Rastenburg

Wilhelm Keitel

Wilhelm Keitel

Wilhelm Keitel

Wilhelm Keitel, Army Field Marshal, born 22 September 1882 in Helmscherode, winner of the Iron Cross 1st Class in World War I, Chief of the Armed Forces High Command (OKW), winner of the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross, survived the bomb explosion during the 20 July 1944 attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler, convicted of crimes against peace, war crimes and crimes against humanity at Nürnberg, executed by hanging on 16 October 1946 at Nürnberg, autobiography In the Service of the Reich published after his death, said to Wilhelm Canaris:

“My dear Canaris, you may know something about military intelligence.  Being a sailor, you surely don’t propose to give us any lessons in strategic planning.”

Wilhelm Keitel2016-03-28T18:51:38-05:00

Heinz-Georg Lemm

Wartime photo of Heinz-Georg Lemm

Born on June 1, 1919 in Schwerin, Heinz-Georg Lemm was one of the most highly decorated soldiers in World War II Germany, winning the Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. His early career saw him assigned to the 12th Infantry Division, serving many positions in the 27th Infantry Regiment in Poland, France and Russia (including the encirclement at the Demjansk Pocket.)  In addition to these awards, Lemm won the Tank Destruction Badge, Close Combat Badge in Silver, Wound Badge in Silver and the German Cross in Gold. He ended the war as an oberst (the youngest in the German Army) and the commander of the 27th Fusilier Regiment, having fought with the unit against American forces in the Battle of the Bulge.

In a discussion with Major MacLean in 1991, Heinz Georg-Lemm stated that he was at Hitler’s headquarters at Rastenburg on July 20 to receive the Oak Leaves to his Knight’s Cross.  As the day was hot, the officers’ mess was moved from inside a building to outside under several trees.  Major Lemm sat down at a table and shortly after, another officer sat down beside him. It would turn out to be Oberst Claus von Stauffenberg, who engaged in small talk before leaving, telling Major Lemm that he had to get ready to brief Hitler.  The bomb in von Stauffenberg’s brief case later exploded near Hitler in the briefing room, and Lemm’s award ceremony was postponed until the following day.  But someone remembered that von Stauffenberg had conversed with Lemm and for several hours, interrogators asked Major Lemm what the two had discussed, before finally clearing him of any potential complicity in the assassination attempt.

Heinz-Georg Lemm was a prisoner of American forces for ten months, until 1946.  He was then transferred to Soviet control and confined to a Soviet prisoner of war camp until 1950, when he returned to Germany. In 1957, Heinz-Georg Lemm joined the post-war German Bundeswehr (Post-WWII German Army) and progressed to the rank of lieutenant general.  He commanded the 5th Panzer Division and the Troop Office of the Bundeswehr before retiring on September 30, 1979.  He then led the Association for Knight’s Cross Recipients.  General Lemm retired to the small village of Ruppichteroth, northeast of Bonn, to be closer to his old Army friend and fellow Knight’s Cross winner, Martin Steglich.  Heinz-Georg Lemm died on November 17, 1994.

Heinz-Georg Lemm2016-03-28T19:38:08-05:00

Walther-Peer Fellgiebel

Wartime photo of Walter Fellgiebel

The son of General Erich Fellgiebel, a major conspirator in the July 20 plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler at Rastenburg, Walther-Peer Fellgiebel was born on May 7, 1918 in Berlin-Charlottenburg.  Walther had his own distinguished military career.  He won the Iron Cross Second Class on July 13, 1940, during the French Campaign.  On July 30, 1941, Fellgiebel received the Iron Cross First Class and the Wound Badge in Black, for actions on the Russian Front with the 298th Artillery Regiment.  He would receive the Wound Badge in Silver, for additional wounds, on August 3, 1943.  An artilleryman, Walter Fellgiebel won the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross on September 7, 1943 as the battery commander of the 2nd Battery of the 935th Light Army Artillery Detachment.  Ten days later, Fellgiebel received the General Assault Badge.

The younger Fellgiebel was probably unaware of his father’s participation in the assassination plot, but was arrested on August 1, 1944.  He was released and promoted to major on November 9, 1944.  In February 1945, authorities arrested him again, but senior Army officers interceded on his behalf and he thus survived the war.

After the conflict, he served as the head of the Association of Knights Cross Recipients.  He later wrote Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes, 1939–1945: Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile (The Bearers of the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945: The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War, All Military Branches.)  Walther-Peer Fellgiebel died in Frankfurt am Main, Germany on October 14, 2001.

Erich Fellgiebel

Walther-Peer Fellgiebel2016-03-28T19:42:07-05:00

Dr. Fritz Todt, Minister of Armaments and creator of the German Autobahn

Dr. Fritz Todt

Dr. Fritz Todt, Minister of Armaments and creator of the German Autobahn Todt on the war (December 27, 1941), “It is a struggle in which the primitive people will prove superior.  They can endure everything, including the harshness of the climate.  We are too sensitive and are bound to be defeated.  In the end, victory will go to the Russians and the Japanese.”  Todt was killed on February 8, 1942 in an airplane crash at Hitler’s headquarters, near Rastenburg, East Prussia.

Dr. Fritz Todt, Minister of Armaments and creator of the German Autobahn2015-09-10T12:32:38-05:00
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