__NOTOC__ Ernst Kaether (25 September 1903 – 11 August 1999) was a German officer, who rose to the rank of general 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 ...

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 ...

. On 22 April 1945, Kaether briefly replaced General Hellmuth Reymann as commander of the Berlin Defence Area and for the defense of the city of Berlin. Kaether was personally promoted to '' Generalleutnant'' by

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

for this command. However, Kaether never actually took command of Berlin's defenses for 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– ...

. Before Kaether could take command, Hitler cancelled his promotions, and Kaether was replaced by General Helmuth Weidling, commander of the understrength

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 ...

. For a brief period between Kaether and Weidling, Hitler himself took personal command of the Berlin defences. Another newly-promoted ''Generalmajor'',

Erich Bärenfänger __NOTOC__ Erich Bärenfänger (12 January 1915 – 2 May 1945) was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords of Nazi Germany. In the final days of the war, Bärenf� ...

, was Hitler's "deputy" commander of the Berlin Defense Area during the brief period.

Awards

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 10 December 1942 as '' Oberstleutnant'' and commander of Infanterie-Regiment 14

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaether, Ernst 1903 births 1999 deaths Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Military personnel from Aachen German Army officers of World War II Recipients of the Gold German Cross