Franz Pöschl

Franz Pöschl (born November 2, 1917 in Munich , † January 25, 2011 in Hamburg ) was an officer in the Wehrmacht in World War II and lieutenant general in the Bundeswehr .

career

Wehrmacht

In 1936 he joined the 100 Mountain Infantry Regiment in Bad Reichenhall as an officer candidate , to which he belonged until 1944. From 1938 the regiment belonged to the 1st Mountain Division . In various positions he took part in the campaigns in Poland, Greece, Crete, Russia and Italy. As a lieutenant colonel in Finland in 1944 he took over the 143 Mountain Infantry Regiment, which was subordinate to the 6th Mountain Division .

On July 30, 1942 he was awarded the 3rd / - German Cross in Gold as first lieutenant and company commander and on February 23, 1944 as captain and battalion commander of the 1st / - the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in the Mountain Infantry Regiment 100 ( 5th Mountain -Division ). In addition, Pöschl wore the Iron Cross II and I Class, the Wound Badge in gold and the Army Honorary Leaf Clasp .

armed forces

After returning from captivity, he was trained as a police school officer from 1952 to 1955 and was responsible for civic education for the state police in Bavaria . From July 1955 to 1956 he was senior government councilor and head of the military department in the Bavarian State Chancellery and a member of the personnel appraisal committee for the new Bundeswehr .

On January 1, 1960, he joined the Bundeswehr . Initially deputy brigade commander, from July 1, 1961 to March 1965, he led the 23 Mountain Infantry Brigade in Bad Reichenhall. In March 1965 he was promoted to brigadier general. From 1966 to 1970 he was commander of the 1st Airborne Division in Bruchsal, where he cracked down on grinding methods. Pöschl was close to the SPD and was one of those officers still serving in the war who professed to support Inner Leadership and despised drill as an end in itself.

From October 1972 to March 1978 Pöschl was the commanding general of III. Corps of the Bundeswehr. As a three-star general in the Bundeswehr, he was awarded the Great Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1973 . Since Pöschl was one of the few SPD members in the Bundeswehr leadership, he was one of the confidants of Defense Minister Helmut Schmidt (SPD). Pöschl showed courage when he was the only general to denounce the nuclear strategy as it was pursued in the WINTEX 71 maneuver. He criticized the "insane and stupid form of military leadership" with determination and sharpness.

Before moving to a retirement home, he lived for many years on the Hintersee in Ramsau near Berchtesgaden , where he owned a house.

Publications

Franz Pöschl: male discipline - a goal of inner guidance ; Series of publications: Information for the troops: supplement; 1966.4

literature

Clemens Range : The generals and admirals of the Bundeswehr . Herford 1990
Andreas Düfel, Clemens Range: The knight's cross bearers in the Bundeswehr . 2nd Edition. Süderburg 2002
Franz Pöschl , in: Internationales Biographisches Archiv 22/1978 of May 22, 1978, in the Munzinger Archive ( beginning of article freely accessible)

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b Süddeutsche Zeitung of January 31, 2011, p. 6.
↑ ^a ^b ^c Veit Scherzer : Knight's Cross bearers 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. 599.
↑ Announcement of awards of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. In: Federal Gazette . Vol. 25, No. 190, October 9, 1973.
↑ Reference to SPD membership - John Zimmermann : Ulrich de Maizière: General der Bonner Republik, 1912-2006 . Oldenbourg Verlag, 2012 ISBN 978-3-486-71300-8 ; P. 191
↑ Detlef Bald : Politics of Responsibility. The example of Helmut Schmidt . The primacy of the political over the military 1965-1975. Aufbau-Verlag, Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-351-02674-5 , p. 183 .

personal data
SURNAME	Pöschl, Franz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German military, officer of the Wehrmacht and lieutenant general of the Bundeswehr
DATE OF BIRTH	November 2, 1917
PLACE OF BIRTH	Munich
DATE OF DEATH	January 25, 2011
Place of death	Hamburg

[ReferenceA-1] Süddeutsche Zeitung of January 31, 2011, p. 6.

[RKT-2] Veit Scherzer : Knight's Cross bearers 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. 599.

[3] Announcement of awards of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. In: Federal Gazette . Vol. 25, No. 190, October 9, 1973.

[4] Reference to SPD membership - John Zimmermann : Ulrich de Maizière: General der Bonner Republik, 1912-2006 . Oldenbourg Verlag, 2012 ISBN 978-3-486-71300-8 ; P. 191

[5] Detlef Bald : Politics of Responsibility. The example of Helmut Schmidt . The primacy of the political over the military 1965-1975. Aufbau-Verlag, Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-351-02674-5 , p. 183 .