Friedrich Materna (21 June 1885 – 11 November 1946) was a general in the
Bundesheer
The Austrian Armed Forces (german: Bundesheer, lit=Federal Army) are the combined military forces of the Republic of Austria.
The military consists of 22,050 active-duty personnel and 125,600 reservists. The military budget is 0.74% of natio ...
(Austrian Federal Army) in the 1930s and the German Wehrmacht during the
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 opposin ...
.
He became a general-major in the
Austrian army
The Austrian Armed Forces (german: Bundesheer, lit=Federal Army) are the combined military forces of the Republic of Austria.
The military consists of 22,050 active-duty personnel and 125,600 reservists. The military budget is 0.74% of nati ...
in 1935, and he was also a part of the Bundesministerium für Landesverteidigung (Federal Ministry of Defence), in which he acted as Head of the Training Department.
After the
Anschluss
The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938.
The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...
he was incorporated into 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 previous ...
, where from 1938 to 1940, he commanded the 45. Infanterie-Division. Between 1940 and 1942, he commanded the XX Armeekorps, and from 1942 to 1943, the Military District XVII.
Between 1943 and 1944, he was held in reserve, and, in 1944, he retired from the Army.
He died in 1946.
Awards
*
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 est ...
(1939) 2nd and 1st Class
*
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 (15 December 1942)
*
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 5 August 1940 as ''
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 O ...
'' and commander of the 45. Infanterie-Division
References
Further reading
*
External links
Friedrich Materna @ Lexikon der Wehrmacht
German Army generals of World War II
Generals of Infantry (Wehrmacht)
Moravian-German people
Recipients of the Gold German Cross
Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
1885 births
1946 deaths
Austrian generals
People from Bruntál District
Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I
Austrian military personnel of World War II
Austro-Hungarian Army officers
{{Austria-mil-bio-stub