Rudolf Toussaint

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Rudolf Toussaint (born May 2, 1891 in Egglkofen ; † July 1, 1968 in Munich ) was a German officer , most recently a general of the infantry in World War II .

Life

After finishing his school career, Toussaint started his career as a professional soldier, joined the Bavarian Army in 1911 and served in the 18th Infantry Regiment "Prince Ludwig Ferdinand" . From 1914 to 1918 he took as an officer throughout the First World War some. After the end of the war he was accepted into the Reichswehr and promoted to captain in the 21st (Bavarian) Infantry Regiment on February 1, 1923 . In 1932 he was a captain in the Reichswehr Ministry in the "Foreign Armies" department (T3), where he was promoted to major . After the Reichswehr was transferred to the Wehrmacht , he was promoted to colonel in early April 1938 . In addition to French, he also spoke fluent Czech and Italian .

From November 1938 he was a military attaché at the German embassy in Prague and from the beginning of April 1939 to October 1941 military attaché at the German embassy in Belgrade . Then he was z. b. V. at the High Command of the Army (OKH) and from November 1941 Armed Forces Commander at the Reich Protector in Bohemia and Moravia . In September 1943 he was promoted to general of the infantry and at the same time appointed as the successor to Enno von Rintelen to the "German general in the headquarters of the Italian armed forces in Rome". After the armistice of Cassibile he was military commander in Italy (at the behest of Benito Mussolini after a few days in "Agent General of the German Wehrmacht Fascist in the Italian government" renamed). In July 1944, Toussaint again moved to Prague as a representative of the Wehrmacht and commander in the military district of Bohemia and Moravia . In 1945 he was also briefly the German city commandant of Prague.

Immediately after the armistice negotiations for the Prague uprising were concluded on the morning of May 8, 1945, he went to Pilsen as a US prisoner of war . In 1946 he was extradited to the Czechoslovak authorities and sentenced to life imprisonment for being responsible for the Lidice massacre and the destruction of the place on October 26, 1948. The sentence was later reduced to 25 years. In 1961 Toussaint was released and was transferred to the Federal Republic of Germany as part of an exchange with Czechoslovak agents with Ernst Hitzegrad and Richard Schmidt (1899–1977) . During his imprisonment, he said he created over 500 oil paintings for Czechoslovak authorities and ministries. Toussaint was - like other captured former Wehrmacht members and National Socialists - recruited by the Czechoslovak State Security Service in May 1955 in the hope of an early release for use abroad, but was not used.

Awards

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Edmund Glaise von Horstenau , Peter Broucek (ed.): A general in the twilight. The memories of Edmund Glaise von Horstenau. Volume 3. Böhlau Verlag. Vienna 1983. ISBN 3-205-08743-7 . P. 116f.
  2. ^ A b Jürgen Klöckler: Prevented archival theft in Italy. Theodor Mayer and the “Archive Protection” department at the military administration in Verona 1943–1945. In: Sources and research from Italian archives and libraries . Volume 86, 2006. pp. 502f. on-line
  3. ↑ https://www.archivesportaleurope.net/ead-display/-/ead/fp/DE-1958/fa/RH5322-41432
  4. ↑ “ Special Efforts” of the Federal Government 1962 to 1969. Release of prisoners, family reunification, exchange of agents, documents on Germany policy. Munich 2012. p. 39f.
  5. ↑ Personal details . In: Der Spiegel , issue 3/1962 of January 17, 1962. P. 60.
  6. ^ Jiří Bašta: German war criminals as foreign spies for the Czechoslovak secret service. In: Pavel Žáček (Ed.): Czechoslovakia 1945/48 to 1989. Studies on Communist Rule and Repression [published on behalf of the Federal Foundation for the Study of the SED Dictatorship, Berlin and the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes, Prague]. Leipzig University Publishing House. Leipzig 2008. ISBN 978-3-86583-264-1 . P. 189.
  7. ↑ a b c Ranking list of the German Imperial Army. Ed .: Reichswehr Ministry . Mittler & Sohn publishing house . Berlin 1924. p. 161.
personal data
SURNAME Toussaint, Rudolf
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German officer, most recently general of the infantry
DATE OF BIRTH May 2, 1891
PLACE OF BIRTH Egglkofen
DATE OF DEATH July 1, 1968
Place of death Munich