Otto Wöhler (12 July 1894 – 5 February 1987) was a German 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 previo ...

and a war criminal 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 opposing ...

. He rose to a corps and army level commander. Wöhler was implicated in the

Einsatzgruppe (, ; also 'task forces') were (SS) paramilitary death squads of Nazi Germany that were responsible for mass murder, primarily by shooting, during World War II (1939–1945) in German-occupied Europe. The had an integral role in the imple ...

activities while serving as Chief of Staff of the 11th Army in early 1942. After the war, he was convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the High Command trial and sentenced to 8 years. He was released in February 1951.

World War II

Wöhler fought in World War I and served in the post-war

Reichswehr ''Reichswehr'' () was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first years of the Third Reich. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshape ...

and in then the

in several staff roles. Between October 1940 and May 1942, Wöhler served as chief of staff of Field Marshal

Erich von Manstein Fritz Erich Georg Eduard von Manstein (born Fritz Erich Georg Eduard von Lewinski; 24 November 1887 – 9 June 1973) was a German Field Marshal of the ''Wehrmacht'' during the Second World War, who was subsequently convicted of war crimes and ...

's 11th Army. In this capacity Wöhler cooperated closely with the Einsatzgruppe D under Otto Ohlendorf. At one point, he requested that all watches belonging to the killed Jews be turned over to the army. Wöhler was then appointed chief of staff of

Army Group Center Army Group Centre (german: Heeresgruppe Mitte) was the name of two distinct strategic German Army Groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created on 22 June 1941, as one of three German Army for ...

under Field Marshal

Günther von Kluge Günther Adolf Ferdinand von Kluge (30 October 1882 – 19 August 1944) was a German field marshal during World War II who held commands on both the Eastern and Western Fronts. He commanded the 4th Army of the Wehrmacht during the invasio ...

. Wöhler’s first combat command was I Army Corps which he led from February to August 1943, before being given command of the 8th Army in August 1943. In December 1944 he was appointed commander of

Army Group South Army Group South (german: Heeresgruppe Süd) was the name of three German Army Groups during World War II. It was first used in the 1939 September Campaign, along with Army Group North to invade Poland. In the invasion of Poland Army Group So ...

Trial and conviction

Wöhler was investigated by the Allies after the war and was implicated in Einsatzgruppen activities while serving as Chief of Staff of the 11th Army in early 1942. In the pre-trial interrogations, he admitted that Manstein awarded

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 es ...

es to Einsatzgruppen men and described the cooperation with the Einsatzgruppen as "generally free of friction". He was tried by a U.S. Military Tribunal at

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

(" High Command Trial" No. XII). At trial Wöhler denied knowledge of the Einsatzgruppen functions and any complicity in helping to carry their actions. He was convicted of implementing the Barbarossa Jurisdiction Order, which allowed the murder of civilians on the pretext of counteracting partisan activity Wöhler was also found guilty of deportations of civilians for slave labor and cooperation with Einsatzgruppen. Wöhler was sentenced to eight years imprisonment in October 1948. During the 1949 sentence review, his sentence was confirmed with no changes. Based on the sentence having been backdated to 1945, he was released in February 1951 on good time credit grounds.

Awards

* 1914

: 2nd Class (1914); 1st Class (1916) *

German Cross The War Order of the German Cross (german: Der Kriegsorden Deutsches Kreuz), normally abbreviated to the German Cross or ''Deutsches Kreuz'', was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941. It was awarded in two divisions: in gold for repe ...

in Gold on 26 January 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 ...

in the General Staff of AOK 11Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 520. *

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves 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' ...

** Knight's Cross on 14 August 1943 as General of the Infantry and commander of I Army CorpsScherzer 2007, p. 793. ** Oak Leaves on 28 November 1944 as General of the Infantry and commander of the 8th Army

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wohler, Otto 1894 births 1987 deaths People from Burgwedel Generals of Infantry (Wehrmacht) People from the Province of Hanover Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Recipients of the Order of Michael the Brave German people convicted of crimes against humanity People convicted by the United States Nuremberg Military Tribunals Reichswehr personnel Military personnel from Lower Saxony German Army generals of World War II German Army personnel of World War I