Erich Hassenstein

Erich Hassenstein (born September 19, 1894 in Bromberg ; † May 2, 1945 in Passau ) was a German officer , most recently major general in World War II .

Life

Hassenstein joined the Braunschweig Infantry Regiment No. 92 of the Prussian Army as a volunteer on August 8, 1914, after the outbreak of the First World War . With this regiment he took part in the fighting on the western front part and disease was due on 4 December 1914 to 26 January 1915 in the hospital . Subsequently transferred to the replacement battalion, Hassenstein returned to the regiment at the front in mid-April 1915. On June 23, 1915 he was transferred to the infantry regiment "Keith" (1st Upper Silesian) No. 22 , which at that time was in trench warfare off Verdun . There Hassenstein was made ensign on September 2, 1915 , and promoted to lieutenant on December 22, 1915 . At the beginning of February 1916, Hassenstein fell ill again. After a month's stay in the hospital, he was first transferred to the replacement battalion and returned to the regiment on April 7, 1916 during the Battle of Verdun . Here he was used as a company commander and from mid-August 1916 worked for two and a half months as a gas protection officer with the staff of the 11th Reserve Division . At the end of the year, Hassenstein was assigned to the regimental staff. On August 22, 1917, he was appointed battalion adjutant. By the end of the war, Hassenstein had been appointed to represent the orderly officer at the regimental staff several times and was awarded both classes of the Iron Cross , the Hanseatic Cross of the City of Hamburg and the Brunswick War Merit Cross , 1st class.

After the armistice of Compiègne , Hassenstein returned home with the remains of his regiment. After demobilization , he joined the Voluntary Infantry Regiment 22, which had been in service with the Silesia Border Guard since February 9, 1919. With the formation of the Provisional Reichswehr , this association was merged into the Reichswehr Infantry Regiment 15 in June 1919. Hassenstein served here as a company commander from September 25, 1919 and was also adjutant of the 2nd Battalion. On October 1, 1920, he was transferred to the 4th Infantry Regiment , to which Hassenstein belonged during his entire service in the Reichswehr. During this time he was promoted to first lieutenant on April 1, 1925 , and to captain on October 1, 1929 .

As a major , Hassenstein was transferred to the Infantry School in Dresden on October 15, 1935 , where he worked as a teacher until August 25, 1939. In the meantime promoted to lieutenant colonel on August 1, 1938 , Hassenstein was then in the Fuehrer's reserve beyond the start of the Second World War and on October 24, 1939 was entrusted with the command of the 56th Infantry Replacement Regiment. From November 8th to 9th, 1939 he was again transferred to the Führerreserve, he was then commander of the III. Battalion of the 12th Infantry Regiment. Hassenstein took part in the western campaign and was appointed commander of the 12th Infantry Regiment after the surrender of France on September 20, 1940. In this position he took part in Operation Barbarossa , the attack on the Soviet Union from June 22, 1941, and was promoted to colonel on August 1, 1941 .

Hassenstein was released from his command on January 19, 1942, transferred to the Führerreserve and on January 29, 1942 was awarded the German Cross in Gold for his services in the troop leadership . From October 1, 1942 to January 1, 1943 he was then commander of the Infantry Replacement Regiment 524 and then commander of the school for officer candidates of the infantry in Dresden. He became major general on August 1, 1944. From then on, Hassenstein was director of the infantry schools for flag junior officers in Potsdam-Bornstedt. In the final phase of the Second World War he was supposed to defend the city of Passau with the remains of Wehrmacht units. He finally reached his command post on May 1, 1945, refusing to surrender the city to the advancing superior US units without a fight. As it quickly became apparent that the defense project was doomed to failure and that most of the Wehrmacht, Volkssturm and HJ members surrendered without a fight, he shot himself in the Neuburg Forest near Passau on May 2, 1945.

literature

• Dermot Bradley (ed.), Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Markus Brockmann: 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 5: v. Haack-Hitzfeld. Biblio Publishing House. Osnabrück 1999. ISBN 3-7648-1700-3 . Pp. 173-175.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Reichswehr Ministry (Ed.): Ranking list of the German Reichsheeres. ES Mittler & Sohn . Berlin 1924. p. 179.
2. ^ The German Army 1939. Structure, locations, staffing and list of all officers on 3.1.1939. Podzun Publishing House. Bad Nauheim 1953. p. 796.
3. ↑ Klaus D. Patzwall , Veit Scherzer : The German Cross 1941-1945. History and owner. Volume II. Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall, Norderstedt 2001, ISBN 3-931533-45-X , p. 168.
4. ↑ Christoph Wagner: Development, rule and fall of the National Socialist movement in Passau from 1920 to 1945 . Frank & Timme GmbH, 2007, ISBN 978-3-86596-117-4 , p. 425 (accessed November 13, 2014).