Carl Becker (officer)

Carl Becker (born January 16, 1895 in Varel ; † March 24, 1966 in Heidelberg ) was a German officer , most recently lieutenant general in World War II . Becker belonged to the generation of troop officers of the First World War, in which there was largely agreement with parts of the National Socialist ideology and who became an important pillar of the military system in the second half of the Second World War.

Life

Becker was born in Varel as the son of a doctor . After graduating from high school in Varel he joined at the start of the First World War on August 9, 1914 as a cadet in the Hunter Replacement Battalion. 10 of the Prussian army one. After his basic training, he was transferred to Reserve Jäger Battalion No. 10 on September 1, 1914, and was appointed ensign on February 10, 1915 . From March to April 1915 Becker completed an officer training course. Subsequently promoted to lieutenant on May 8, 1915 , he came at the same time as platoon leader in the Oldenburg Infantry Regiment 91 . In the following years Becker fought first on the Eastern and later on the Western Front , since October 1916 as a company commander . Becker was on duty as a front officer throughout the war, only interrupted by hospital stays due to injuries. In addition to both classes of the Iron Cross , Becker was also awarded the Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords. Because of his multiple severe wounds, he was also awarded the Wound Badge in gold. He experienced the end of the war in the hospital . Until mid-1919 he was used in the demobilization of his regiment.

He then moved to the Mecklenburg State Police in Stettin in October 1919 , where he was promoted to police major. On December 1, 1931 he became a member of the NSDAP local group Raben Steinfeld near Schwerin .

On October 15, 1934, he joined the Reichswehr as a captain . He served from October 15, 1935 as a company commander in the 37th Infantry Regiment and was promoted to major on November 1, 1935. From February 1, 1937 he was in command of the III. Battalion in the 37th Infantry Regiment. On August 1, he was appointed lieutenant colonel. From May 10, 1940 he was in command of the 18th Infantry Regiment in the 6th Infantry Division . On August 1, 1941, he was promoted to colonel.

He was awarded three times for his service as regimental commander in the Battle of Moscow . On September 29, 1941, he was included in the Army Honorary Journal . This was followed on October 4th by the Commander-in-Chief of the Army’s certificate of recognition for outstanding achievements on the battlefield, and on October 18th, 1941 by the German Cross in Gold. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded on October 29, 1942 for performance in the fighting in the Rzhev area . In February 1943 he was appointed Colonel Commander ( mdFb ) of the 253rd Infantry Division , succeeding Lieutenant General Otto Schellert . In April 1943 he was promoted to major general and officially took command of the division. He remained in command of the 253rd Infantry Division until the surrender in May 1945. Only from June 17 to 28, 1944, Major General Hans Junck took over command of the division as a substitute (m. D. F. b.).

In March 1943 Becker led the division in the " Buffalo Movement ", the controlled retreat from the area around Rzhev . South of Orel , the division was involved in heavy fighting against the overwhelming forces of the Red Army from the end of 1943 . Under Becker's command, the division was now engaged in uninterrupted fighting. On October 1, 1943, he was appointed lieutenant general and on April 14, 1945 he was awarded the Oak Leaves for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (829th award). On May 5, 1945, Becker was captured by the Red Army near Prague .

While in Soviet captivity, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison by a military court in a war crimes trial in Kalinin in 1945 . The reason given was his behavior as town commander of Rzhev from 1941 to 1942. He was released to West Germany in 1955 with the last German prisoners of war. His health was badly damaged from captivity and then lived in Heidelberg.

Carl Becker was mentioned twice personally in the Wehrmacht report. On October 24, 1943, the Wehrmacht report reported: "The XXXIX Panzer Corps under the command of Artillery General Martinek and the Rhenish-Westphalian 252nd Infantry Division under the leadership of Lieutenant General Becker made a special contribution to the defensive successes in the central section of the front ." On October 10, 1944 the message came: "The Rhenish-Westphalian 252nd Infantry Division under the leadership of the Knight's Cross, Lieutenant General Becker, fought excellently in the battle for the East Beskids ."

