Fritz Thiele (Lieutenant General)

Fritz Thiele (born April 14, 1894 in Berlin , † September 4, 1944 in Berlin-Plötzensee ) was a German lieutenant general and resistance fighter against National Socialism .

Life

Thiele joined the Prussian Army in March 1914 and was initially trained as an intelligence officer. After participating in the First World War , he was taken over by the Reichswehr and published in 1925 as first lieutenant in the 6th (Prussian) news department, the book On the history of the news troops 1899-1924 .

He was appointed to the Reich Ministry of War in 1936. In 1940, Thiele was appointed head of the Wehrmacht News Relations Office Group (AgWNV) in the Wehrmacht High Command . During this time he got to know the chief of army intelligence, General Erich Fellgiebel, and his deputy, Colonel Kurt Hahn . On January 1, 1944, Thiele was promoted to lieutenant general.

All three were involved in the preparations for the Walküre company on July 20, 1944 . At around 1 p.m. Thiele was the first in the Bendler block to receive the news of the failure of the assassination attempt and Hitler's survival by telephone from Wolfsschanze through Fellgiebel and Hahn . Thiele then turned against the continuation of the coup attempt. After Fellgiebel was arrested on the same day, Thiele initially took over his duties in the news center at the Fuehrer's headquarters. He was arrested by the Gestapo on August 11, 1944, sentenced to death by the People's Court on August 21, 1944 , and executed in Plötzensee prison on September 4, 1944 .

Web links

• Short biography of the German Resistance Memorial Center