Hans Huettner

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Johann Elias "Hans" Hüttner (born November 19, 1885 in Hirschberglein , † September 11, 1956 in Hof (Saale) ) was a German major general in the Wehrmacht during World War II .

Life

The son of a factory worker was one of only seven workers' sons with the rank of general of 3,191 generals and admirals of the Wehrmacht and one of a total of 79 soldiers of the Wehrmacht who rose from the rank of NCO to general or admiral.

He joined the 19th Infantry Regiment of the Bavarian Army on October 23, 1905 . When the First World War broke out , Hüttner was a deputy sergeant and platoon leader in his regiment, with whom he was deployed on the Western Front . He was wounded there for the first time on October 4, 1914. On January 22nd, 1917, he was promoted to the position of deputy officer and on May 12th, 1918 because of "excellent bravery in the face of the enemy" he was promoted to lieutenant and appointed as a company commander. For his work during the war, Hüttner received both classes of the Iron Cross , the Silver Wound Badge , the Bavarian Military Merit Order IV. Class with Swords and the Austrian Golden Medal for Bravery

On October 1, 1918, Hüttner fell into British captivity , from which he was released after the armistice . He then joined the security company of the "Glaser" battalion in Erlangen , which was later reclassified as the 1st Battalion of the 47th Reichswehr Infantry Regiment. With that, he was also taken over by the Reichswehr . In 1925 he was promoted to captain and was company commander in the 21st (Bavarian) Infantry Regiment in Bayreuth until 1934 .

In the Wehrmacht, which was founded in 1935, Hüttner was the first major on site for the new Hof garrison. From May 1, 1935, he was in command of the supplementary battalion of the Bayreuth Infantry Regiment. Even after the Bayreuth Infantry Regiment was renamed Infantry Regiment 42, he remained in command of the supplementary battalion. The promotion to lieutenant colonel took place on April 1, 1939. On September 1, 1939, the beginning of the war, he was appointed commander of the 1st Battalion of the 480th Infantry Regiment of the 260th Infantry Division . From March 1, 1941, he led the 1st Battalion of Infantry Regiment 519 of the 296th Infantry Division . He was deployed on the Eastern Front until mid-1944. From August 1, 1941 to July 31, 1943 he was in command of the 520 Infantry Regiment of the 296th Infantry Division. As commander of the 520 Infantry Regiment, he received the German Cross in Gold and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross . His promotion to colonel took place on February 1, 1942. From August 15, 1943, he led the Association 709 of the Eastern Troops . From October 10, 1943 to December 10, 1943, he was in command of Association 741 of the Eastern Troops. Later he was in charge of the combat group 167 of the infantry division . The combat group was the remnants of the worn-out 167th Infantry Division. From July 1 to December 19, 1944 he was in command of Christiansand Fortress in Norway . On January 1, 1945, he was promoted to major general. From January 20, 1945 until the end of the war he was actually fortress commander of IJmuiden as a cover name but division commander of the 703rd Infantry Division in the Netherlands .

Hüttner received the Golden Wound Badge for six wounds. He lived in Hof / Saale until his death.

Memento of Hüttner in the Bundeswehr

On April 30, 1985, a barracks in Hof was named “General Hüttner Barracks”. The naming after the staunch National Socialist Hüttner first came under fire in the spring of 1994. Also, due to a short opinion of the Military History Research Institute which was property in Upper Franconia barracks renamed.

On July 8, 2013, the name change came into effect during a celebration with Federal Minister of the Interior Hans-Peter Friedrich . Parliamentary State Secretary Christian Schmidt in the Federal Ministry of Defense emphasized that the renaming should not be understood as a negative judgment against the general. Critics such as the Education and Science Union , on the other hand, had taken the view that naming the barracks after Hüttner was a violation of the traditional Bundeswehr decree as early as 1985 . The Federal Ministry of Defense emphasizes that people who “have made an outstanding contribution to freedom and justice through their entire work or an outstanding act” can give a barracks its name. The decisive factor is an exemplary impact of the (military) personality in the present. Today the Bundeswehr's Central Investigation Center for Technical Reconnaissance (CIR) is housed in it.

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 Publishing House. Bissendorf 2002. ISBN 3-7648-2582-0 . Pp. 202-203.
  • Walter Rosenwald : Major General Hans Hüttner 1885–1956. Biography of a Frankish-Bavarian soldier. Hoermann, Hof (Saale) 1991, ISBN 978-3-88267-038-7 .
  • Christian Hartmann : Wehrmacht in the Eastern War. Front and Military Hinterland 1941/42 (= sources and representations on contemporary history, Volume 75), R. Oldenbourg Verlag, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-486-58064-8 .
  • Wolfgang Keilig : The Generals of the Army 1939–1945 . Podzun-Pallas-Verlag, Friedberg 1983, ISBN 3-7909-0202-0 , p. 154.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Reinhard Stumpf : The Wehrmacht Elite Structure of rank and origin of the German generals and admirals 1933-1945. (Military history studies), Harald Boldt Verlag, Boppard am Rhein 1982, ISBN 3-7646-1815-9 , p. 270 ff.
  2. ^ Dirk Richhardt: Selection and training of young officers 1930–1945: On the social genesis of the German officer corps. Inaugural dissertation, Department of History and Cultural Studies, Philipps University of Marburg 2002, p. 49
  3. Reichswehr Ministry (Ed.): Ranking list of the German Reichsheeres. Mittler & Sohn Verlag , Berlin 1925, p. 162.
  4. 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. 409.
  5. Wolfgang Keilig: The Generals of the Army 1939-1945. Podzun-Pallas-Verlag, Friedberg 1983. p. 154.
  6. http://dipbt.bundestag.de/dip21/btd/17/062/1706202.pdf p. 7
  7. Süddeutsche Zeitung of February 28, 1994 ( Memento of the original of March 4, 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. (PDF; 1.8 MB) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bv-opfer-ns-militaerjustiz.de
  8. Joachim Dankbar: New name for Hofer Kaserne? The Hof barracks are evidently about to be renamed. Its namesake, Hans Hüttner, is considered a staunch Nazi. In: Frankenpost. December 1, 2012, accessed January 1, 2013 .
  9. ^ The Hof site becomes the Upper Franconian barracks. The only remaining Bundeswehr location in Upper Franconia in Hof will in future be called Upper Franconia Barracks. The city of Hof announced on Friday. In: Frankenpost. December 21, 2012, accessed January 1, 2013 .
  10. a b Bundeswehr barracks is renamed.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Bayerischer Rundfunk on July 8, 2013@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.br.de  
  11. Overview: How barracks get their name . Central editorial office of the Bundeswehr on September 16, 2013