Walter Scherff

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Walter Scherff (born November 1, 1898 in Cannstatt , † May 24, 1945 in Saalfelden , Austria) was a German army officer, most recently major general , who was commissioned to write the history of the Second World War .

Career

After various assignments, General Staff Officer Scherff was transferred to the Army High Command (OKH) in 1938 . In the course of mobilization in the summer of 1939, he was appointed head of the 7th (war science) department of the Army General Staff. In February 1941, Adolf Hitler had a war history department set up in the High Command of the Wehrmacht (OKW) under the direction of Scherff, because he wanted to prevent the officers of the General Staff from influencing the official military historiography of the war. The institution's task was to record Hitler's achievements as a general and to use them for propaganda purposes. In September 1941 he was promoted to Colonel d. G. promoted. His position, in particular vis-à-vis the OKH, was significantly strengthened by his appointment as "the leader's representative for military historiography". The text of the Führer Decree of May 17, 1942 reads:

“Just as the tremendous events of this war represent a unity, so its history must also be written according to uniform points of view. I have therefore entrusted Colonel dG Scherff with the basic presentation of the Greater German struggle for freedom, made him responsible for the corresponding orientation of the entire military literature and initially set him the goal of creating all the bases for this purpose. For this purpose, Colonel Scherff is authorized to use the military history institutions of the armed forces for cooperation and to gain insight into their tasks and working methods. He has to present to me the organizational requirements resulting from his task and to keep me informed about the progress of his work. Colonel Scherff, while retaining his position as head of the War History Department of the High Command of the Wehrmacht, has the title: High Command of the Wehrmacht. The Führer’s representative for military historiography . "

Through further decisions from June 1942, the position of the "representative" was specified in such a way that the following institutions / offices / functions were subordinated to him:

  • War history department of the High Command of the Wehrmacht (as before)
  • War History Department of the Army (OKH)
  • Head of the Army Archives (subordinate to OKH)
  • Head of the Army Libraries (subordinate to OKH)
  • Editor of the Military Scientific Review

The war science departments of the Navy and the Air Force were not subordinate to him, but they were obliged to cooperate due to the Fuehrer's decree. The Waffen-SS had a similar facility.

He wrote a number of essays or had them written (often on April 20, the Führer birthday ), the titles of which reveal how Scherff was able to implement the Führer decree (see writings).

In mid-1942, Scherff replaced Friedrich von Rabenau , the former Army Archives Director, who was critical of National Socialism . An objection by the Chief of Staff Halder was unsuccessful.

In 1943 Scherff was promoted to major general. Due to his extensive range of tasks, he was probably one of the best-informed people about the course of the war. As far as possible, he was present at all of Hitler's important meetings on the conduct of the war, including on July 20, 1944 at the Wolfsschanze headquarters in Rastenburg / East Prussia; he was seriously injured in the attack. Hitler visited Scherff at his sickbed.

People present at the assassination attempt on July 20, 1944 - Scherff = No. 14

At the beginning of 1945 parts of the archive were moved from Potsdam to Liegnitz . In order not to let the archives fall into the hands of the advancing Red Army , some of them were burned on January 25 at the direction of forced laborers. Storage options in the Berchtesgaden area were searched in vain for the remaining holdings . On April 25, 1945, Scherff, who had meanwhile traveled from Berlin, had the archive goods, including the stenographic minutes of Hitler's briefings, burned in Schönau . Scherff was then taken prisoner by the United States, where he committed suicide using a poison capsule.

Awards

Fonts

  • The unity of statesman and general. 1941, after a lecture given on February 4, 1941 at the University of Berlin by Professor Reinhard Höhn .
  • The military genius of the Führer as a prerequisite for the unification of Europe. 1941.
  • Experienced genius. (Collection of quotations). 1942.
  • The great test. 1942.
  • On the generalism of the Führer. 1942.
  • General by fate. 1943.

literature

  • Claus Grimm: Study of the War History Department of the Wehrmacht, 1941–1945. 1964 (manuscript).
  • Marianne Feuersenger: In the antechamber of power. Records from the Wehrmacht command and control headquarters 1940–1945. With a foreword by Kurt Sontheimer . 5th edition. F. A. Herbig Verlagbuchhandlung, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-7766-2119-2 .
  • Helmut Heiber , David M. Glantz : Hitler and his Generals: Military Conferences 1942–1945. Enigma Books, New York, NY 2004, ISBN 1-929631-28-6 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The following presentation is based on research in the Federal Archives (Freiburg Military Archives) in addition to the literature indicated. The book by Claus Grimm mentioned in the bibliography is available there as a manuscript; afterwards it was quoted.
  2. ↑ Martin Moll (Hrsg.): "Führer-Erasse" 1939–1945 : Edition of all handed-down directives from the areas of state, party, economy, occupation policy and military administration issued by Hitler during the Second World War and not printed in the Reichsgesetzblatt. Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 1997, pp. 251f., ISBN 3-515-06873-2 . Copy in the Federal Archives, Central Reichswehr and Wehrmacht Services / High Command of the Wehrmacht. RW 9.
  3. ↑ Brandenburg State Parliament: From War School to Parliament. Historical notes on the Am Havelblick building complex, 8 p. 13, accessed on May 5, 2012 (PDF file; 12.60 MB)
  4. ↑ Marianne Feuersenger: In the antechamber of power. P. 127.
  5. ^ Claus Grimm, manuscript, p. 154.
  6. ↑ Report on spiegel.de, accessed on May 5, 2012.
personal data
SURNAME Scherff, Walter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German officer and military historian
DATE OF BIRTH November 1, 1898
PLACE OF BIRTH Cannstatt
DATE OF DEATH May 24, 1945
Place of death Saalfelden at the Stone Sea