Heinrich "Heinz" Trettner (19 September 1907 – 18 September 2006) was a German general who served in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

, and during World War II and the Cold War. From 1964 to 1966 he served as Inspector General of the Bundeswehr, the head of the military of the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...

. He was the last living general of 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 previo ...

Spanish Civil War

After completing the third course at the '' Luftkriegsschule 2'' (Air Warfare School) in Berlin, Trettner joined the

Condor Legion The Condor Legion (german: Legion Condor) was a unit composed of military personnel from the air force and army of Nazi Germany, which served with the Nationalist faction during the Spanish Civil War of July 1936 to March 1939. The Condor Legio ...

and served as adjutant and IIa to Generalmajor Hugo Sperrle and

Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen Wolfram Karl Ludwig Moritz Hermann Freiherr von Richthofen (10 October 1895 – 12 July 1945) was a German World War I flying ace who rose to the rank of '' Generalfeldmarschall'' in the Luftwaffe during World War II. Born in 1895 into a f ...

during the

. On 2 October 1937 he was made ''

Staffelkapitän ''Staffelkapitän'' is a position (not a rank) in flying units ( ''Staffel'') of the German Luftwaffe that is the equivalent of RAF/USAF Squadron Commander. Usually today a ''Staffelkapitän'' is of '' Oberstleutnant'' or ''Major'' rank. In the ...

'' of 1./K 88.

World War II

From the start of the war until December 1940 Trettner served as Staff Officer, Operations (Ia) in the Staff of the 7th Paratroop Division until 14 June 1939. He was later appointed Chief Of Operations in the Staff of the XI. Paratroop Corps (15 December 1940 to 6 April 1942), taking part in the airborne operation on Crete. He was promoted to Chief of Staff of the XI. Paratroop Corps, but on 4 October 1943 was reassigned to head formation and become Commanding Officer of the 4th Parachute Division, a command he held until 3 May 1945 when he surrendered to the US troops.

Cold War

Trettner was released from internment in April 1948 and worked initially for the charity Caritas. In 1949 he enrolled at the

University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine ...

and studied Economics and

Jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning a ...

, and received his diploma in Economics in 1956. Trettner then joined the

Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

and was transferred to the

Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) is the military headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) that commands all NATO operations worldwide. ACO's and SHAPE's commander is t ...

''SHAPE'' in Paris serving as commander of the logistics department until 15 September 1959. Trettner's 1964 appointment as Inspector General incurred criticism from the East German DDR government. Senior Communist official Albert Norden alleged that Trettner had been involved in the bombing of Guernica, during the Spanish Civil War. In 1965, former Spanish Republican Air Force commander

Ignacio Hidalgo de Cisneros Ignacio Pío Juan Hidalgo de Cisneros y López-Montenegro (11 July 1896 – 9 February 1966) was a Spanish military aviator. He is known as commander of the Republican Air Force during the Spanish Civil War. He is also noted as one of few ...

made a public statement criticizing Trettner's Bundeswehr appointment. As Inspector General he apparently had a poor relationship with Karl Gumbel, the civilian Deputy Minister of Defence, and objected to taking orders from a civil servant, Gumbel, in the absence of the Minister. He was also opposed to a ruling by the Minister, in the face of a court order, that members of the military could join a union. These factors led to his resignation, which nearly coincided with that of

Werner Panitzki Generalleutnant Werner Panitzki (27 May 1911, in Kiel – 2 June 2000) was a German Air Force general. He was Inspector of the Air Force, the senior air force appointment, from 1962 to 1966. On 25 August 1966, the Federal Minister of Defence, ...

, the chief of staff of the

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...

. Trettner was one of the umpires for the 1974 Sandhurst wargame on

Operation Sea Lion Operation Sea Lion, also written as Operation Sealion (german: Unternehmen Seelöwe), was Nazi Germany's code name for the plan for an invasion of the United Kingdom during the Battle of Britain in the Second World War. Following the Battle o ...

. Heinrich Trettner was Catholic, and in 1978 he published an article, ''The Holy See and disarmament'', in the German-language edition of the Vatican literary journal

Communio ''Communio'' is a federation of theological journals, founded in 1972 by Joseph Ratzinger, Hans Urs von Balthasar, Henri de Lubac, Walter Kasper, Marc Ouellet, Louis Bouyer, and others. ''Communio'', now published in fifteen editions (including ...

, and a corresponding reply the next year. Trettner died one day before his 99th birthday. He was the last living general of the

Awards

* ''

Cruz de Guerra The War Cross ( es, Cruz de Guerra) is a high military award of Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "F ...

de España'' (30 September 1938)Thomas & Wegmann 1986, p. 328. * ''

Medalla de la Campaña Medalla is a Spanish word meaning medal. It may also refer to: * Medalla Light, a Puerto Rican beer produced by Cervecera de Puerto Rico * David Medalla (born 1942), Filipino international artist * Felipe Medalla Felipe Manguiat Medalla is a ...

de España'' (1 December 1938) *

Spanish Cross The Spanish Cross (german: Spanien-Kreuz) was an award of Nazi Germany given to German troops who participated in the Spanish Civil War, fighting for nationalist general, later Spanish caudillo, Francisco Franco. History With the outbreak o ...

in Gold (6 June 1939) *

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 ...

4th to 2rd Class *

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 ...

(1939) in Black (3 March 1944)Thomas & Wegmann 1986, p. 329. *

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 es ...

(1939) 2nd Class (12 May 1940) & 1st Class (12 May 1940) *

Combined Pilots-Observation Badge The Pilot/Observer Badge (german: Flugzeugführer- und Beobachterabzeichen) was a World War II German military decoration awarded to Luftwaffe service personnel who had already been awarded the Pilot's Badge and Observer Badge. It was instituted o ...

in Gold with Diamonds *

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves 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' ...

** Knight's Cross on 24 May 1940 as ''Major'' in the general staff and Ia (operations officer) of the 7. Flieger-Division ** 586th Oak Leaves on 17 September 1944 as '' Generalmajor'' and commander of the 4. Fallschirmjäger-DivisionFellgiebel 2000, p. 88. * Legion of Merit (USA) (1 November 1964) * Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (Great Britain) (18 May 1965) * Grand Cross of the Order of George I (

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

) (16 July 1965) * Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (''Grande Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana'') (

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

) (8 August 1965) * Grand Cross with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (18 January 1967) * Grand Officier of the Légion d'honneur (France) (31 December 1969)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Trettner, Heinrich 1907 births 2006 deaths People from Minden People from the Province of Westphalia Luftwaffe World War II generals University of Bonn alumni Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Honorary Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Foreign recipients of the Legion of Merit Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Grand Crosses of the Order of George I Inspectors General of the Bundeswehr Condor Legion personnel Generals of the German Army Major generals of the Luftwaffe Military personnel from North Rhine-Westphalia