Wilhelm Burgdorf

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Wilhelm Burgdorf (born February 14, 1895 in Fürstenwalde ; † May 1, 1945 in Berlin ) was a German infantry general during World War II and chief adjutant of the Wehrmacht High Command with Hitler .

Life

Burgdorf entered on August 3, 1914 after the outbreak of World War I as a volunteer in the grenadier regiment "Prince Carl of Prussia" (2nd Brandenburg) No. 12 of the Prussian Army . He came to the front on September 25, 1914 and was promoted to lieutenant on April 18, 1915 . From 24 October to 23 June 1917, he served as Adjutant of the Fusilier - battalion and then was promoted to regimental adjutant.

After the end of the war and the demobilization of his regiment at home, Burgdorf worked in a volunteer corps from mid-February to mid-May 1919 before he was accepted into the provisional Reichswehr . With the formation of the Reichswehr on January 1, 1921, Burgdorf joined the 8th (Prussian) Infantry Regiment . He was initially a platoon leader there and was then promoted to lieutenant on June 1, 1925 and to captain on February 1, 1930 . From May 1940 to April 5, 1942, Burgdorf was in command of the 529 infantry regiment and was then transferred to the Führerreserve . From there he took over the post of Deputy Head of the Army Personnel Office at the Army High Command on May 1, 1942, as the successor to Major General Viktor Linnarz , until he was promoted to Head of Office on July 20, 1944 after the fatal wounding of his superior Rudolf Schmundt . From October 12, 1944, he was also chief adjutant of the Wehrmacht High Command with Hitler . Burgdorf held both positions until the end of his life.

On October 14, 1944, Burgdorf brought Field Marshal General Erwin Rommel, together with Lieutenant General Ernst Maisel, a personal request from Hitler to kill himself with poison in order to avoid a trial before the People's Court and the associated consequences of clan imprisonment for his family. Rommel was suspected of having knowledge of the July 20, 1944 assassination attempt on Hitler.

Burgdorf signed Hitler's political will on April 29, 1945 as a witness alongside Joseph Goebbels , Hans Krebs and Martin Bormann . Together with Hans Krebs he committed on 1 May 1945 in the bunker of the Reich Chancellery suicide , the two bodies were autopsied by Soviet soldiers.

Awards

Burgdorf received the following awards:

Representation in art

Wilhelm Burgdorf has been portrayed several times in films by the following actors:

literature

  • Dermot Bradley (ed.), Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Markus Rövekamp: The Generals of the Army 1921–1945. The military careers of the generals, as well as the doctors, veterinarians, intendants, judges and ministerial officials with the rank of general. Volume 2: Blanckensee-von Czettritz. Biblio-Verlag, Osnabrück 1993, ISBN 3-7648-2424-7 , pp. 374-375.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Anton Joachimsthaler (1999) [1995]. The Last Days of Hitler: The Legends, the Evidence, the Truth. Trans. Helmut Bögler. London: Brockhampton Press. ISBN 978-1-86019-902-8 , p. 286.
  2. ^ Klaus W. Tofahrn: The Third Reich and the Holocaust. Peter Lang, 2008, ISBN 3-631-57702-8 , p. 224 .
  3. ^ According to Rochus Misch: The Last Witness , Pendo Verlag, Munich / Zurich 2008, ISBN 978-3-86612-194-2 , pp. 231-232, the suicide was carried out with poison.
  4. ↑ Veit Scherzer : The knight's cross bearers. Documents. Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, Ranis / Jena 2006, ISBN 3-938845-09-0 , p. 28.
  5. ^ General Wilhelm Burgdorf (character) . IMDb .com. Retrieved April 24, 2013.
personal data
SURNAME Burgdorf, Wilhelm
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German infantry general and chief adjutant of the high command of the Wehrmacht to Adolf Hitler
DATE OF BIRTH February 14, 1895
PLACE OF BIRTH Fürstenwalde
DATE OF DEATH May 1, 1945
Place of death Berlin