Wilhelm Adam (28 March 1893 – 24 November 1978) was an officer in 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 previous ...

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 ...

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 ...

. Following the German surrender after the

Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (later re ...

, he became a member of the

National Committee for a Free Germany The National Committee for a Free Germany (german: Nationalkomitee Freies Deutschland, or NKFD) was a German anti-Nazi organization that operated in the Soviet Union during World War II.The Russians in Germany: A History of the Soviet Zone of Occ ...

. Adam later served in the

National People's Army The National People's Army (german: Nationale Volksarmee, ; NVA ) were the armed forces of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1956 to 1990. The NVA was organized into four branches: the (Ground Forces), the (Navy), the (Air Force) an ...

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

World War II

Born in 1893, Adam attended from 1908 to 1913 the teacher training college in

Schlüchtern Schlüchtern is a town in the Main-Kinzig district, in Hessen, Germany. It is located on the river Kinzig, approximately 30 km southwest of Fulda. Schlüchtern has a population close to 16,000. Location Schlüchtern is located in the '' Ber ...

. From October 1913 to January 1919 Adam served in the

Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (german: Deutsches Heer), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the l ...

. He saw action during

World War I 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 ...

and reached the rank of Lieutenant. Adam and his wife had two children, a daughter and a son. His son was killed in France at the start of World War II on 16 May 1940. In 1939 Adam was appointed an adjutant in the XXIII Army Corps, under the Army Commanders

Walther von Reichenau Walter Karl Ernst August von Reichenau (8 October 1884 – 17 January 1942) was a field marshal in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. Reichenau commanded the 6th Army, during the invasions of Belgium and France. During Ope ...

and later in 1941,

Friedrich Paulus Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Paulus (23 September 1890 – 1 February 1957) was a German field marshal during World War II who is best known for commanding the 6th Army during the Battle of Stalingrad (August 1942 to February 1943). The battle ended ...

. On 17 December 1942, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. On 31 January 1943, now a colonel, Adam was captured by the Soviet Army after the surrender at

Stalingrad Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stal ...

, where he was interrogated by

Nikolay Dyatlenko Major Nikolay Dmitrevich Dyatlenko ( ukr, Микола Дмитрович Дятленко; russian: Николай Дмитриевич Дятленко; 26 November 1914 – 1996) was a Soviet officer, interrogator and translator who was part o ...

. While 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 went to the Central Anti-Fascist School at Krasnogorsk and became a member of the

. He was also sentenced to death ''

in absentia is Latin for absence. , a legal term, is Latin for "in the absence" or "while absent". may also refer to: * Award in absentia * Declared death in absentia, or simply, death in absentia, legally declared death without a body * Election in absen ...

'' by a Nazi German court. Concerning the war, Adam states, "That the Second World War started by Hitler's Germany was a crime not only against the peoples attacked by us, but also against the German nation, did not occur to us. And because of this, we did not recognize the deeper reasons for the defeat on the Volga, superiority of the socialist state and social system, whose sharp sword was the Soviet army."

Post-war period

In 1948, Adam returned to the Soviet Zone of Germany. He was among the co-founders of the

National Democratic Party of Germany The National Democratic Party of Germany (german: Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands or NPD) is a far-right Neo-Nazi and ultranationalist political party in Germany. The party was founded in 1964 as successor to the German Reich Party ...

, an East German political party that acted as an organization for former members of the Nazi Party and the Wehrmacht. From 1948 to 1949 he worked as a consultant for the Saxony state government. From 1950 to 1952 he was Saxony's finance minister and from 1949 to 1963 a member of

's ''

Volkskammer __NOTOC__ The Volkskammer (, ''People's Chamber'') was the unicameral legislature of the German Democratic Republic (colloquially known as East Germany). The Volkskammer was initially the lower house of a bicameral legislature. The upper house ...

''. In 1952, Adam became a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in the ''

Kasernierte Volkspolizei The Kasernierte Volkspolizei ( en, Barracked People's Police) was the precursor to the National People's Army (NVA) in East Germany. Their original headquarters was in Adlershof locality in Berlin, and from 1954 in Strausberg in modern-day Bran ...

'' (KVP) ("Barracked People's Police"), the forerunner of the East German

. From 1953 to 1956 he was commander of the Officers' College of the KVP – and later became the National People's Army. In 1958, Adam was sent into retirement. He kept on working, though, for the Working Group of Former Officers. In 1968 he was decorated with the

Banner of Labor The Banner of Labor () was an order issued in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It was given for "excellent and long-standing service in strengthening and consolidating the GDR, especially for achieving outstanding results for the national e ...

, and on the occasion of the twenty-eighth anniversary of East Germany's founding on 7 October 1977, he was appointed

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

, retired in the East German Army. Adam died on 24 November 1978 in Dresden.

Awards

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 est ...

(1914) 2nd Class (6 September 1914) & 1st Class (30 September 1917)Thomas & Wegmann 1987, p. 17. *

Clasp to the Iron Cross The Clasp to the Iron Cross (Spange zum Eisernen Kreuz) was a white metal medal clasp displayed on the uniforms of German Wehrmacht personnel who had been awarded the Iron Cross in World War I, and who again qualified for the decoration in World W ...

(1939) 2nd Class (26 May 1940) & 1st Class (10 October 1941) *

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 ...

, 3rd class (2 October 1936) *

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 17 December 1942 as ''

Oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swedish ...

'' and adjutant of Armeeoberkommando 6 (Supreme Command of the 6th Army)Fellgiebel 2000, p. 113.

Works

* Adam, Wilhelm. ''Der schwere Entschluss'', (autobiography), Berlin, 1965. * Adam, W. with Otto Ruhle. ''With Paulus At Stalingrad'', "Pen & Sword Books Ltd.", England, 2015.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Adam, Wilhelm 1893 births 1978 deaths People from Main-Kinzig-Kreis People from Hesse-Nassau German People's Party politicians National Democratic Party of Germany (East Germany) politicians Members of the Provisional Volkskammer Members of the 1st Volkskammer Members of the 2nd Volkskammer Members of the 3rd Volkskammer National Committee for a Free Germany members Major generals of the National People's Army (Ground Forces) Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit (honor clasp) Recipients of the Banner of Labor