Becker as division commander

As a division commander, it became Becker's trademark to intervene personally in combat in critical combat situations. As an officer, he was the front-line fighter type who replaced the staff officer type in the infantry divisions from the end of 1942. As part of the “Winter Resistance” campaign, the Army Personnel Office transferred those generals “who are unlikely to be able to cope with the high demands of the Russian winter” to the Führer reserve or to posts in the reserve army . Like Becker, these new division commanders had seen the First World War mainly as front-line officers. Becker was in close contact with his soldiers and was nicknamed Corle. He was often referred to as Corle Becker in post-war reports. His predecessor Schellert, however, had mostly written appeals to his division. Becker showed personal presence among his soldiers. Becker had additional systems created for the division's normal status reports, which dealt with the level of training, equipment, nutrition and mood.

An assessment of December 31, 1942 emphasized that Becker was an "extremely capable regimental commander who possesses the heart of his men." His assessments of 1942 and 1944 also highlight his attitude towards National Socialism . The assessment from 1942 said that Becker showed "the great ideas of National Socialism and soldiery" and "knows how to transfer this ideological set of ideas to others" . In the assessment of March 14, 1944, it was stated that he was “permeated by National Socialist ideas.” Since 1942, the Wehrmacht had prescribed that assessments also included the National Socialist sentiments of the person assessed. Becker's assessments in this ideological respect went beyond the formulations customary at the time. In an assessment of Becker's predecessor Schellert, an assessment of January 15, 1943 still lacked any reference to his National Socialist sentiments.

14 of the 17 death sentences by the divisional court of the 253rd ID and all seven executions fell under Becker's command. Becker insisted vehemently on enforcement in all of his statements on death sentences, which he made in the course of the confirmation process. He used National Socialist terminology in his statements. He described the execution of death sentences as a means of disciplining soldiers.

In October 1943 two relatives of soldiers of the 253rd Infantry Division stood before the court of Division No. 526 for self-mutilation . Both shot each other on the Eastern Front and were transported to the hospital. The simultaneity and similarity of the wounds in the hospital was striking. The soldiers were then charged with self-mutilation. Since they were now in Reich territory, the court of Division No. 526 was responsible as a replacement part of the 253rd Infantry Division. Becker commented on this case as follows in a letter:

"I regret that a technical mistake made it possible to transport these two criminals backwards and thus to avoid trial and extermination in the field."

- Race : human material, p. 182

One soldier in the case was sentenced to death and later pardoned to 15 years in prison. The second soldier managed to escape to Switzerland. In February 1945, two soldiers were sentenced to death for community self-mutilation. Becker immediately confirmed the death sentences and ordered the execution. He had the execution announced in the division. Before 1945, death sentences from the Division Court for self-mutilation had been converted into lighter sentences by the Army Commander-in-Chief or the OKH.

literature

• Dermot Bradley (ed.), Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Markus Roevekamp: Die Generale des Heeres 1921–1945. The military careers of the generals, as well as the doctors, veterinarians, intendants, judges and ministerial officials with the rank of general. Volume 1: Abberger – Bitthorn. Biblio publishing house. Osnabrück 1993, ISBN 3-7648-2423-9 . Pp. 256-257.
• Christoph Rass: "Human material": German soldiers on the Eastern Front. Interior views of an infantry division 1939–1945. Schöningh Publishing House. 2003. ISBN 978-3506744869 ( online ).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Reinhard Stumpf: The Wehrmacht Elite. Structure of rank and origin of the German generals and admirals 1933-1945 . Boppard 1982, p. 286 .
2. ^ Reichskartei der NSDAP, Carl Becker, b. 16.01.2895, BA BL 31XX / B0007
3. ↑ ^{a b} Veit Scherzer : Knight's Cross bearer 1939–1945. The holders of the Iron Cross of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and armed forces allied with Germany according to the documents of the Federal Archives. 2nd Edition. Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, Ranis / Jena 2007, ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2 , p. 208.
4. ↑ Christoph Rass: Human material: German soldiers on the Eastern Front. Interior views of an infantry division 1939-1945 . Schöningh, Paderborn 2003, ISBN 3-506-74486-0 , p. 168, 210 ( Digitale-sammlungen.de ).
5. ↑ Christoph Rass: Human material. Paderborn 2003. pp. 210-211.
6. ↑ The reports of the High Command of the Wehrmacht . (5 volumes), Cologne 2004. Volume IV, p. 261.
7. ↑ The reports of the High Command of the Wehrmacht . (5 volumes), Cologne 2004. Volume V, p. 341.
8. ↑ Christoph Rass: Human material. Paderborn 2003. pp. 212-214.
9. ↑ Christoph Rass: Human material. Paderborn 2003. pp. 182-184.