Helmuth Otto Ludwig Weidling (2 November 1891 – 17 November 1955) 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 the last commander of the
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
Defence Area during the
Battle of Berlin
The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II.
After the Vistula– ...
, and led the defence of the city against
Soviet forces
The Soviet Armed Forces, the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union and as the Red Army (, Вооружённые Силы Советского Союза), were the armed forces of the Russian SFSR (1917–1922), the Soviet Union (1922–1991), and th ...
, finally surrendering just before the
end of World War II in Europe
The final battle of the European Theatre of World War II continued after the definitive overall surrender of Nazi Germany to the Allies, signed by Field marshal Wilhelm Keitel on 8 May 1945 in Karlshorst, Berlin. After German dictator Adolf H ...
.
Military career
Born in
Halberstadt
Halberstadt ( Eastphalian: ''Halverstidde'') is a town in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, the capital of Harz district. Located north of the Harz mountain range, it is known for its old town center that was greatly destroyed by Allied bombi ...
in 1891, Weidling entered the military in 1911 and served as a lieutenant in 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 remained in the reduced
army of the Weimar Republic after the war. As an artillery officer, Weidling took part in the
invasion of Poland
The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...
, the
Battle of France
The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...
and during the early stages of
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.
In January 1942, still on the
Eastern Front, Weidling was appointed commander of the
86th Infantry Division.
Corps commander
On 15 October 1943, Weidling became the commander of the
XLI Panzer Corps
XXXXI Panzer Corps (also written as: XLI Panzer Corps) was a Panzer (armoured) corps in the German Army during World War II.
Operational history
The corps was originally formed, as the XXXXI Corps, on 5 February 1940 in ''Wehrkreis'' VIII (Sile ...
, a position he held until 10 April 1945 with a short break in his command from 19 June 1944 to 1 July 1944. During this break, Generalleutnant
Edmund Hoffmeister
Edmund Hoffmeister (4 March 1893 – 20 February 1951) was an officer in the German Army, mainly notable for his service in World War II.
Hoffmeister's military service began in 1914 in the Imperial German army. During the 1930s, Hoffmeis ...
took over during the first stages of Soviet
Operation Bagration
Operation Bagration (; russian: Операция Багратио́н, Operatsiya Bagration) was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Byelorussian strategic offensive operation (russian: Белорусская наступательная оп ...
. Hoffmeister was in command when most of the
German 9th Army, along with the XLI Panzer Corps, was encircled during the
Bobruysk Offensive.
While Weidling was in command, XLI Panzer Corps was responsible for an atrocity committed by the Wehrmacht in the Soviet Union during the war: Up to 50,000 civilians were deliberately infected with typhus, and placed in a "typhus camp" in the area of
Parichi
Parichi, Paryčy or Parytchy( be, Парычы, is an Urban settlement in Gomel Region, southern Belarus.
Location and history
Paryčy is situated on the Berezina river, some 29 km north-west of Svetlahorsk, 40 km au south-east of Babruysk and ...
, Belorussia, in the path of oncoming Red Army forces, in the hopes that this would cause a massive outbreak of typhus among the Red Army soldiers. This was noted by the commander of the 65th Soviet Army, General
Pavel Batov
Pavel Ivanovich Batov (russian: Па́вел Ива́нович Ба́тов; – April 19, 1985) was a senior Red Army general during the Second World War and afterwards, twice Hero of the Soviet Union. Batov fought in World War I, where he ...
, months later when it found itself facing this same corps in the Battle of Berlin.
The XLI Panzer Corps was rebuilt as part of the
German 4th Army. The 4th Army, under the command of General
Friedrich Hoßbach
Friedrich Hossbach (22 November 1894 – 10 September 1980) was a German staff officer in the Wehrmacht who in 1937 was the military adjutant to Adolf Hitler. Hossbach created the document that later became known as the Hossbach Memorandum.
Ca ...
, was given the task of holding the borders of
East Prussia
East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...
. On 10 April 1945, Weidling was relieved of his command. He was thereafter appointed as commander of the
LVI Panzer Corps
LVI Panzer Corps was a panzer corps in the German Army during World War II.
This corps was activated in February 1941 as the LVI Army Corps (mot.), for the German invasion of the Soviet Union, which commenced on 22 June 1941. Erich von Manstein ...
.
The LVI Panzer Corps was part of
Gotthard Heinrici
Gotthard Fedor August Heinrici (25 December 1886 – 10 December 1971) was a German general during World War II. Heinrici is considered as the premier defensive expert of the ''Wehrmacht''. His final command was Army Group Vistula, formed from t ...
