__NOTOC__ Heinrich Kittel (31 October 1892 – 5 March 1969) 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 ...

who commanded the 462nd Infantry Division. As a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

, he was interned at

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 ...

, where his conversations with fellow inmates were surreptitiously recorded by the British intelligence. Appointed commander of the 462nd Infantry Division on 8 November 1944, he led it during the

Battle of Metz The Battle of Metz was a battle fought during World War II at the city of Metz, France, from late September 1944 through mid-December as part of the Lorraine Campaign between the U.S. Third Army commanded by Lieutenant General George Patton and ...

until his wounding in action on 22 November 1944. Made a prisoner of war when the field hospital he was in was overrun by American forces, he was held in captivity until 1947. According to a review of ''Soldaten: Secret WWII Transcripts of German POWs'' by

Sönke Neitzel Sönke Neitzel (born 26 June 1968) is a German historian who has written extensively about the Second World War. He is editor of the journal ''German History in the 20th Century'' and has written several books such as ''Soldaten: On Fighting, Ki ...

and

Harald Welzer Harald Welzer (born 27 July 1958, Wedemark) is a German social psychologist. He studied sociology, psychology and literature at the University of Hannover. He has been a professor of transformation design at the University of Flensburg since 201 ...

, Kittel's transcripts (in conversation with another POW) illustrate his culpable passivity while observing mass executions without intervening at all despite his rank: "Kittel (very excited): 'They seized three-year-old children by the hair, held them up and shot them with a pistol and then threw them in. I saw that for myself. One could watch it; the SD icherheitsdienst, the Security Service of the SShad roped the area off and the people were standing watching from about 300 m. off. The Latvians and the German soldiers were just standing there, looking on'." Kittel, according to the reviewer, ignobly, perhaps criminally, failed to act, despite the eviewer'spresumption that his high rank could have enabled him to do so.

Awards and decorations

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 12 August 1944 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 combat commander of LembergFellgiebel 2000, p. 211.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kittel, Heinrich 1892 births 1969 deaths People from Gerolzhofen People from the Kingdom of Bavaria German Army personnel of World War I Military personnel from Bavaria Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Liberty, 1st Class German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United States Lieutenant generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht) Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class German Army generals of World War II