Kurt Erdmann (General)

Kurt Erdmann (born September 23, 1888 in Insterburg , † November 10, 1966 in Münster ) was a German officer , most recently major general of the army of the Wehrmacht and armaments inspector in World War II .

Life

Early years

Erdmann joined the 2nd Pomeranian Foot Artillery Regiment No. 15 of the Prussian Army on March 4, 1907 as a flagjunker . His promotion to ensign took place in this regiment in November 1907 and that to lieutenant in August 1908. In October 1912 he was transferred to the Lauenburg Foot Artillery Regiment No. 20 .

First World War

With the outbreak of the First World War , Erdmann came as adjutant to the Reserve Foot Artillery Regiment No. 20 and in mid-October 1914 in the same position as the artillery officer from the square (artillery director) of the conquered French fortress Lille . Erdmann was there from November 1914, meanwhile first lieutenant , leader of a fortress battery with French 120 mm loot cannons. From February to August 1915 he was employed as an adjutant in the foot artillery of the fortress Lille. In mid-August 1915, Erdmann became a battery leader in the Schleswig-Holstein foot artillery regiment No. 9 . In this regiment Erdman took part in the Battle of Verdun in February 1916 . In April 1916 he was promoted to captain , in March 1917 he was transferred to a staff position in the 217th Infantry Division . In June of the same year there was another transfer to the General Staff of the XXI. Army Corps . In October / November 1917 Erdmann served as a company and battalion commander as well as in the staff of the 8th Rhenish Infantry Regiment No. 70 . In January 1918 he was assigned to the 6th General Staff Course Sedan and at the end of February 1918 he was authorized to wear the General Staff uniform. Then he was transferred to the General Staff of the Army, with simultaneous transfer to the General Staff of the XXI. Army Corps . He stayed here after the end of the war and was transferred to the General Staff of the Gouvernement Graudenz on January 12, 1919 . Thereafter Erdmann was transferred back to his main regiment, the foot artillery regiment No. 20, on September 1, 1919.

Weimar Republic

From mid-September 1919 to January 1920, Erdmann served with the head of security in Greater Hamburg. On January 31, 1920 he was retired from military service and switched to the protective police in Hamburg the following day with the rank of police captain. On July 4, 1920 he joined the Escherich (Orgesch) organization . In this paramilitary unit under Georg Escherich , Franz Ritter von Epp and Ernst Röhm , Erdmann was the organizer in Schleswig-Holstein , Hamburg and Lübeck . After the Orgesch was banned, he switched to the private sector. There he was initially a trainee and later a sales representative for Klinke & Niemöller in Hamburg. From June 1922 to April 1927 he worked as a department manager at the Essener Kohlenkontor company in Essen . On May 1, 1927, Erdmann was hired as an economic officer at Military District Command VI, based in Bochum . He held this position until March 31, 1935. Erdmann was from October 1, 1933 to March 5, 1935 as captain L-officer in the state protection and was then promoted to major as an E-officer (supplementary officer ) . His seniority was dated July 1, 1933.

Wehrmacht

In April 1935 Erdmann became a district economic officer at the economic inspection in Münster . On April 26, 1935, he was initially charged with running the business as an economic inspector. In November 1936 he took over the office entirely. On April 1, 1937, in this position, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and reactivated as an active troop officer. From November 1939 he was employed as Armaments Inspector VI without interruption until the end of the war; from August 1943 he also acted as chief of the staff of the Ruhr staff . His main tasks included u. a. the quick restart of bomb-damaged industrial plants. Erdmann had far-reaching powers, and his decisions were of a ministerial nature. Erdmann was able to order the construction of a factory or its canning on site. From May 7, 1942, all armaments inspections were no longer subordinate to the Wehrmacht High Command , but to the Reich Ministry for Armaments and Ammunition under Albert Speer . As major general (since January 1, 1943) Erdmann was awarded the Knight's Cross of the War Merit Cross with Swords on June 24, 1944 . On April 15, 1945 he was taken prisoner of war , from which he was released on March 31, 1947.

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 3: Dahlmann - Fitzlaff. Biblio-Verlag, Bissendorf 1994, ISBN 3-7648-2443-3 , pp. 356-357.
• Klaus D. Patzwall : The Knight's Cross bearers of the War Merit Cross 1942–1945 , Patzwall 1984
• Wolfgang Keilig: The Generals of the Army , Podzun-Pallas 1983, ISBN 3-7909-0202-0 , p. 82.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Klaus D. Patzwall: The Knight's Cross Bearers of the War Merit Cross 1942–1945 , Patzwall 1984, p. 145.
2. ↑ Dieter E. Kilian: Adenauer's forgotten savior - Major Fritz Schliebusch , Miles-Verlag 2011, p. 177.