Hans-Heinrich Klein

Hans-Heinrich Klein (* 4. February 1918 , † 11. December 1992 in Münster ) was a Major of the German Wehrmacht and later lieutenant general of the German Federal Armed Forces .

Life

After finishing school, Klein joined the Wehrmacht and completed his officer training on September 1, 1938, when he was promoted to lieutenant . During the Second World War he served in the 48th Infantry Regiment and was last promoted to major on November 1, 1944. After the establishment of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Bundeswehr, he became an Army officer . During his general staff training at the command academy of the Federal Armed Forces in Hamburg , he dealt with the "Göttingen speech" of December 15, 1965 by the Inspector of the Army , Lieutenant General Ulrich de Maizière , in which he dealt with the citizen in uniform .

On April 1, 1968, he became Colonel and successor to Brigadier General Hermann Büschleb as commander of Panzer Brigade 15 "Westerwald" in Koblenz and remained in this post until September 30, 1970, whereupon Colonel Günter Kießling became his successor on October 1, 1970. During this employment he was promoted to brigadier general and he also dealt with the new assessment system of the Bundeswehr.

Afterwards, Klein became the commander of the 11th Panzer Grenadier Division in Oldenburg as major general on October 1, 1970, and thus succeeded Major General Werner Ebeling , who retired on September 30, 1970. He held this post until September 30, 1974, before Major General Gottfried Ewert became his successor there on October 1, 1974. Most recently, Klein was promoted to Lieutenant General and on October 1, 1974, took over from Lieutenant General Hans Hinrichs as commanding general of the 1st Corps in Münster . He remained in this position until his retirement on March 1, 1978, whereupon Lieutenant General Ferdinand von Senger and Etterlin succeeded him as Commanding General on April 1. During his service as the commanding general, units of the corps were deployed in disaster operations in 1976 in storm surges in northern Germany and in 1975 and 1976 in forest and heather fires in Lower Saxony.

Klein, who lived in Münster, was involved in the Association for History and Archeology of Westphalia, Department of Münster , until his death in 1992 .

Background literature

• Clemens Range : The Generals and Admirals of the Bundeswehr , ES Mittler, Herford 1990, ISBN 3-8132-0350-6 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ European Security Issue 1/1993, p. 105.
2. ↑ List of officers 03.01.39 ( Memento of the original from August 26, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. in panzer-archiv.de 
3. ↑ Klein later informed de Maizière in a letter dated March 10, 1972 that this “Göttingen speech” was “the decisive aid in overcoming Picht's ominous thesis of the total irrationality of every possible war ” for him and other graduates of the Bundeswehr Leadership Academy which had spread considerable uncertainty, especially among the younger officers ”. In: John Zimmermann : Ulrich de Maizière: General der Bonner Republik, 1912-2006 , Verlag Oldenbourg Verlag, 2012, p. 290, ISBN 3-48671-300-0
4. ↑ Panzerbrigade 15 - Westerwald - in the German Digital Library (DDB)
5. ↑ BUNDESWEHR / EVALUATIONS: Crosses from the commander . In: Der Spiegel from April 20, 1970
6. ↑ 11th Panzer Grenadier Division in the DDB
7. ^ Helmut R. Hammerich, Dieter H. Kollmer, Martin Rink, Rudolf J. Schlaffer: Das Heer 1950 to 1970: conception, organization and installation , Verlag Oldenbourg Verlag, 2006, p. 724, ISBN 3-48671-187-3
8. ^ I. Corps in the DDB
9. ^ Association for the History and Archeology of Westphalia (report from the Münster department for the period from January 1 to December 31, 1993)