's
Army Group Vistula. As commander of this corps, Weidling began his involvement with the
Battle of Berlin
The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II.
After the Vistula– ...
.
On 16 April 1945, Weidling prepared to take part in the
Battle of the Seelow Heights
The Battle of the Seelow Heights (german: Schlacht um die Seelower Höhen) was part of the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation (16 April–2 May 1945). A pitched battle, it was one of the last assaults on large entrenched defensive positions o ...
, which was part of the broader
Battle of the Oder-Neisse
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
. Weidling's LVI Panzer Corps was in the centre, flanked by the CI Army Corps to his left and the XI
SS Panzer Corps to his right. All three corps were part of General
Theodor Busse
Ernst Hermann August Theodor Busse (15 December 1897 – 21 October 1986) was a German officer during World War I and World War II.
Early life and career
Busse, a native of Frankfurt (Oder), joined the Imperial German Army as an officer cade ...
's
9th Army, which was defending the heights above the
River Oder. While all three corps were in generally good defensive positions, they were conspicuously short of tanks. Weidling's commander, Heinrici, recognised the shortage earlier in the day, as Hitler had ordered the transfer of three panzer divisions from Army Group Vistula to the command of recently promoted Field Marshal
Ferdinand Schörner
Ferdinand Schörner (12 June 1892 – 2 July 1973) was a German military commander who held the rank of ''Generalfeldmarschall'' in the ''Wehrmacht'' of Nazi Germany during World War II. He commanded several army groups and was the last Command ...
.
In the middle of the Battle of Berlin, the leader of the
Hitler Youth
The Hitler Youth (german: Hitlerjugend , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Germany. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. ...
,
Artur Axmann
Artur Axmann (18 February 1913 – 24 October 1996) was the German Nazi national leader (''Reichsjugendführer'') of the Hitler Youth (''Hitlerjugend'') from 1940 to 1945, when the war ended. He was the last living Nazi with a rank equivalent to ...
, visited Weidling's headquarters and told him that the youngsters of the Hitler Youth were ready to fight and were even now manning the roads in the 56th rear. Weidling argued it was futile for these teenage boys to be thrown into the battle. He told Axmann it was, "the sacrifice of children for an already doomed cause". Axmann did not withdraw them from the battle.
By 19 April, with Schörner's
Army Group Centre
Army Group Centre (german: Heeresgruppe Mitte) was the name of two distinct strategic German Army Groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created on 22 June 1941, as one of three German Army fo ...
collapsing, Weidling's corps was forced to retreat west into Berlin. The German forces retreat from Seelow Heights during the 19th and 20th left no front line remaining.
Commander of the Berlin Defence Area
On 22 April, Hitler ordered that Weidling be executed by
firing squad
Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are us ...
on receiving a report that he had retreated in the face of advancing Soviet Army forces, which was in defiance of standing orders to the contrary. Weidling had not actually retreated, and the sentence was called off after he appeared at the ''Führerbunker'' to clear up the misunderstanding.
On 23 April, Hitler appointed Weidling as the commander of the Berlin Defence Area. Weidling replaced Lieutenant General (''Generalleutnant'')
Helmuth Reymann
Hellmuth Reymann (24 November 1892 – 8 December 1988) was an officer in the German Army ('' Heer'') during World War II. He was one of the last commanders of the Berlin Defence Area during the final assault by Soviet forces on Berlin.
World Wa ...
, Colonel (''Oberst'')
Ernst Kaether
__NOTOC__
Ernst Kaether (25 September 1903 – 11 August 1999) was a German officer, who rose to the rank of general in the Wehrmacht during World War II.
On 22 April 1945, Kaether briefly replaced General Hellmuth Reymann as commander of the Be ...
, and Hitler himself. Reymann had held the position only since March.
The forces available to Weidling for the city's defence included roughly 45,000 soldiers in several severely depleted German Army and
Waffen-SS
The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...
divisions. These divisions were supplemented by the
police
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...
force,
boys
A boy is a young male human. The term is commonly used for a child or an adolescent. When a male human reaches adulthood, he is described as a man.
Definition, etymology, and use
According to the ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'', a boy is "a ...
in the compulsory
Hitler Youth
The Hitler Youth (german: Hitlerjugend , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Germany. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. ...
, and 40,000 men of the ''
Volkssturm
The (; "people's storm") was a levée en masse national militia established by Nazi Germany during the last months of World War II. It was not set up by the German Army, the ground component of the combined German ''Wehrmacht'' armed forces, ...
