Hans-Karl Freiherr von Esebeck (10 July 1892 – 5 January 1955) was a German general who commanded the

15th Panzer Division The 15th Panzer Division (german: 15. Panzer-Division) was an armoured division in the German Army, the Wehrmacht, during World War II, established in 1940. The division, formed from the 33rd Infantry Division, fought exclusively in North Afr ...

in the

Afrika Korps The Afrika Korps or German Africa Corps (, }; DAK) was the German expeditionary force in Africa during the North African Campaign of World War II. First sent as a holding force to shore up the Italian defense of its African colonies, the ...

. Esebeck had knowledge of and was sympathetic to the anti-Hitler conspiracy in the military. He was arrested on 21 July 1944 and spent the rest of the war in concentration camps. Liberated at the end of the war he lived the rest of his life in poverty and died on 5 January 1955.

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 4 July 1940 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 commander of the 6. Schützen-BrigadeScherzer 2007, p. 299.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Mitcham, Samuel W. (2007). ''Rommel's Desert Commanders — The Men Who Served the Desert Fox, North Africa, 1941–42''. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. . * {{DEFAULTSORT:Esebeck, Hans-Karl Freiherr 1892 births 1955 deaths People from the Province of Brandenburg Barons of Germany German Army personnel of World War I 20th-century Freikorps personnel Generals of Panzer Troops Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Liberty, 2nd Class Nazi concentration camp survivors Prussian Army personnel Reichswehr personnel Military personnel from Potsdam