Hans-Jürgen Bernard Theodor von Arnim (; 4 April 1889 – 1 September 1962) was a German general in the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

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 ...

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 ...

who commanded several armies. He was a recipient of the

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' ...

Early life

Hans-Jürgen Bernhard Theodor von Arnim was born in the town of Ernsdorf in Prussian Silesia on April 4th 1889. His father, Hans von Arnim (1861–1931) was a General in the German Army and Jürgen would follow in his fathers footsteps and join the army in 1907. During the

First World War 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 fought on both the Western and Eastern fronts and after the war, he remained in the

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 ...

World War II

When

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 ...

and the Nazis come to power in 1933 Von Arnim was still in the

and continued to serve in the

as a major general. Arnim commanded the 52nd Infantry Division in both the Battles for

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. In October 1940, Arnim was given command of the 17th Panzer Division. Von Arnim took part in

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...

, the invasion of the Soviet Union, and on 1 October 1941, took command of

XXXIX Panzer Corps The XXXIX Panzer Corps (german: XXXIX.Panzerkorps, also previously designated the ''XXXIX.Armeekorps (mot)'') was a German panzer corps which saw action on the Western and Eastern Fronts during World War II. Operational history The Corps whose ...

until November 1942. On 20 February 1943 he was appointed commander of the 5th Panzer Army under Erwin Rommel in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

, whom he replaced as commander of the

Army Group Africa As the number of German troops committed to the North African Campaign of World War II grew from the initial commitment of a small corps, the Germans developed a more elaborate command structure and placed the enlarged ''Afrika Korps'', with ...

on the 10th March 1943. He surrendered to British forces on 12 May 1943 as a consequence of the successful allied

Operation Vulcan Operation Vulcan (22 April – 6 May 1943) and Operation Strike (6–12 May 1943) were the final ground attacks by the Allied forces against the Italian and German forces in Tunis, Cape Bon, and Bizerte, the last Axis toeholds in North Africa ...

. His surrender to the British was a part of

Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish actor, comedian, writer, musician, poet, and playwright. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Raj, British Colonial India, where h ...

's '' Monty: His Part in My Victory'' where he was misnamed (whether by accident or on purpose as Milligan eventually used to rename a lot of the characters within his Memoirs so that they or their relations would not be embarrassed by their activities) as Von Arnheim where Major Chater-Jack makes the announcement of the German defeat stating that "It's over! General Von Arnheim (sic) has surrendered and he is very angry." Von Arnim was sent to Britain where he was held and interrogated (as well as bugged) at both

Latimer House Latimer House is a large country house at Latimer, Buckinghamshire. It is now branded as De Vere Latimer Estate and functions as a countryside hotel used for country house weddings and conferences. Latimer Place has a small church, St Mary Magdale ...

and

Trent Park Trent Park is an English country house, together with its former extensive grounds, in north London. The original great house and a number of statues and other structures located within the grounds (such as the Orangery) are Grade II listed b ...

. He was then interned along with 24 other German general officers at

Camp Clinton Camp Clinton was a World War II prisoner of war facility located in Clinton, Mississippi, just off present-day McRaven Road, east of Springridge Road. Camp Clinton was home to 3,000 German and Italian POWs, most of whom had been captured in Africa ...

, Mississippi, and was released on 1 July 1947. He died in 1962 in

Bad Wildungen Bad Wildungen is a state-run spa and a small town in Waldeck-Frankenberg district in Hesse, Germany. It is located on the German Timber-Frame Road. Geography Location Bad Wildungen lies in the eastern foothills of the Kellerwald range in the s ...

, West Germany.

Mistreatment of Jews in Tunisia

The Jewish population of Tunisia was used for forced labour by Arnim to prepare defences against Allied attacks, and the Jewish community was ruthlessly plundered for gold.''General von Arnim had arrived to take over the forces in Tunisia, now designated the Fifth Panzer Army. Arnim prepared defences against renewed Allied attacks and Tunisian Jews were rounded up for forced labour. The Jewish community was also ruthlessly plundered for gold''. The Second World War Antony Beevor, Little Brown and Company, New York 2012

Promotions

*Fahnenjunker-Gefreiter (25 May 1908) *Fahnenjunker-Unteroffizier (18 July 1908) *Fähnrich (19 November 1908) *Leutnant (19 August 1909) *Oberleutnant (27 January 1915) *Hauptmann (27 January 1917) *Major (1 April 1928) *Oberstleutnant (1 April 1932) *Oberst (1 July 1934) *Generalmajor (1 January 1938) *Generalleutnant (1 December 1939) *General der Panzertruppe (17 December 1941) *Generaloberst (4 December 1942)

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 ...

(1914) 2nd Class (16 September 1914) & 1st Class (2 November 1914) * Knight's Cross of the

Royal House Order of Hohenzollern The House Order of Hohenzollern (german: Hausorden von Hohenzollern or ') was a dynastic order of knighthood of the House of Hohenzollern awarded to military commissioned officers and civilians of comparable status. Associated with the various ...

with Swords (7 September 1918) *

Wound Badge The Wound Badge (german: Verwundetenabzeichen) was a German military decoration first promulgated by Wilhelm II, German Emperor on 3 March 1918, which was first awarded to soldiers of the German Army who were wounded during World War I. Between ...

in Silver (6 August 1918) *

Hanseatic Cross The Hanseatic Cross (German: ''Hanseatenkreuz'') was a military decoration of the three Hanseatic city-states of Bremen, Hamburg and Lübeck, who were members of the German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 188 ...

Hamburg Version *

Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 The Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 (german: Das Ehrenkreuz des Weltkrieges 1914/1918), commonly, but incorrectly, known as the Hindenburg Cross or the German WWI Service Cross was established by Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, Presiden ...

(15 November 1934) *

Wehrmacht Long Service Award The Wehrmacht Long Service Award () was a military service decoration of Nazi Germany issued for satisfactory completion of a number of years in military service. History On 16 March, 1936, Adolf Hitler ordered the institution of a service awar ...

1st to 4th Class (2 October 1936) *

on 4 September 1941 as commander of the 17th Panzer Division

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Arnim, Hans-Jurgen Von 1889 births 1962 deaths German Army personnel of World War I Colonel generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht) Hans-Jurgen Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross People from Dzierżoniów Nazi war criminals German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United States