'' (militia). The commander of the central government district was SS-''
Brigadeführer
''Brigadeführer'' (, ) was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) that was used between the years of 1932 to 1945. It was mainly known for its use as an SS rank. As an SA rank, it was used after briefly being known as ''Untergruppenf ...
''
Wilhelm Mohnke
Wilhelm Mohnke (15 March 1911 – 6 August 2001) was one of the original members of the SS-Staff Guard (''Stabswache'') "Berlin" formed in March 1933. From those ranks, Mohnke rose to become one of Adolf Hitler's last remaining generals. He joi ...
. Mohnke had been appointed to his position by Hitler and had over 2,000 men under his direct command. His core group were the 800 men of the ''Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler'' (LSSAH) SS battalion (assigned to guard Hitler). The Soviet command later estimated the number of defenders in Berlin at 180,000, but this was based on the number of German prisoners they captured. The prisoners included many unarmed men in uniform, such as railway officials and members of the Reich Labour Service (''
Reichsarbeitsdienst
The Reich Labour Service (''Reichsarbeitsdienst''; RAD) was a major organisation established in Nazi Germany as an agency to help mitigate the effects of unemployment on the German economy, militarise the workforce and indoctrinate it with Nazi ...
'').
Weidling organised the defences into eight sectors designated "A" through to "H". Each sector was commanded by a colonel or a general, but most of the colonels and generals had no combat experience. To the west of the city was the
''20th Panzergrenadier'' Division. To the north was the
''9th Fallschirmjäger'' Division, to the north-east the
Panzer Division ''Müncheberg''. To the south-east of the city and to the east of
Tempelhof Airport
Berlin Tempelhof Airport (german: Flughafen Berlin-Tempelhof) was one of the first airports in Berlin, Germany. Situated in the south-central Berlin borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg, the airport ceased operating in 2008 amid controversy, leav ...
was the
SS-''Nordland Panzergrenadier'' Division composed mainly of foreign volunteers. Weidling's reserve, the
''18th Panzergrenadier'' Division was in Berlin's central district.
Bendlerblock headquarters
Sometime around 26 April, Weidling chose as his base of operations the old army headquarters on the Bendlerstrasse, the "
Bendlerblock
The Bendlerblock is a building complex in the Tiergarten district of Berlin, Germany, located on Stauffenbergstraße (formerly named ''Bendlerstraße''). Erected in 1914 as headquarters of several Imperial German Navy (''Kaiserliche Marine'') off ...
." This location had well-equipped air-raid shelters and was close to the
Reich Chancellery
The Reich Chancellery (german: Reichskanzlei) was the traditional name of the office of the Chancellor of Germany (then called ''Reichskanzler'') in the period of the German Reich from 1878 to 1945. The Chancellery's seat, selected and prepared s ...
. In the depths of the Bendlerblock, Weidling's staff did not know whether it was day or night.
Around noon on 26 April, Weidling relieved Colonel
Hans-Oscar Wöhlermann of command, and Major General
Werner Mummert
Werner Mummert (31 March 1897 – 28 January 1950) was a general in the German Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded Panzer Division ''Müncheberg''. A veteran of World War I, he was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cros ...
was reinstated as commander of the ''Müncheberg'' Panzer Division. Later that evening, Weidling presented Hitler with a detailed proposal for a breakout from Berlin. When Weidling finished, Hitler shook his head and said: "Your proposal is perfectly all right. But what is the point of it all? I have no intentions of wandering around in the woods. I am staying here and I will fall at the head of my troops. You, for your part, will carry on with your defence."
By the end of the day on 27 April, the encirclement of Berlin was completed. The Soviet Information Bureau announced that Soviet troops of the
1st Belorussian Front
The 1st Belorussian Front (Russian: Пéрвый Белорусский фронт, ''Perviy Belorusskiy front'', also romanized " Byelorussian") was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a Western army ...
had broken through strong German defences around Berlin and, approaching from the east and from the south, had linked up in Berlin and northwest of Potsdam and that the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front took Gartenstadt, Siemenstadt and the Goerlitzer Railway Station in eastern Berlin.
When Weidling discovered that a major part of the last line of the German defences in Berlin were manned by
Hitler Youth
The Hitler Youth (german: Hitlerjugend , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Germany. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. ...
, he ordered Artur Axmann to disband the Hitler Youth combat formations in the city. But, in the confusion, his order was never carried out.
