Werner Schmitz (General)

Werner Schmitz (born May 21, 1921 in Duisburg , † October 1, 1977 in Bonn ) was a German officer, most recently lieutenant general in the Bundeswehr . Among other things, he was commander of the Air Force Officer School and the 2nd Air Force Division as well as Deputy Inspector of the Air Force .

Career

Wehrmacht

After graduating from a secondary school, he was drafted into the Reich Labor Service in 1939 . He then joined the Wehrmacht and was trained as an officer. In 1942 he was promoted to lieutenant . Most recently he was first lieutenant and in the Flak as battery chief. He was eventually taken prisoner by the French .

post war period

After the Second World War he worked as a teacher and director at the Berlitz Foreign Language School in Düsseldorf .

armed forces

Schmitz joined the Bundeswehr as a first lieutenant in 1956 . He was first used in the troops and as a lecture theater director, then he was from 1958 to 1960 for FlaRak training at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas as head of inspection. Among other things, he served in the 4th Air Force Division in Aurich and in the HQ Allied Air Forces Central Europe (AIRCENT) in Fontainebleau near Paris. From 1962 he took part in the 6th general staff course (L) at the command academy of the Bundeswehr (FüAkBw) in Hamburg. Schmitz took over general staff assignments in the 1960s. Among other things, he was adjutant to the inspector of the Air Force Lieutenant General Johannes Steinhoff . Later the Colonel i. G. Air Force Attaché at the German Embassy in Paris . There he received the Contour Cross of the National Order of Merit from the President of the French Republic.

From 1971 to 1973 Schmitz was Brigadier General in command of the Air Force Officer School (OSLw) in Neubiberg near Munich and from 1973 to 1975 as Major General Commander of the 2nd Air Force Division in Birkenfeld. In 1975/76 the lieutenant general was deputy inspector of the air force under lieutenant general Gerhard Limberg . In 1976, he took early retirement for health reasons. He died a year later from the long-term effects of being a prisoner of war (heart muscle damage).

family

Schmitz, a Protestant, was married and the father of two sons. His grandson is currently an active soldier in the Bundeswehr.

literature

• Federal Ministry of Defense (Ed.): Handbook of the Bundeswehr . Wehr & Wissen, Bonn u. a. 1972, no p.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Detlef Bald , Wilhelm Nolte, Hans-Heinrich Steyreiff (ed.): General staff training between society and the military. The annual work archive . Mittler, Herford u. a. 1991, ISBN 3-8132-0375-1 , p. 136.
2. ↑ 2nd Air Force Division, Introduction, BArch BL 7-2.