Adolf Bruno Heinrich Ernst Heusinger (a.k.a. Adolf Horn while in Gehlen Org.; 4 August 1897 – 30 November 1982) was a German military officer whose career spanned the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

, the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

and

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

. He joined the

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

as a volunteer in 1915 and later became a professional soldier. He served as the Operations Chief within the general staff of the High Command of the German Army in the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

from 1938 to 1944. He was then appointed acting Chief of the General Staff for two weeks in 1944 following Kurt Zeitzler's resignation. That year, despite his presence in the conference room where the bomb detonated, Heusinger was accused of involvement in the 20 July plot to assassinate

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

, but was cleared by the People's Court. Heusinger was later appointed head of the military

cartography Cartography (; from , 'papyrus, sheet of paper, map'; and , 'write') is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an imagined reality) can ...

office when the war ended. Despite his extensive knowledge and participation in war crimes, he later became a

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

for

and served as

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple ani ...

of the West German military from 1957 to 1961 as well as Chairman of the NATO Military Committee from 1961 to 1964.

Early life and career

Heusinger was born in Holzminden, in the

Duchy of Brunswick The Duchy of Brunswick () was a historical German state that ceased to exist in 1918. Its capital city, capital was the city of Braunschweig, Brunswick (). It was established as the successor state of the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel ...

. He entered the Prussian Army in 1915 and became a in 1916. After the end of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

(1918), Heusinger returned from British captivity in Yorkshire in December 1919 and in 1920 joined the of the

. In 1931, Heusinger was assigned to the operations staff of the Troop Office () in the

Ministry of the Reichswehr The Ministry of the Reichswehr () was the defence ministry of Germany from 1919 to 1938 during the Weimar Republic and early Nazi Germany periods. It was responsible for the '' Reichswehr'' under the leadership of the Minister of Defence and base ...

. (The functioned as the German Army's covert General Staff; its existence circumvented the 1919

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace ...

, which had forbidden the institution.) In August 1937, Heusinger was assigned to the Operations Staff of the re-established Army ( OKH) General Staff of the . He served there, was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 20 March 1939 and to colonel on 1 August 1940. He continued to serve in the OKH Operations Staff, and on 15 October 1940 became OKH Operations Chief.

Second World War

With the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the German Army High Command (the OKH) assumed its wartime organisation. Heusinger accompanied the field staff and assisted in the planning of operations for the invasions of Poland,

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, and France and the Low Countries. He was promoted to colonel on 1 August 1940 and became chief of the ''Operationsabteilung'' in October 1940, which made him number three in the army's planning hierarchy, after the Chief of the General Staff, General Franz Halder, and the Deputy Chief of the General Staff/Chief Quartermaster, General

Friedrich Paulus Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Paulus (23 September 1890 – 1 February 1957) was a German ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (Field Marshal) during World War II who is best known for his surrender of the German 6th Army (Wehrmacht), 6th Army during the Battle ...

. After the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, the OKH became responsible primarily for planning operations in that theatre, and the Armed Forces High Command (''

Oberkommando der Wehrmacht The (; abbreviated OKW ː kaːˈveArmed Forces High Command) was the Command (military formation), supreme military command and control Staff (military), staff of Nazi Germany during World War II, that was directly subordinated to Adolf ...

'', or OKW) was responsible for other theatres. Halder was replaced as Chief of the General Staff in September 1942 by General Kurt Zeitzler. Heusinger remained chief of the ''Operationsabteilung'' and was promoted to

Generalleutnant () is the German-language 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 ...

on 1 January 1943. In June 1944, Zeitzler suffered a nervous breakdown and abandoned his post, and on 10 June, Heusinger temporarily assumed his office as Chief of the General Staff of the Army. In this capacity, he attended the meeting at Hitler's Wolf's Lair on 20 July 1944, and he was standing next to Hitler when the bomb exploded that had been planted by Claus von Stauffenberg. Heusinger was hospitalised for his injuries in the explosion, but was later arrested and interrogated by the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

to determine his role, if any, in the 20 July plot. Although there was evidence that Heusinger had contacts with many of the conspirators, like for all other high-ranking Nazi military leaders, there was no evidence to connect him to the plot, and he was released in October 1944. According to Heusinger's own autobiography, he published an essay ("Denkschrift"), which Hitler received very positively. Heusinger made available all information that he had on the conspirators who had plotted against the Führer. He reaffirmed that he had not participated in the assassination plot since he still felt an obligation to fulfil his duty as a soldier of the German Reich, despite his personal view that the war had been lost. After his release, he was placed into the Führerreserve, a reserve army of high-ranking German military leaders awaiting assignments, and was not assigned to another position until 25 March 1945, when he was made chief of armed forces mapping department (''Chef Wehrmacht-Kartenwesen''). He was later taken prisoner by the Western Allies in May 1945.

