Otto Herfurth

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Otto Herfurth (born January 22, 1893 in Hasserode , † September 29, 1944 in Berlin-Plötzensee ) was a German officer , most recently major general .

Life

Herfurth came after the outbreak of the First World War as a cadet on 11 August 1914 in the third Lower Silesian Infantry Regiment. 50 a. There he was appointed ensign on May 8 and promoted to lieutenant on September 30, 1915 . Herfurth was used as a platoon leader . From November 1917 he was adjutant of the 1st Battalion of Infantry Regiment No. 403, before he was transferred to the replacement battalion of his main regiment on September 28, 1918.

After the war he was accepted into the Reichswehr and Herfurth was initially used in the Reichswehr Infantry Regiment 9. From October 1, 1920 to September 30, 1925, he was a member of the 8th (Prussian) Infantry Regiment and in the meantime became a first lieutenant on February 1, 1925 . Herfurth was with the headquarters of the Hammerstein military training area for two years and was transferred back. From October 1, 1929 to September 30, 1931, he completed his assistant leadership training with the staff of the 1st Division in Königsberg . Subsequently, he was transferred to the 2nd (Prussian) cavalry regiment and a year later was appointed company commander in the 15th infantry regiment .

During the Second World War , Herfurth was initially a department head in the Army High Command , before commanding the 117 Infantry Regiment from November 1940 to March 1943, from June 1, 1941 with the rank of colonel . The unit set up in Fallingbostel was subordinate to the 111th Infantry Division and was deployed with it on the Eastern Front . Herfurth was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on September 14, 1942, followed by promotion to major general on October 1, 1943 . From March 15, 1943 to May 30, 1944 he was employed as Chief of the General Staff of the Deputy General Command of the V Army Corps and the Commander in Military District V (Stuttgart) . From June 1, 1944 he was Chief of the General Staff of the Deputy General Command III. Army Corps and the Commander in Military District III (Berlin) .

After the assassination attempt on July 20, 1944 , Herfurth initially refused to pass on the conspirators' orders in the absence of his superior Joachim von Kortzfleisch . Between 6:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. he carried out the orders. Later in the evening he tried to undo this, but this did not save him from later arrest. On August 14th he was expelled from the Wehrmacht by the court of honor , so that the Reich Court Martial was no longer responsible for the conviction. On September 28 and 29, 1944, the hearing before the People's Court took place under its President Roland Freisler . On September 29th Otto Herfurth was sentenced to death and hanged in Plötzensee .

Awards

See also

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Lars-Broder Keil: Hans-Ulrich von Oertzen: Officer and resistance fighter. A picture of life in letters and memories. Lukas Verlag, Berlin 2005. ISBN 3-936872-49-X . P. 144 ff.
  2. ↑ Bengt von zur Mühlen (ed.): The defendants of July 20 before the People's Court , p. 160.
  3. ↑ Plötzensee Memorial
  4. ↑ a b c d Ranking list of the German Reichsheeres , Ed .: Reichswehrministerium , Mittler & Sohn Verlag , Berlin 1930, p. 151.
  5. ↑ 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. 140.
personal data
SURNAME Herfurth, Otto
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German officer, most recently major general in World War II and resistance fighter
DATE OF BIRTH January 22, 1893
PLACE OF BIRTH Hasserode
DATE OF DEATH September 29, 1944
Place of death Berlin