Wilhelm Emanuel Burgdorf (15 February 1895 – 2 May 1945) was a German general 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 served as a commander and staff officer in the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

. In October 1944, Burgdorf assumed the role of the chief of the Army Personnel Office and chief adjutant to

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 ...

. In this capacity, he played a role in the forced suicide of Field Marshal

Erwin Rommel Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel () (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944) was a German field marshal during World War II. Popularly known as the Desert Fox (, ), he served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of Nazi Germany, as well as servi ...

. Burgdorf committed suicide in the ''

Führerbunker The ''Führerbunker'' () was an air raid shelter located near the Reich Chancellery in Berlin, Germany. It was part of a subterranean bunker complex constructed in two phases in 1936 and 1944. It was the last of the Führer Headquarters ( ...

'' on 2 May 1945 at the conclusion of 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– ...

Military career

Burgdorf joined the

Prussian Army The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power. The Prussian Army had its roots in the co ...

at the outbreak of

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 ...

as an officer cadet and was commissioned as an infantry officer in Grenadier Regiment 12 in 1915. After the war he served in the

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 reshaped ...

and was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in 1930. 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 ...

, he became an instructor in tactics at the military academy in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

with the rank of major in 1935 and was appointed an

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

on the staff of the IX corps in 1937. He was promoted to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

in 1938 and served as the commander of the 529th Infantry Regiment from May 1940 to April 1942. In May 1942, he became Chief of Department 2 of the Army Personnel Office. Burgdorf became the Deputy Chief in October 1942, when he was promoted to ''

Generalmajor is the Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and Royal Danish Air Force. As a two-star ...

''. Burgdorf was promoted to chief of the Army Personnel Office and chief adjutant to

in October 1944. At that time, he was further promoted in rank to ''

Generalleutnant is the Germanic variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO rank of O ...

'', and one month later (on 1 November 1944) to the rank of ''

General der Infanterie General of the Infantry is a military rank of a General officer in the infantry and refers to: * General of the Infantry (Austria) * General of the Infantry (Bulgaria) * General of the Infantry (Germany) ('), a rank of a general in the German Imper ...

''. Burgdorf retained that rank and position until his death. Burgdorf decreed: Every officer and every judge of the Wehrmacht have to act with strongest measures against doubters in the German final victory. "An officer who expresses himself disparaging about the state leadership is intolerable in the National Socialist state."

Role in Rommel's death

Burgdorf, as part of his function as Hitler's chief adjutant, played a key role in the death of

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

. Rommel had been implicated as having a peripheral role in the

20 July plot On 20 July 1944, Claus von Stauffenberg and other conspirators attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Führer of Nazi Germany, inside his Wolf's Lair field headquarters near Rastenburg, East Prussia, now Kętrzyn, in present-day Poland. The ...

, an attempt to assassinate Hitler. Instead of bringing the most popular general in Germany before the People's Court, the dictator opted to give Rommel a choice of suicide. On 14 October 1944, Burgdorf, with General

Ernst Maisel __NOTOC__ Generalleutnant Ernst Maisel (16 September 1896 – 16 December 1978) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. As a Generalmajor he was Chief of the Office Group for Officers' Education and Welfare of the Army ...

, arrived at the Rommel household. Burgdorf informed Rommel of the charges and, following the instructions of Field Marshal

Wilhelm Keitel Wilhelm Bodewin Johann Gustav Keitel (; 22 September 188216 October 1946) was a German field marshal and war criminal who held office as chief of the '' Oberkommando der Wehrmacht'' (OKW), the high command of Nazi Germany's Armed Forces, duri ...

, offered him three choices – report to Hitler to plead not guilty, or admit guilt, take poison, receive a state funeral, and obtain

immunity Immunity may refer to: Medicine * Immunity (medical), resistance of an organism to infection or disease * ''Immunity'' (journal), a scientific journal published by Cell Press Biology * Immune system Engineering * Radiofrequence immunity desc ...

for his family and staff, or face a trial for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

.Manfred Rommel, Nuremberg testimony Rommel decided on the second option and briefed his wife and son. Rommel drove away with Burgdorf and Maisel. Rommel's family received a telephone call 10 minutes later informing them that Rommel had committed suicide.{{sfn, Evans, 2009, p=642

