Hermann Foertsch (4 April 1895 – 27 December 1961) 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 held commands at the divisional, corps and army levels. 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' ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. Foertsch was tried at the

Hostages Trial The Hostages Trial (or, officially, ''The United States of America v. Wilhelm List, et al.'') was held from 8 July 1947 until 19 February 1948 and was the seventh of the twelve trials for war crimes that United States authorities held in their occ ...

in 1947. The trial resulted in Foertsch's acquittal because he was a staff officer at the time that the criminal orders were transmitted.

Hostages trial

As a chief of staff for several generals commanding Wehrmacht forces in occupied

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 with ...

and

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, Foertsch passed on orders to subordinate units to take hostages or conduct reprisals. These orders were deemed criminal by the Tribunal, but staff officers were not considered culpable unless they drafted such criminal orders or made a special effort to distribute them to the troops that carried them out. Citing a lack of evidence of a commission of an unlawful act, the Tribunal acquitted Foertsch of war crimes.

Later life

After his acquittal, Foertsch collaborated with

Hans Speidel Hans Speidel (28 October 1897 – 28 November 1984) was a German general, who was one of the major military leaders of West Germany during the early Cold War. The first full General in West Germany, he was a principal founder of the ''Bundeswehr' ...

in the development of concepts for Germany's rearmament many years before the official foundation of 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 ...

, the German army, in 1955. In 1950, Foertsch was the leading member of the select group of former Wehrmacht high-ranking officers invited by Chancellor Konrad Adenauer to take part in the conference to discuss

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

's rearmament ''(

Wiederbewaffnung West German rearmament (german: Wiederbewaffnung) began in the decades after the World War II. Fears of another rise of German militarism caused the new military to operate within an alliance framework, under NATO command. The events led to the e ...

''). The conference resulted in the

Himmerod memorandum The Himmerod memorandum () was a 40-page document produced in 1950 after a secret meeting of former Wehrmacht high-ranking officers invited by Chancellor Konrad Adenauer to the Himmerod Abbey to discuss West Germany's ''Wiederbewaffnung'' (rearmamen ...

that contributed to the myth of the "

clean Wehrmacht The myth of the clean ''Wehrmacht'' is the negationist notion that the regular German armed forces (the ''Wehrmacht'') were not involved in the Holocaust or other war crimes during World War II. The myth, heavily promoted by German authors ...

". Foertsch was involved in the establishment of the European anti-communist organisation Interdoc.

Awards and decorations

on 27 August 1944 as '' Generalleutnant'' and commander of 21. Infanterie-Division Fellgiebel 2000, p. 154.

Works

* ''York. Das Leben eines altpreußischen Generals.'', Verlag: Coleman, Lübeck, 1932 * ''Wehrmacht und öffentliche Meinung'', Verlag nicht ermittelbar, 1933 * ''Der deutsche Soldat.'' - Leipzig: Seemann, 1934 * ''Im gleichen Schritt und Tritt! Das tönende Buch vom deutschen Heer'', Verlag: Knorr & Hirth, München, 1934 * ''Die Wehrmacht im nationalsozialistischen Staat.'' Broschek, 1935 * ''Unsere deutsche Wehrmacht.'' - Berlin: Zeitgeschichte-Verl., 1935 * ''Der Offizier der neuen Wehrmacht - Eine Pflichtenlehre.'' - Berlin: Eisenschmidt, 1936. * ''Wehrpflicht-Fibel.'', Verlag "Offene Worte", 1937 * ''Schuld und Verhängnis – Die Fritsch-Krise im Frühjahr 1938 als Wendepunkt in der nationalsozialistischen Zeit.'' DVA, 1951 * ''Grundzüge der Wehrpolitik.'', Hanseatische Verlagsanstalt, 1938 * ''Kriegskunst heute und morgen.'' - Berlin: Zeitgeschichte-Verl., 1939 * ''Der Offizier der deutschen Wehrmacht.'' - Berlin: Eisenschmidt, 1940 * ''Psychologische Kriegführung: Vortrag'', Evang. Akademie, 1953 English: * ''The Art of Modern Warfare'', Veritas Press, 1940 * ''My Opinions with Regard to Reports 1'', Historical Division, Headquarters United States Army, 1947 * ''Basic Concepts and Organization for the Conduct of War Prior to World War II'', United States, Department of the Army, 1948 Italian: * ''L'arte della guerra di oggi e di domani.'', Nicola Zanichelli Editore, Bologna, 1940

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * Scott-Smith, Giles. ''Interdoc and West European Psychological Warfare: The American Connection''. Intelligence and National Security Vol. 26, Nos. 2–3, 355–376, April–June 2011. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Foertsch, Hermann 1895 births 1961 deaths People from Człopa Military personnel from West Prussia Generals of Infantry (Wehrmacht) Prussian Army personnel German Army personnel of World War I 20th-century Freikorps personnel Reichswehr personnel German Army generals of World War II Himmerod meeting participants Yugoslavia in World War II German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United States People acquitted by the United States Nuremberg Military Tribunals Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class