Soviet advance
On 29 April, the Soviet Information Bureau announced that troops of the
1st Belorussian Front
The 1st Belorussian Front (Russian: Пéрвый Белорусский фронт, ''Perviy Belorusskiy front'', also romanized " Byelorussian") was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a Western army ...
continued to clear the streets of Berlin, occupied the northwest sector of
Charlottenburg
Charlottenburg () is a Boroughs and localities of Berlin, locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Established as a German town law, town in 1705 and named after Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, Queen consort of Kingdom ...
as far as Bismarck Street, the west half of
Moabit
Moabit () is an inner city locality in the borough of Mitte, Berlin, Germany. As of 2016, around 77,000 people lived in Moabit. First inhabited in 1685 and incorporated into Berlin in 1861, the former industrial and working-class neighbourhood i ...
, and the eastern part of Schoeneberg. Soviet troops of the
1st Ukrainian Front
The 1st Ukrainian Front (Russian: Пéрвый Украи́нский фронт), previously the Voronezh Front (Russian: Воронежский Фронт) was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a ...
occupied
Friedenau
Friedenau () is a locality (''Ortsteil'') within the borough (''Bezirk'') of Tempelhof-Schöneberg in Berlin, Germany. Relatively small by area, its population density is the highest in the city.
Geography
Friedenau is part of the southwestern s ...
and
Grunewald Grunewald is the name of both a locality and a forest in Germany:
* Grunewald (forest)
* Grunewald (locality)
Grünewald may refer to:
* Grünewald (surname)
* Grünewald, Germany, a municipality in Brandenburg, Germany
* Grünewald (Luxembourg), ...
in north and west Berlin.
During the evening of 29 April, Weidling's headquarters in the Bendlerblock was now within metres of the front line. Weidling discussed with his divisional commanders the possibility of breaking out to the southwest to link up with General
Walther Wenck
Walther Wenck () (18 September 1900 – 1 May 1982) was a German officer and industrialist. He was the youngest General of the branch (''General der Truppengattung'') in the German Army and a staff officer during World War II. At the end of the w ...
's 12th Army. Wenck's spearhead had reached the village of Ferch on the banks of the
Schwielowsee near Potsdam. The breakout was planned to start the next night at 22:00.
On 30 April, the Soviet Information Bureau announced that Soviet troops of the 1st Belorussian Front had captured Moabit, Anhalter Railway Station,
Joachimsthal to the north of Berlin, and
Neukölln
Neukölln () is one of the twelve boroughs of Berlin. It is located in the southeastern part from the city centre towards Berlin Schönefeld Airport. It was part of the former American sector under the Four-Power occupation of the city. It featu ...
,
Marienwerder
Kwidzyn (pronounced ; german: Marienwerder; Latin: ''Quedin''; Old Prussian: ''Kwēdina'') is a town in northern Poland on the Liwa River, with 38,553 inhabitants (2018). It is the capital of Kwidzyn County in the Pomeranian Voivodeship.
Geogra ...
and
Liebenwalde
Liebenwalde is a town in the Oberhavel district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated 16 km northeast of Oranienburg, and 39 km north of Berlin (centre).
In 2003, the administrative boundaries were expanded to include Freienhagen, Ha ...
. Troops of the
1st Ukrainian Front
The 1st Ukrainian Front (Russian: Пéрвый Украи́нский фронт), previously the Voronezh Front (Russian: Воронежский Фронт) was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a ...
occupied the southern part of
Wilmersdorf
Wilmersdorf (), an inner-city locality of Berlin, lies south-west of the central city. Formerly a borough by itself, Wilmersdorf became part of the new borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf in Berlin's 2001 administrative reform.
History
The vi ...
, Hohenzollerndamm and Halensee Railway Station.
The ''Führerbunker''
Late in the morning of 30 April, with the Soviets less than 500 metres from the bunker, Hitler had a meeting with Weidling, who informed him that the Berlin garrison would probably run out of ammunition that night. Weidling asked Hitler for permission to break out, a request he had made unsuccessfully before. Hitler did not answer at first, and Weidling went back to his headquarters in the Bendlerblock, where at about 13:00, he received Hitler's permission to try a breakout that night.
After Hitler and Braun's suicides, Weidling reached the ''Führerbunker'' and was met by
Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 19 ...