Battle of Berlin

Shortly before the

Philipp Freiherr von Boeselager Philipp Freiherr von Boeselager (6 September 1917 – 1 May 2008) was the second-last surviving member of the 20 July Plot, a conspiracy of Wehrmacht officers to assassinate the German dictator Adolf Hitler in 1944. Early life Born at Burg Hei ...

overheard Burgdorf say: "When the war is over, we will have to purge, after the Jews, the Catholic officers in the army."{{sfn, von Boeselager, 2009, p=177 Boeselager was a Roman Catholic

officer and vocally objected, citing his own decorations for heroism in combat. He left before Burgdorf answered. Burgdorf joined Hitler in the ''

'' when the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

s assaulted Berlin. On 28 April, Hitler discovered that

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...

tried to negotiate a surrender to the western

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

via Count

Folke Bernadotte Folke Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg (2 January 1895 – 17 September 1948) was a Swedish nobleman and diplomat. In World War II he negotiated the release of about 31,000 prisoners from German concentration camps, including 450 Danish Jews fr ...

. Burgdorf took part in Hitler's

court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

Hermann Fegelein Hans Otto Georg Hermann Fegelein (30 October 1906 – 28 April 1945) was a high-ranking commander in the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany. He was a member of Adolf Hitler's entourage and brother-in-law to Eva Braun through his marriage to her si ...

, Himmler's SS liaison officer and

Eva Braun Eva Anna Paula Hitler (; 6 February 1912 – 30 April 1945) was a German photographer who was the longtime companion and briefly the wife of Adolf Hitler. Braun met Hitler in Munich when she was a 17-year-old assistant and model for his ...

's brother-in-law. SS-General

Wilhelm Mohnke Wilhelm Mohnke (15 March 1911 – 6 August 2001) was one of the original members of the SS-Staff Guard (''Stabswache'') "Berlin" formed in March 1933. From those ranks, Mohnke rose to become one of Adolf Hitler's last remaining generals. He joi ...

presided over the tribunal, which included SS-General

Johann Rattenhuber Johann Rattenhuber (30 April 1897 – 30 June 1957), also known as Hans Rattenhuber, was a German police and SS general ('' Gruppenführer'', i. e. Generalleutnant). Rattenhuber was the head of German dictator Adolf Hitler's personal '' Rei ...

and General Hans Krebs. Fegelein was so drunk that he was crying, vomiting and unable to stand up; he even urinated on the floor. It was the opinion of the judges that he was in no condition to stand trial. Therefore, Mohnke closed the proceedings and turned Fegelein over to Rattenhuber and his security squad.{{sfn, O'Donnell, 1978, pp=182–183 On 29 April 1945, Burgdorf, Krebs,

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 19 ...

, and

Martin Bormann Martin Ludwig Bormann (17 June 1900 – 2 May 1945) was a German Nazi Party official and head of the Nazi Party Chancellery. He gained immense power by using his position as Adolf Hitler's private secretary to control the flow of information ...

witnessed and signed Hitler's last will and testament.{{sfn, Bullock, 1962, p=795 After Hitler's suicide on 30 April 1945, Goebbels assumed Hitler's role as chancellor.{{sfn, Kershaw, 2008, pp=949–950, 955 On 1 May, Goebbels dictated a letter to Soviet Army Marshall

Vasily Chuikov Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov (russian: link=no, Васи́лий Ива́нович Чуйко́в; ; – 18 March 1982) was a Soviet military commander and Marshal of the Soviet Union. He is best known for commanding the 62nd Army which saw he ...

, requesting a temporary ceasefire, and ordered General Krebs to deliver it. Chuikov commanded the Soviet forces in central Berlin.{{sfn, Fest, 2004, pp=135–137 After this was rejected, Goebbels decided that further efforts were futile.{{sfn, Vinogradov, 2005, p=324 Goebbels then launched into a tirade berating the generals, reminding them Hitler forbade them to surrender. ''Ministerialdirektor''

Hans Fritzsche August Franz Anton Hans Fritzsche (21 April 1900 – 27 September 1953) was the ''Ministerialdirektor'' at the Propagandaministerium (Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda) of Nazi Germany. He was the preeminent German broadcaste ...

left the room to take matters into his own hands. He went to his nearby office on Wilhelmplatz and wrote a surrender letter addressed to Soviet Marshall

Georgy Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov ( rus, Георгий Константинович Жуков, p=ɡʲɪˈorɡʲɪj kənstɐnʲˈtʲinəvʲɪtɕ ˈʐukəf, a=Ru-Георгий_Константинович_Жуков.ogg; 1 December 1896 – ...

