Rudolf Meister (1 August 1897 – 11 September 1958) was a German general ( General der Flieger) in the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

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 4th Air Corps. 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 ...

. Meister surrendered to the American troops in May 1945 and was interned until 1948. In 1950, Meister was one of the authors of 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 ...

which addressed the issue of 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 ...

'') of the Federal Republic of Germany after World War II.

Awards and decorations

* German Cross in Gold on 30 October 1941 as '' Oberst im Generalstab'' (in the

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

) of VIII. Fliegerkorps *

on 5 September 1944 as '' Generalleutnant'' and commander of IV. Fliegerkorps

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Meister, Rudolf 1897 births 1958 deaths Military personnel from Cologne Luftwaffe World War II generals German Army personnel of World War I Military personnel from the Rhine Province Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United States Prussian Army personnel Reichswehr personnel Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class Himmerod meeting participants