Heinrich Danckelmann

Heinrich Danckelmann (* 2. August 1887 in Hardehausen ; † 30th October 1947 in Belgrade ) was a German Luftwaffe General of the Air Force in World War II .

Life

Promotions

• June 14, 1906 Ensign
• January 27, 1907 Lieutenant
• December 24, 1914 First Lieutenant
• August 18, 1916 Rittmeister
• October 1, 1929 Major
• February 1, 1932 Lieutenant Colonel
• 1st May 1934 Colonel
• October 1, 1936 in character as Major General
• January 1, 1938 Major General
• 1st October 1939 Lieutenant General
• April 1, 1941 General of the Aviators

Early years and World War I

Danckelmann joined the Westphalian Dragoons Regiment No. 7 in Saarbrücken on October 2, 1905 as a flag junior and attended the Engers War School in 1906 . After his return and promotion to lieutenant , he was used as a squadron officer. In October 1913 he was transferred to Trier in the same position in the Jäger Regiment on Horseback No. 8 , where he remained until May 19, 1917 after the outbreak of the First World War . With this Danckelmann was in action on both the western and eastern fronts. On May 20, 1917, he moved, meanwhile Rittmeister , to the General Staff of the 89th Infantry Division , where he remained until mid-October 1917. Then Danckelmann served until August 21, 1918 in the General Staff of the 10th Reserve Division and until October 10, 1918 in the General Staff of Army Group Boehn . During the last months of the war, Danckelmann was employed in the General Staff of Army High Command 1 until mid-December 1918 . In addition to both classes of the Iron Cross , Danckelmann was awarded the Wound Badge in Black.

Interwar years

On December 19, 1918, Danckelmann was reassigned to the Jäger Regiment on Horses No. 8, where he remained until its demobilization in May 1919. Subsequently, from May 24, 1919 to May 15, 1920, he was deployed in the staff of the 32nd resolution staff. On the following day, Danckelmann was assigned to the 9th Cavalry Regiment of the Reichswehr , where he served as squadron chief until the end of May 1922 . The following year he served on the staff of Group Command 1 in Berlin . In July 1923, Danckelmann was posted to the Reichswehr Ministry , where he was posted until September 1924. Then he returned to Group Command 1. On April 8, 1925, he was given leave of absence from his function there for a longer stay in Czechoslovakia . It is not known what activities Danckelmann carried out during this time. After his return to Germany in January 1926, he was assigned to the staff of the 2nd Cavalry Division , in which Danckelmann remained until September 1932.

On October 1, 1932, Danckelmann was appointed commander of the 2nd (Prussian) Cavalry Regiment , which he led until the end of February 1934. In March 1934 he returned Danckelmann to the Reichswehr Ministry, where he was listed as an officer for special use (z. BV) until the end of September of the same year. On October 1, 1934, Danckelmann transferred to the Luftwaffe , which was being established , where he also had the status of an officer in the Reich Aviation Ministry until the end of September 1935 . BV held. On October 1, 1935, Danckelmann was appointed Higher Fliegerführer VIII in Breslau ; a function that he gave up in the same year in order to be employed as chief of staff in Luftkreis-Kommando III in Dresden . Danckelmann held this post until the end of March 1938. On April 1, 1938, he was promoted to commanding general and commander in Luftgau VIII ( Silesia and East Sudetenland ), whose fate he held until January 31, 1939. From February to April 1939 Danckelmann was called General z. BV (without command area) with the Reich Minister of Aviation.

Second World War

On May 1, 1939, Danckelmann was appointed military replacement inspector in Düsseldorf ; a function that he held until July 23, 1941. He was then posted to Serbia , where he was appointed military commander in Serbia on July 29, 1941 . During his time there, which ended on October 20, 1941, numerous war crimes were committed against the local civilian population. After his return to Germany, Danckelmann was listed as an officer for special use from October 20, 1941 to the end of February 1942. On February 28, 1942, he left the service, but was held for use in Luftgaukommando VI on the following day, March 1, 1942. During that time, however, he was no longer in command and on May 31, 1943, he finally resigned from the Wehrmacht.

On August 5, 1945, Danckelmann was arrested by the Allies and transferred to Yugoslavia as a war criminal . There he was charged and sentenced to death . The death sentence was posted on October 30, 1947 enforced .

literature

• Dermot Bradley (ed.), Karl Friedrich Hildebrand: The Generals of the German Air Force 1935-1945. Volume 1: Abernetty – von Gyldenfeldt. Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1990, ISBN 3-7648-1701-1 , pp. 180-181.