. General Burgdorf followed Fritzsche to his office.{{sfn, Fest, 2004, p=137 There he asked Fritzsche if he intended to surrender Berlin. Fritzsche replied that he was going to do just that. Burgdorf shouted that Hitler had forbidden surrender and as a civilian he had no authority to do so. Burgdorf then pulled his pistol to shoot Fritzsche, but a radio technician "knocked the gun" and the bullet fired hit the ceiling. Several men then hustled Burgdorf out of the office and he returned to the bunker.{{sfn, Fest, 2004, pp=137–139 After midnight, in the early hours of 2 May 1945, following the earlier suicides of Hitler and Goebbels, Burgdorf and his colleague

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

Hans Krebs committed suicide together by gunshot to the head.{{sfn, Beevor, 2002, p=387 The Soviets found the bodies of Krebs and Burgdorf in the bunker complex.{{sfn, Ryan, 1966, p=398

Awards and decorations

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 (24 January 1915) & 1st Class (14 August 1916){{sfn, Thomas, Wegmann, 1993, p=292 * Knight's Cross of the Royal

House Order of Hohenzollern The House Order of Hohenzollern (german: Hausorden von Hohenzollern or ') was a dynastic order of knighthood of the House of Hohenzollern awarded to military commissioned officers and civilians of comparable status. Associated with the various ...

with Swords (27 August 1917){{sfn, Thomas, Wegmann, 1993, p=292 * Military Merit Cross, 3rd class with war decoration (Austria-Hungary, 27 February 1918){{sfn, Thomas, Wegmann, 1993, p=292 * Knight's Cross, 2nd class of the

Friedrich Order The Friedrich Order (german: Friedrichs-Orden or ''Friedrichsorden'') was an order of merit of the German Kingdom of Württemberg. It was instituted on 1 January 1830 by the second king of Württemberg, Wilhelm I in remembrance of his father, Kin ...

with Swords (18 July 1918){{sfn, Thomas, Wegmann, 1993, p=292 *

Hanseatic Cross The Hanseatic Cross (German: ''Hanseatenkreuz'') was a military decoration of the three Hanseatic city-states of Bremen, Hamburg and Lübeck, who were members of the German Empire during World War I. Each republic established its own version of ...

of Hamburg (18 October 1918){{sfn, Thomas, Wegmann, 1993, p=292 *

The Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 The Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 (german: Das Ehrenkreuz des Weltkrieges 1914/1918), commonly, but incorrectly, known as the Hindenburg Cross or the German WWI Service Cross was established by Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, Presiden ...

(20 December 1934){{sfn, Thomas, Wegmann, 1993, p=292 *

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 ...

2nd Class (2 October 1936){{sfn, Thomas, Wegmann, 1993, p=292 *

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 (15 June 1940) & 1st Class (17 June 1940){{sfn, Thomas, Wegmann, 1993, p=292 *

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 29 September 1941 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 Infanterie-Regiment 529{{sfn, Scherzer, 2007, p=254

References

Explanatory notes

{{notes , notes = {{efn , name = date , Burgdorf apparently committed suicide after midnight on 2 May, although some other sources state it occurred before midnight on 1 May. See {{harvnb, Kershaw, 2008, p=960, {{harvnb, Beevor, 2002, p=387.

Citations

{{reflist

Bibliography

{{Refbegin * {{cite book , title = Berlin: The Downfall 1945 , last = Beevor , first = Antony , author-link = Antony Beevor , year = 2002 , publisher = Viking-Penguin Books , location = London , isbn = 978-0-670-03041-5 * {{cite book , last = von Boeselager , first = Philipp Freiherr , author-link = Philipp von Boeselager , title = Valkyrie: The Story of the Plot to Kill Hitler by its Last Member , year = 2009 , publisher = Vintage , isbn = 0-307-45497-5 * {{cite book , last = Bullock , first = Alan , author-link = Alan Bullock , title = Hitler: A Study in Tyranny , publisher = Penguin , year = 1962 , isbn = 0-14-013564-2 * {{cite book , last = Evans , first = Richard J. , author-link = Richard J. Evans , title =

The Third Reich at War ''The Third Reich'' Trilogy is a series of three narrative history books by British historian Richard J. Evans, covering the rise and collapse of Nazi Germany in detail, with a focus on the internal politics and the decision-making process. The th ...