, ''Reichsleiter''
Martin Bormann
Martin Ludwig Bormann (17 June 1900 – 2 May 1945) was a German Nazi Party official and head of the Nazi Party Chancellery. He gained immense power by using his position as Adolf Hitler's private secretary to control the flow of information ...
and General
Hans Krebs. They took him to Hitler's room, where the couple had committed suicide. They told him that their bodies had been burned and buried in a shell crater in the
Reich Chancellery
The Reich Chancellery (german: Reichskanzlei) was the traditional name of the office of the Chancellor of Germany (then called ''Reichskanzler'') in the period of the German Reich from 1878 to 1945. The Chancellery's seat, selected and prepared s ...
garden above. Weidling was forced to swear that he would not repeat this news to anybody. The only person in the outside world who was to be informed was
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
. An attempt would be made that night to arrange an armistice, and General Krebs would inform the Soviet commander so that he could inform the
Kremlin
The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty, Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of th ...
.
Weidling rang Colonel
Hans Refior Hans Refior (born 29 October 1906, date of death unknown)''Haefnner, Paul.'' In: Günter Wegmann: ''Die Dienstlaufbahnen der Offiziere des Generalstabes des deutschen Heeres, 1935–1945. Nach dem Stand vom 1.9.1944 aufgrund der Handliste des Heeres ...
, his civil Chief-of-Staff, in the Bendlerblock headquarters soon afterward. Weidling said that he could not tell him what had happened, but he needed various members of his staff to join him immediately, including Colonel
Theodor von Dufving, his military Chief-of-Staff.
The meeting on 1 May between Krebs, who had been sent by Goebbels, and Soviet Lieutenant General
Vasily Chuikov
Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov (russian: link=no, Васи́лий Ива́нович Чуйко́в; ; – 18 March 1982) was a Soviet military commander and Marshal of the Soviet Union. He is best known for commanding the 62nd Army which saw he ...
ended with no agreement. According to Hitler's personal secretary
Traudl Junge
Gertraud "Traudl" Junge (; 16 March 1920 – 10 February 2002) was a German editor who worked as Adolf Hitler's last private secretary from December 1942 to April 1945. After typing Hitler's will, she remained in the Berlin ''Führerbunker'' unt ...
, Krebs returned to the bunker complex looking "worn out, exhausted". The surrender of Berlin was thus delayed until Goebbels committed suicide, after which it was left up to Weidling to negotiate with the Soviets.
Surrender to Chuikov
![Gedenktafel Schulenburgring 2 (Templ) Berliner Kapitulation](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Gedenktafel_Schulenburgring_2_%28Templ%29_Berliner_Kapitulation.JPG)
On 2 May, Weidling had his Chief-of-Staff,
Theodor von Dufving, arrange a meeting with Chuikov. Weidling told the Soviets about the suicides of Hitler and Goebbels, and Chuikov demanded complete capitulation.
Pursuant to Chuikov and
Sokolovsky's direction, Weidling put his surrender order in writing. The document, written by Weidling, read as follows:
The meeting between Weidling and Chuikov ended at 8:23 am on 2 May 1945.
Post-war
The Soviet forces took Weidling into custody and flew him to the Soviet Union. Initially, he was held in the
Butyrka
Butyrskaya prison ( rus, Бутырская тюрьма, r= Butýrskaya tyurmá), usually known simply as Butyrka ( rus, Бутырка, p=bʊˈtɨrkə), is a prison in the Tverskoy District of central Moscow, Russia. In Imperial Russia i ...
and
Lefortovo prisons in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
. On 27 February 1952, the
sentenced him to 25 years' imprisonment for war crimes committed in the occupied Soviet Union. Weidling died on 17 November 1955 in the custody of the
KGB
The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...
in
Vladimir
Vladimir may refer to:
Names
* Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name
* Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name
* Volodymyr for the Ukr ...
of an apparent heart attack. He was buried in an unmarked grave at the prison cemetery. On 16 April 1996, the Chief Military Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation declared Weidling
non-rehabilitative.
Awards
*
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 23 June 1942 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 86. Infanterie Division
*
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
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 15 January 1943 as ''Generalmajor'' and commander of 86. Infanterie Division
** Oak Leaves on 22 February 1944 as ''
General der Artillerie
General der Artillerie ( en: General of the artillery) may mean:
1. A rank of three-star general, comparable to modern armed forces OF-8 grade, in the Imperial German Army and its contingency armies of Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony and Württembe ...
'' commander of XLI. Panzerkorps
** Swords on 21 January 1945 as ''General der Artillerie'' and commander of XLI. Panzerkorps
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weidling, Helmuth
1891 births
1955 deaths
People from Halberstadt
German Army generals of World War II
Generals of Artillery (Wehrmacht)
German Army personnel of World War I
German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union
Recipients of the Gold German Cross
Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
People from the Province of Saxony
German people who died in Soviet detention
Battle of Berlin
Military personnel from Saxony-Anhalt