for infantry in the

Führerreserve The (“Leaders Reserve” or "Reserve for Leaders") was set up in the German Armed Forces during World War II in 1939 as a pool of temporarily unoccupied high-ranking military officers awaiting new assignments. The various military branches an ...

. In July 1941, he became commander of the 1st Infantry Division. He commanded the 58th Infantry Division from September 1941 to April 1942 and was awarded with the

German Cross The War Order of the German Cross (german: Der Kriegsorden Deutsches Kreuz), normally abbreviated to the German Cross or ''Deutsches Kreuz'', was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941. It was awarded in two divisions: in gold for repe ...

in gold on 23 January 1942. After another brief stay in the Führerreserve, Altrichter became commander of the 154th Division. The 154th Infantry Division was overrun by the Red Army at

Oderberg Oderberg () is a town in the district of Barnim, in Brandenburg in northeastern Germany. It is situated 16 km east of Eberswalde, and 27 km southwest of Schwedt, close to the border with Poland, and in close vicinity of Berlin. Overvie ...

on 17 April 1945. Altrichter was reassigned as commander Feldausbildungskorps Mitte and was captured in May 1945. Altrichter was interned at

Voikovo prison camp Voikovo prison camp, or Camp No. 48, was a prisoner-of-war and internee camp maintained by the Main Administration for Affairs of Prisoners of War and Internees of the NKVD in the Soviet Union. The camp was designated by the Soviet authorities f ...

in 1945. There, he came into contact with officers aligned with the pro-Soviet

National Committee for a Free Germany The National Committee for a Free Germany (german: Nationalkomitee Freies Deutschland, or NKFD) was a German anti-Nazi organization that operated in the Soviet Union during World War II.The Russians in Germany: A History of the Soviet Zone of Occ ...

, but did ultimately not join them. He died of heart failure on 10 December 1948 in Bedaik prison camp in the

Kazakh SSR ; kk, Қазақ Советтік Социалистік Республикасы) *1991: Republic of Kazakhstan (russian: Республика Казахстан; kk, Қазақстан Республикасы) , linking_name = the ...

Writings

* ''Die kampfbereite Kompanie. Praktische Anleitung für die Gefechtsausbildung'' (1929). * ''Die seelischen Kräfte des deutschen Heeres im Frieden und im Weltkriege'' (1933). Dissertation for Heidelberg University in 1936. * ''Das Wesen der soldatischen Erziehung'' (1935). * ''Der Offizier des Beurlaubtenstandes. Handbuch für den Offizier und Offiziersanwärter des Beurlaubtenstandes aller Waffen'' (1935). * ''Der Soldatische Führer'' (1938). * ''Verinnerlichtes Soldatentum. Beiträge zur soldatischen Erziehung'' (1938). With Friedrich von Cochenhausen, Wilhelm Dieckmann, and Eberhard Kessel.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Altrichter, Friedrich 1890 births 1948 deaths Lieutenant generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht) Military personnel from Berlin German Army personnel of World War I Prussian Army personnel German people who died in Soviet detention German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union Recipients of the Gold German Cross German Army officers of World War II