Paul Wilhelm Loehning

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Paul Wilhelm Loehning (born February 22, 1889 in Luxemburg , † July 24, 1971 in St. Blasien ) was a German military man . After leading positions in World War II , in 1945 he surrendered the city of Hanover to the advancing Americans without a fight .

Life

Paul Wilhelm Loehning was born in Luxembourg at the time of the German Empire as the son of a senior finance councilor and tax director. The young Loehning decided on a career as a professional soldier and in 1907 initially became an ensign in Infantry Regiment No. 150 , where he was promoted to lieutenant in 1908 . As such, he took part in the First World War, in which he was promoted to company commander in November 1914 and to captain in November 1917 .

During the Weimar Republic , Loehning was promoted to major in 1931 and major general until 1940 . During the German-Soviet War he received commands "in or near" Poltava in the Ukraine , for the Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Kharkov . Two days after his 54th birthday, however, on February 24, 1942, Loehning was transferred to the so-called “ Führerreserve ”.

In Hanover, Paul Wilhelm Loehning was appointed city ​​commander and finally combat commander on October 1, 1943 - at the same time the heaviest air raids on Hanover . Loehning described the mood of the city's population in the last months of the war as follows:

“The population was numb. She was not allowed to hear the news, and everything that could have given a clear picture of the situation was systematically withheld from her. The post office stopped working and there were no messages from relatives in the field . This uncertainty had a decisive influence on the attitude of the population. There was hardly anyone left to help. The only interest was in the food and accommodation , which was taken care of during the breaks between the bomb alarms . "

When the British 6th Airborne Division and the 2nd US Armored Division had reached the outskirts of Hameln on April 4, 1945 , the National Socialist Gauleiter Hartmann Lauterbacher read out an appeal over the wire radio to those who were still alive, but then on same day from Hanover in the resin fortress after Hahnenklee depose - taking with him several million Reemtsma - cigarettes . The next day, Lauterbacher's appeal appeared in print in the Hannoversche Zeitung under the heading "Lieber tot als Sklav " and with the threat:

"... Whoever is not with us or cowardly should raise a traitorous hand against our just cause, who raises white flags or surrenders without a fight, is death."

The next day Loehning moved his office from the Friederikenschlösschen to the so-called "Gauefehlsstand" on Schützenplatz, which was orphaned after the Gauleiter's escape . The last war dead in the city “were 23 young marines who took up position on April 7th on Harenberger Strasse and were apparently abandoned by their officers. The ammunition that was found on them consisted of blank cartridges . ”Finally, the mayor of Hanover , who had been provisionally elected on October 18, 1944 , Egon Bönner , Loehning“ convinced of the need for the city to be handed over to the Americans without a fight. ” During Loehning's last roll call on April 10, 1945 to the “Gauefehlsstabs”, “he gave the soldiers who had stood up to either surrender or move in the direction of Celle .” The Americans were able to occupy the city on the same day. As a result, the war for Hanover was over a few weeks before the death of Adolf Hitler and before the unconditional surrender of the Wehrmacht .

Paul Wilhelm Loehning died almost a quarter of a century later in St. Blasien.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Klaus Mlynek: Loehning ... (see literature)
  2. ↑ a b c Klaus Mlynek: Second World War. In: Stadtlexikon Hannover , pp. 694f.
  3. ^ Klaus Mlynek: The air war. In: History of the City of Hanover , Vol. 2, From the beginning of the 19th century to the present , ed. by Waldemar R. Röhrbein and Klaus Mlynek , Hanover: Schlütersche , 1994, ISBN 3-87706-364-0 , pp. 553-558; here: p. 557
  4. ↑ a b c Klaus Mlynek: The last days of the war. In: History of the City of Hanover ..., p. 567
  5. ↑ Klaus Mlynek: LOEHNING ... (see literature)
personal data
SURNAME Loehning, Paul Wilhelm
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German officer and major general in World War II and combat commander in Hanover
DATE OF BIRTH February 22, 1889
PLACE OF BIRTH Luxembourg City
DATE OF DEATH July 24, 1971
Place of death St. Blasien