Erwin von Witzleben - Early years, First World War, Between the Wars, Second World War, Decorations, Notes about personal names
German field marshal, born in Wroc?aw, SW Poland (formerly Breslau, Germany). Appointed field marshal in 1940, before and during the Sudetenland crisis he was involved in plans to topple Hitler, and joined General Ludwig Beck in the military resistance movement (Kreisauer Kreis). Commander-in-chief on the Western Front (19412), he was dismissed from this position in 1942. He was envisaged as Oberbefehlshaber of the Wehrmacht should the attempt on Hitler's life (20 Jul 1944) be successful. He was sentenced to death by the Volksgerichtshof under Roland Freisler and hanged at Berlin-Plötzensee on 8 August 1944.
Job-Wilhelm Georg "Erwin" von Witzleben (born 4 December 1881 in Breslau;
Early years
Erwin von Witzleben came from a Thuringian family of officers.
First World War
At the beginning of the First World War, von Witzleben served as brigade adjutant in the 19th Reserve Infantry Brigade, before he rose to captain and company chief in the Reserve Infantry Regiment no. von Witzleben's unit fought at Verdun, in the Champagne Region, and in Flanders, among other places.
Between the Wars
In the Reichswehr, von Witzleben was taken on as a Company Chief.
In the Wehrmacht, von Witzleben was promoted to major-general on 1 February 1934 and moved to Potsdam as the new commander of the Third Infantry Division. He succeeded General Werner von Fritsch as Commander of Wehrkreis (Military District) III (Berlin).
Even as early as 1934, von Witzleben had taken up a position against the Nazi régime when he and Erich von Manstein, Wilhelm von Leeb and Gerd von Rundstedt demanded an inquiry into Kurt von Schleicher's and Ferdinand von Bredow's deaths after the Night of the Long Knives, after criticizing which, von Witzleben was forced into early retirement. His "retirement", however, did not last, as Hitler would later need von Witzleben upon the outbreak of war.
By 1938, von Witzleben belonged to the group of plotters around Colonel General Ludwig Beck, Generals Erich Höpner and Carl-Heinrich von Stülpnagel, and Defence Chief Wilhelm Canaris. von Witzleben's command, through the key Berlin Defence District, was to play a decisive rôle in the plan.
von Witzleben was likewise involved in Colonel-General Kurt Freiherr von Hammerstein-Equord's 1939 conspiracy plans. It was to be von Witzleben's job to shut down Party Headquarters, but this plan also fell through.
Meanwhile, in November 1938, von Witzleben was posted as commander-in-chief of Army Group 2 to Frankfurt (Oder).
Second World War
In September 1939, von Witzleben, now a colonel-general, assumed command over the First Army, stationed in the West. When Germany attacked France on 10 May 1940, von Witzleben's army belonged to Army Group C. For this, von Witzleben was decorated with the Knight's Cross, and on 19 July 1940, he was promoted to generalfeldmarschall.
In 1944, the conspirators around Claus Graf Schenk von Stauffenberg saw Erwin von Witzleben as the key man in their plans. Whereas Colonel-General Beck was foreseen as provisional head of state and Colonel-General Höpner as Commander of the Ersatzheer ("Reserve Army"), Generalfeldmarschall von Witzleben was to take over supreme command of the whole Wehrmacht as the highest German soldier. von Witzleben, however, was arrested on 20 July 1944 – the day of von Stauffenberg's attempt on Hitler's life at the Wolf's Lair in East Prussia – upon arriving at OKH-HQ (Oberkommando des Heeres Headquarters) in Berlin to assume command of the coup forces.
On 7 August 1944, von Witzleben was in the first group of accused conspirators to be brought before the Volksgerichtshof. The presiding judge was Roland Freisler, and that same day, he sentenced von Witzleben to death for his part in the plot. Von Witzleben's closing words in court – addressed to Freisler – were:
Erwin von Witzleben was put to death that same day at Plötzensee Prison in Berlin.
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