Dietrich Willikens

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dietrich Willikens (left) saying goodbye to Karl Heinz Kurzak, March 1973

Dietrich Willikens (born September 10, 1915 in Braunschweig , † 2004 ) was a German officer in the Wehrmacht and most recently lieutenant general in the Bundeswehr .

Life

Dietrich Willikens served as a professional soldier and officer in the Wehrmacht since 1935, including as commander of Panzerjäger Department 19 of the 19th Panzer Division . On April 15, 1945 he received the German Cross in Gold as a major in the I. Department in Panzer Regiment 27 of the 19th Panzer Division.

After military service and imprisonment, he worked as an agricultural assistant. From 1949 to 1954 Willikens completed a degree in mechanical engineering . After two years as a Dipl.-Ing. at VW he joined the armed forces in 1956. There he worked u. a. as an instructor at the Munster Armored Force School and in 1959 moved to the Defense Technology Department of the Federal Ministry of Defense. From 1960 he was then head of Section 1 (Planning and Evaluation of Weapon Systems Land) for two years and then until 1966 Head of Subdivision T III (Defense Technology Land). In September 1963 he had been promoted to brigadier general. From 1967 he became deputy head of the defense technology department. From 1971 he served as Vice President and from 1972 to 1975 as President of the Federal Office for Defense Technology and Procurement (BWB) in Koblenz . In the Federal Office he played a key role in the development of the German Leopard 1 battle tank , the first German tank after World War II . At the end of September 1975 he was promoted to lieutenant general and then retired .

Willikens was honored with the Federal Cross of Merit on May 12, 1970 , and on March 10, 1975, he received the Grand Cross of Merit of the Federal Cross of Merit .

Willikens also headed Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe as federal managing director until October 1980 .

He was married to Gisela von Eicke from the end of 1954.

Fonts (selection)

  • Thoughts on tank development . In: Kampftruppe, 3, 1967, pp. 105-108.
  • The BWB in the armaments sector . In: Wehrtechnik, 1, 1972, pp. 5-10.
  • Defense technology country . In: Defense technology for defense, Bernard & Graefe, Koblenz, 1984, pp. 132-134.

literature

  • Reinhard Teuber: Bundeswehr 1955–1995 . Patzwall, 1996, pp. 14, 20, 26.

Web links

Commons : Dietrich Willikens  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Hans Friedrich von Ehrenkrook : Genealogical Handbook of the Princely Houses , Volume 15, Volume 112, CA Starke, 1997, p. 186. ( limited preview on Google Book Search ).
  2. ↑ a b c Documentation of the time . 1969, p. 22 ( google.de [accessed December 24, 2019]).
  3. ↑ a b Flight Revue . United Motor Publishers, 1972, p. 26 ( google.de [accessed December 24, 2019]).
  4. ^ Die Zeit : Report from Bonn from July 16, 1971, accessed on December 22, 2019.
  5. ^ Technica . Birkhäuser., 1972, p. 504 ( google.de [accessed December 24, 2019]).
  6. ↑ https://www.bundesarchiv.de/cocoon/barch/1121/z/z1961z/kap1_10/para2_101.html
  7. ↑ Clemens Range: The Generals and Admirals of the Bundeswehr . ES Mittler, 1990, ISBN 978-3-8132-0350-9 , pp. 265 ( google.de [accessed December 24, 2019]).
  8. ^ Wehrkunde: Organ of the Society for Wehrkunde . Verlag Europäische Wehrkunde, 1975, p. 540 ( google.de [accessed December 24, 2019]).
  9. ↑ Change in the federal management of the JUH. In: ZS-Magazin - magazine for civil protection, disaster control and self-protection, issue 10/1980 , p. 60.
  10. ^ Hans Friedrich von Ehrenkrook: Genealogical manual of the princely houses . CA Starke, 1997, ISBN 978-3-7980-0812-0 , pp. 186 ( google.de [accessed December 24, 2019]).
  11. ↑ Theodor Benecke, Günther Schöner: Defense technology for the defense: Bundeswehr and industry, 25 years partner for peace (1956-1981) . Bernard & Graefe, 1984, ISBN 978-3-7637-5266-9 , pp. 120 ff . ( google.de [accessed December 24, 2019]).
predecessor Office successor
Federal managing director of Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe
19xx – 1980 		Paul-Georg Kleffel
personal data
SURNAME Willikens, Dietrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Lieutenant General of the Bundeswehr and Federal Managing Director of Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe
DATE OF BIRTH September 10, 1915
PLACE OF BIRTH Braunschweig
DATE OF DEATH 2004