Postwar

An internee from 1945 to 1947, Heusinger testified during the

Nuremberg Trials #REDIRECT Nuremberg trials {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from move ...

. In 1950, he became an advisor on military matters to

Konrad Adenauer Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a German statesman and politician who served as the first Chancellor of Germany, chancellor of West Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the first leader of th ...

, the first Chancellor of West Germany. He served in the Blank Office '' Amt Blank'', the office headed by Theodor Blank, which became the West German Ministry of defence in 1955. With the establishment of the West Germany Armed Forces in 1955, Heusinger returned to military service. He was appointed a ''Generalleutnant'' (lieutenant general) on 12 November 1955, in the and chairman of the Military Leadership Council (''Militärischer Führungsrat''). In March 1957, he succeeded Hans Speidel as chief of the all-armed forces department (''Chef der Abteilung Gesamtstreitkräfte''). McNamara and German officer

Shortly thereafter, in June 1957, Heusinger was promoted to full general and named the first Inspector General of the Bundeswehr (''Generalinspekteur der Bundeswehr''), and he served in that capacity until March 1961. In April 1961, he was appointed Chairman of the NATO Military Committee in

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

, where he served until 1964 when he retired. He was, according to news reports, wanted by the Soviet Union in the early 1960s for

war crimes A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hos ...

committed in the occupied Soviet territories. During the war he "bore responsibility for the systematic killings of civilians in Belarus as part of antipartisan operations". The fact that he never faced prosecution was highlighted in Soviet publications such as '' Sovetskaia Belorussiia''. Heusinger died in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

on 30 November 1982, aged 85. According to documents released by the German Federal Intelligence Service in 2014, Heusinger may have been part of the Schnez-Truppe, a secret army that veterans of the ''Wehrmacht'' and ''

Waffen-SS The (; ) was the military branch, combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscr ...

'' sought to establish in the early 1950s in order to safeguard against a threat posed by East Germany.Wiegrefe, Klaus
''"Files Uncovered: Nazi veterans Created Illegal Army"''
Spiegel Online, 14 May 2014

Awards and decorations

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

(1914) 1st and 2nd Class *

Wound Badge The Wound Badge () was a German military decoration first promulgated by Wilhelm II, German Emperor on 3 March 1918, which was first awarded to soldiers of the Imperial German Army, German Army who were wounded during World War I. Between the worl ...

1918 in Black *

(1939) 1st and 2nd Class *

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), 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. While it was order of precedence, lower in preceden ...

* Princely Reuss Honour Cross 3rd Class with Swords * Princely Reuss Silver Merit Medal with Swords * War Merit Cross 2nd Class (Brunswick) * Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 (First World War service medal) * Wound Badge of 20 July 1944 in silver * War Merit Cross (1939), 1st and 2nd Class with Swords *

Wehrmacht Long Service Award The Wehrmacht Long Service Award () was a List of military decorations of the Third Reich, military service decoration of Nazi Germany issued for satisfactory completion of a number of years in military service. History On 16 March 1936, Adolf ...

, 2nd Class * Large Merit Cross of the Merit Order of the Federal Republic of Germany with Star and Sash * Commander of the United States Legion of Merit * Commander's Cross of the

Order of the Crown of Italy The Order of the Crown of Italy ( or OCI) was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate Italian unification, the unification of Italy in 1861. It was awarded in five degrees for ...

* Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Kingdom of Hungary * Order of the Cross of Liberty 1st Class with Swords (Finland)

References

Sources

External links

Biography on BMVg website
* http://www.dhm.de/lemo/html/biografien/HeusingerAdolf/
Adolf Heusinger - CIA
CIA's file on Heusinger, released under the Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act. The document shows that Heusinger initialled the Commissar Order and

Commando Order The Commando Order () was issued by the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, OKW, the high command of the Wehrmacht, German Armed Forces, on 18 October 1942. This order stated that all Allies of World War II, Allied commandos captured in Europe and Africa ...

, but, due to his cooperative attitude, no further action was taken. {{DEFAULTSORT:Heusinger, Adolf 1897 births 1982 deaths People from Holzminden Lieutenant generals of the Luftwaffe Bundeswehr generals Inspectors General of the Bundeswehr German Army personnel of World War I Commanders of the Legion of Merit Commander's Crosses with Star of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary (military) Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Liberty, 1st Class Recipients of the War Merit Cross NATO military personnel Himmerod meeting participants Generals of the German Army Military personnel from Lower Saxony Prisoners and detainees of Germany Schnez-Truppe personnel