__NOTOC__ Georg-Wilhelm Postel (25 April 1896 – 20 September 1953) was a German general 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 opposin ...

. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. Postel was taken prisoner by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

on 30 August 1944 after the capitulation of

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. Convicted as a war criminal in the Soviet Union, he was sentenced to 25 years of

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...

in 1949. Postel died in custody on 20 September 1953 of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

. He was interred in the prisoner of war cemetery in

Shakhty Shakhty ( rus, Шахты, p=ˈʂaxtɨ) is a city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located on the southeastern spur of the Donetsk mountain ridge, northeast of Rostov-on-Don. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 239,987. It was previously kn ...

Awards

Clasp to the Iron Cross The Clasp to the Iron Cross (Spange zum Eisernen Kreuz) was a white metal medal clasp displayed on the uniforms of German Wehrmacht personnel who had been awarded the Iron Cross in World War I, and who again qualified for the decoration in World W ...

(1939) 2nd Class (10 July 1941) & 1st Class (17 August 1941)Thomas 1998, p. 168. *

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 28 February 1942 as ''

Oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swedish ...

'' in 364th Infantry RegimentPatzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 357. * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords ** Knight's Cross on 9 August 1942 as ''

'' and commander of 364th Infantry RegimentScherzer 2007, p. 603. ** Oak Leaves on 28 March 1943 as ''

Generalmajor is the Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and Royal Danish Air Force. As a two-star ...

'' and commander of the 320th Infantry Division ** Swords on 26 March 1944 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 320th Infantry Division

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Postel, Georg-Wilhelm 1896 births 1953 deaths Lieutenant generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht) People from the Kingdom of Saxony Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union Reichswehr personnel German people who died in Soviet detention 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Military personnel from Saxony Tuberculosis deaths in the Soviet Union Tuberculosis deaths in Russia People from Zittau