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Friedrich Hossbach | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Hossbach in 1934 | |
| Born | (1894-11-22)22 November 1894 |
| Died | 10 September 1980(1980-09-10) (aged 85) |
| Allegiance | German Empire Weimar Republic Nazi Germany |
| Branch | German Army |
| Years of service | 1913–1945 |
| Rank | General der Infanterie |
| Commands | 82nd Infantry Division LVI Panzer Corps 4th Army |
| Battles / wars | World War I World War II |
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves |
Friedrich Hossbach (22 November 1894 – 10 September 1980) was a German staff officer in theWehrmacht who in 1937 was themilitary adjutant toAdolf Hitler. Hossbach created the document that later became known as theHossbach Memorandum.
Hossbach created the document that later became known as theHossbach Memorandum, a report of a meeting held on 5 November 1937 between Hitler and FeldmarschallWerner von Blomberg, GeneralWerner von Fritsch, AdmiralErich Raeder, GeneraloberstHermann Göring, BaronKonstantin von Neurath and Hossbach. The account of Hossbach was found among the Nuremberg papers, where it was an important piece of evidence.[1]
In early 1938, Hossbach was present when Hitler was presented by Goering with a file purporting to show that General von Fritsch, the commander-in-chief of the Army, was guilty ofhomosexual practices. In defiance of Hitler's orders, Hossbach took the file to Fritsch to warn him of the accusations that he was about to face. Fritsch gave his word as an officer that the charges were untrue, and Hossbach passed that message back to Hitler. That did not, as it might have, cost Hossbach his life, but he was dismissed from his post as Hitler's adjutant two days later.[2]
Hossbach was restored to the general staff in 1939 and promoted to major general on 1 March 1942. Exactly five months later, he was promoted again to lieutenant general, and his last promotion occurred on 1 November 1943, when he became general of infantry and was given command of the 56th Panzer Corps. He spent the next two years on the Eastern Front. He took over as commander of the 4th Army on 28 January 1945 but was dismissed two days later for defying Hitler's orders and withdrawing his troops fromEast Prussia in fear of asecond Stalingrad.[3] While receiving medical care inGöttingen, Hossbach avoided being arrested by theGestapo by shooting at them until they left; the United States Army arrived an hour later, and allowed him to retain the weapon in case the Gestapo returned.[4]
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by GeneralmajorGerhard Berthold | Commander of31. Infanterie-Division 20 January 1942 – 24 February 1942 | Succeeded by GeneralleutnantKurt Pflieger |
| Preceded by GeneralleutnantJosef Lehmann | Commander of82. Infanterie-Division 1 April 1942 – 6 July 1942 | Succeeded by GeneralleutnantAlfred Bäntsch |
| Preceded by OberstHermann Flörke | Commander of31. Infanterie-Division 15 May 1943 – 2 August 1943 | Succeeded by OberstKurt Moehring |
| Preceded by General der PanzertruppeFerdinand Schaal | Commander ofLVI Panzer Corps 1 August 1943 – 14 November 1943 | Succeeded by General der InfanterieAnton Grasser |
| Preceded by General der InfanterieAnton Grasser | Commander ofLVI Panzer Corps 9 December 1943 – 14 June 1944 | Succeeded by General der InfanterieJohannes Block |
| Preceded by General der InfanterieKurt von Tippelskirch | Commander of4. Armee 18 July 1944 – 29 January 1945 | Succeeded by General der InfanterieFriedrich-Wilhelm Müller |
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