__NOTOC__ Harald von Hirschfeld (10 July 1912 – 18 January 1945) was a war criminal and general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany who commanded the 78. Volksgrenadier-Division during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. Hirschfeld, the son of a Mecklenburg merchant, was largely educated and trained abroad, in South America, Spain, London, and Paris and was fluent in Italian and Spanish. He joined the Wehrmacht in 1935 and served most of his career in the 1st Mountain Division (1. Gebirgs-Division): in 1938 he was the Adjutant of the 2nd battalion; in August 1940, he took command of the 7th company; in August 1942 he led the 2nd company and in October 1943 he served as the commander of the 98th Mountain Regiment. In September 1943, as a colonel in the 1st Mountain Division, he played a major role in the

massacre of the Acqui Division The massacre of the Acqui Division, also known as the Cephalonia massacre, was the mass execution of the soldiers of the Italian 33rd Infantry Division "Acqui" by German soldiers on the island of Cephalonia, Greece, in September 1943, following t ...

, the murder of 5,155 Italian prisoners of war of the

33 Mountain Infantry Division Acqui 33 may refer to: *33 (number) *33 BC *AD 33 *1933 * 2033 Music * ''33'' (Luis Miguel album) (2003) * ''33'' (Southpacific album) (1998) * ''33'' (Wanessa album) (2016) *"33 'GOD'", a 2016 song by Bon Iver * "Thirty-Three" (song), a 1995 song by t ...

Cephalonia Kefalonia or Cephalonia ( el, Κεφαλονιά), formerly also known as Kefallinia or Kephallenia (), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece and the 6th largest island in Greece after Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chios. It i ...

. On 15 January 1945, he was promoted to

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 ...

. On that day he was officially put in command of the

78th Sturm Division The 78th Infantry Division (German: ''78. Infanterie-Division''), later the 78th ''Sturm'' (Assault) Division, was a German infantry formation which fought during World War II.The title ''Volks-Sturm'' indicates a "Volksgrenadier Sturm Division", ...

, which he had unofficially led since 26 September 1944. He was the Wehrmacht's youngest general officer. He was severely wounded during the

Battle of Dukla Pass The Battle of the Dukla Pass, also known as the Dukla, Carpatho–Dukla, Rzeszów–Dukla, or Dukla–Prešov offensive, was the battle for control over the Dukla Pass on the border between Poland and Slovakia on the Eastern Front of World ...

and died en route to the field hospital on 18 January 1945. He was posthumously promoted to lieutenant general on 10 February 1945.Thomas & Wegmann 1993, p. 318. Hirschfeld was married to Sylvinia von Dönhoff, who later married the former fighter pilot

Adolf Galland Adolf Josef Ferdinand Galland (19 March 1912 – 9 February 1996) was a German Luftwaffe general and flying ace who served throughout the Second World War in Europe. He flew 705 combat missions, and fought on the Western Front and in the Defen ...

Awards and decorations

* Anschluss Medal (8 November 1938) * Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (1 November 1939) & 1st Class (28 June 1941)Thomas 1997, p. 283. * Wound Badge (1939) Black (23 July 1941), Silver (23 September 1941) & Gold (2 October 1941) * Infantry Assault Badge (25 July 1941) * Order of the Crown (Romania) with Swords on Ribbon 5th Class (1 November 1941) * Eastern Front Medal (1 August 1942) * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves ** Knight's Cross on 15 November 1941 as ''

Oberleutnant () is the highest lieutenant officer rank in the German-speaking armed forces of Germany (Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the Swiss Armed Forces. Austria Germany In the German Army, it dates from the early 19th century. Trans ...

'' and chief of the 7./Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 98 ** Oak Leaves on 23 December 1942 as '' Hauptmann'' and leader of the 11./Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 98Fellgiebel 2000, p. 64.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hirschfeld, Harald von 1912 births 1945 deaths Gebirgsjäger of World War II German Army personnel killed in World War II German mass murderers Lieutenant generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht) Military personnel from Weimar Nazi war criminals People from Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Perpetrators of World War II prisoner of war massacres Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves