Friedrich Hochbaum

Friedrich Hochbaum (born August 7, 1894 in Magdeburg , † January 28, 1955 in POW camp 5110/48 Woikowo near Iwanowo , Soviet Union ) was a German infantry general in World War II .

Grave plaque in Cherntsy

Life

Hochbaum was the son of a Protestant pastor.

He joined on 24 May 1913 as an ensign in the Grenadier Regiment "King Friedrich Wilhelm II." (1st Silesian) no. 10 of the Prussian army in Swidnica one. As an ensign (since January 27, 1914) he was assigned to the Hanover War School from February 16, 1914 . When the First World War broke out , Hochbaum returned to his regular regiment and relocated to the western front . There he was promoted to lieutenant on August 10, 1914 . Wounded for the first time on November 1, 1914, Hochbaum, after his recovery, came to his regiment's replacement battalion on January 3, 1915 and returned to the front on February 9. From March 1, 1915, he was briefly employed as a company commander in the grenadier regiment "King Friedrich III." (2nd Silesian) No. 11 before he returned to his regiment in the same position. He was active as a battalion adjutant from March 2, 1916 and as a regimental adjutant from April 1, 1917. As such, he was wounded again on June 9, 1918. Three weeks later, Hochbaum was able to work again, initially joined the replacement battalion and was able to resume his work as regimental adjutant on July 29, 1918. For his work he was awarded both classes of the Iron Cross , the Knight's Cross II. Class of the Duke Saxony-Ernestine House Order with Swords and the Wound Badge in Black.

After the end of the war and return home, he was transferred to the Reichswehr Infantry Regiment 12, which was formed from parts of his old unit, on June 30, 1919. From August 9, 1919 to January 31, 1920, he served as an orderly officer with the staff of the Reichswehr Brigade 6, was then a company officer in the Reichswehr Infantry Regiment 12 and served in the 7th Infantry Regiment from January 1, 1921 . There Hochbaum was promoted to first lieutenant on May 1, 1924 and from October 1, 1926 as adjutant of III. Battalion used. At the same time as his promotion to captain , he was appointed chief of the 10th Company on February 1, 1929 . With the expansion of the Reichswehr and the division of his regiment on October 1, 1934, Hochbaum was transferred to the headquarters of the Schweidnitz infantry regiment created from it.

Shortly before the start of the Second World War, Hochbaum became an adjutant at the Deputy General Command of the II Army Corps , before taking over as commander of the 253 Infantry Regiment on July 26, 1940. On December 17, 1940, Hochbaum was Oberst , awarded the German Cross in Gold on April 25, 1942 , and from November 2 to December 31, 1942 was entrusted with the command of the 34th Infantry Division . With senior service from January 1, 1943, Hochbaum was appointed commander of the division, which he commanded until May 31, 1944 during the war against the Soviet Union . In the meantime he had been awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on August 22, 1943 (he received the oak leaves on June 4, 1944) and promoted to Lieutenant General on July 10, 1943 . Then he was in the reserve of the Führer and completed a course for commanding generals. On June 24, 1944, Hochbaum was with the leadership of the XVIII. Mountain Corps and appointed General of the Infantry on September 1, 1944, as Commanding General .

With the unconditional surrender of the Wehrmacht , Hochbaum became a prisoner of war in the Soviet Union , in which he died at the end of January 1955. He was buried in the general cemetery of the prisoner- of- war camp 5110/48 Woikowo in Tschernzy.

literature

• Dermot Bradley (Ed.): The Generals of the Army 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 6: Hochbaum – Klutmann. Biblio Verlag, Bissendorf 2002, ISBN 3-7648-2582-0 , pp. 3-4.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Reinhard Stumpf : The Wehrmacht Elite. Harald Boldt Verlag, Boppard am Rhein 1982, ISBN 3-7646-1815-9 , p. 264.
2. ↑ Reichswehr Ministry (Ed.): Ranking list of the German Reichsheeres. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1924, p. 177
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. 394.
4. ↑ Cherntsy German Soldiers Cementary, Ivanovo area. ( Memento of the original from March 19, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.