Hans-Joachim von Hopffgarten

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Hans-Joachim von Hopffgarten (born September 12, 1915 in Ohrdruf ; † October 9, 2000 ) was a major in the Wehrmacht and later a lieutenant general in the Bundeswehr . A report he wrote was what sparked the Spiegel affair in 1962.

Career

Hans-Joachim von Hopffgarten is the son of a civil servant and attended a grammar school. In April 1935 he joined the Wehrmacht as a flag junior , graduated from the Potsdam War School, the Wünsdorf Armored Troop School and spent two years at the Wünsdorf Army Sports School. From September 15, 1939 to October 1940, v. Hopffgarten company commander in motorcycle rifle battalion 1, then in motorcycle rifle battalion 61. At the beginning of December 1941 he was wounded and spent five months in a hospital. From October 1942, v. Hopffgarten held a two-month battalion leader course for fast troops in Paris, from December he was a tactics teacher for officers' courses at the school for fast troops in Groß-Glienicke. On October 15, 1943, he was transferred to the Führerreserve, and from April to October 1943 he completed a general staff course at the Hirschberg War Academy in Silesia. On November 1, 1944, he was promoted to major , transferred to the general staff and commanded to inspect the schools of the armored forces, only to be reassigned to the Führer Reserve eight weeks later. From February 1 to March 30, 1945, v. Hopffgarten as Ia in the staff of the Panzer Grenadier Division "Kurmark" . He then became an officer zbV. Commanded to the OKW / Wehrmacht command staff. In May 1945 he was taken prisoner by the British.

After his release from captivity in 1946, v. Hopffgarten initially worked as a team leader and journeyman carpenter, in 1950 he became a sports teacher in a club. From 1952 he worked for the Blank Office and on October 13, 1955, he joined the newly founded Bundeswehr as a major. Until September 1958 and from February 1, 1961 to September 30, 1964, he was employed in various management teams at the Federal Ministry of Defense - most recently as a speaker. In between he served as Chief of Staff in the 7th Panzer Division in Unna . From October 1, 1964, he led the 3 Panzer Brigade in Nienburg for two and a half years . He was promoted to brigadier general on August 25, 1966.

From May 1969 to April 1977 v. Hopffgarten Director of the Armed Forces Department and Deputy Commander of the Command Academy of the Bundeswehr in Hamburg. On May 1, 1969, he replaced Major General Frh. Freytag von Loringhoven as commander of the 5th Panzer Division in Oranienstein Castle in Diez, and two months later he was promoted to Major General . From September 1970 he served as deputy NATO commander of the allied armed forces "Baltic Sea Access", in October he was promoted to lieutenant general . At the end of September 1973 he retired. Lieutenant General Hans-Werner Mehlen took over his command . On December 22, 1973, he was awarded the Grand Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Rudolf Günter Huber: Gerd von Rundstedt. His life and work in the field of tension between social influences and personal positioning . Peter Lang Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2004, ISBN 3-631-51933-8 , p. Xi.
  2. ↑ On Hopffgarten's role in the Spiegel affair, see z. B. Rudolf Augstein : How the SPIEGEL Affair came about, DER SPIEGEL 33/1966, pp. 21–29
  3. ↑ Further reading
  4. ↑ a b c Dermot Bradley (Ed.): The military career paths of the generals and admirals of the Bundeswehr 1955–1997 , Vol. 2.2, ISBN 978-3-7648-2370-2 , pp. 436ff.
  5. ↑ a b See Munzinger archive
  6. ↑ Announcement of awards of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. In: Federal Gazette . Vol. 25, No. 85, May 8, 1973.
personal data
SURNAME Hopffgarten, Hans-Joachim von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German general
DATE OF BIRTH September 12, 1915
PLACE OF BIRTH Ohrdruf
DATE OF DEATH October 9, 2000