, publisher = Penguin , location = New York , date = 2009 , isbn = 978-0-14-101548-4 * {{cite book , last = Fellgiebel , first = Walther-Peer , author-link = Walther-Peer Fellgiebel , year = 2000 , orig-year = 1986 , title = Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile , trans-title=The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches , language = de , location = Friedberg, Germany , publisher = Podzun-Pallas , isbn=978-3-7909-0284-6 * {{cite book , last = Fest , first = Joachim , year = 2004 , orig-year = 2002 , title = Inside Hitler's Bunker: The Last Days of the Third Reich , publisher = Farrar, Straus and Giroux , location = New York , isbn = 978-0-374-13577-5 * {{cite book , last = Joachimsthaler , first = Anton , author-link = Anton Joachimsthaler , others = Trans. Helmut Bögler , title = The Last Days of Hitler: The Legends, the Evidence, the Truth , year = 1999 , orig-year = 1995 , publisher = Brockhampton Press , location = London , isbn = 978-1-86019-902-8 * {{cite book , last = Kershaw , first = Ian , author-link = Ian Kershaw , year = 2008 , title = Hitler: A Biography , publisher = W. W. Norton & Company , location = New York , isbn = 978-0-393-06757-6 * {{cite book , last = O'Donnell , first = James , title = The Bunker , year = 1978 , publisher = Houghton Mifflin , isbn = 978-0-395-25719-7 * {{cite book , last = Ryan , first = Cornelius , author-link = Cornelius Ryan , title = The Last Battle , year = 1966 , publisher = Collins , location = London , isbn = 0-00-613267-7 * {{Cite book , last = Scherzer , first = Veit , year = 2007 , title = Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives , trans-title=The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives , language = de , location = Jena, Germany , publisher = Scherzers Militaer-Verlag , isbn = 978-3-938845-17-2 * {{Cite book , last1 = Thomas , first1 = Franz , last2 = Wegmann , first2 = Günter , year = 1993 , title = Die Ritterkreuzträger der Deutschen Wehrmacht 1939–1945 Teil III: Infanterie Band 3: Br–Bu , trans-title=The Knight's Cross Bearers of the German Wehrmacht 1939–1945 Part III: Infantry Volume 3: Br–Bu , language = de , location = Osnabrück, Germany , publisher = Biblio-Verlag , isbn = 978-3-7648-1734-3 * {{cite book , last = Vinogradov , first = V. K. , title = Hitler's Death: Russia's Last Great Secret from the Files of the KGB , publisher = Chaucer Press , year = 2005 , isbn = 978-1-904449-13-3 , url-access = registration , url = https://archive.org/details/hitlersdeathruss0000vino {{Refend

External links

* {{Cite web, work= Der Spiegel , volume= 28 , year= 1978 , title= Der Kerl gehört gehängt!—Die deutschen Militärrichter im Zweiten Weltkrieg , url = http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-40606482.html , language=de , access-date=17 June 2015 {{Chiefs of the Heerespersonalamt {{Knight's Cross recipients of the 299th ID {{Final occupants of the Führerbunker {{Subject bar , portal1=Biography , portal2=Military of Germany , portal3=World War I , portal4=World War II {{Authority control {{DEFAULTSORT:Burgdorf, Wilhelm 1895 births 1945 deaths Critics of the Catholic Church People from Fürstenwalde People from the Province of Brandenburg German Army personnel of World War I Prussian Army personnel German Army generals of World War II Generals of Infantry (Wehrmacht) Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Suicides by firearm in Germany German Protestants Nazis who committed suicide in Germany Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class Adjutants of Adolf Hitler Reichswehr personnel 20th-century Freikorps personnel 1945 suicides Military personnel from Brandenburg