Erich Dethleffsen
Encyclopedia
Erich Dethleffsen was a German
general
from Kiel
. He was married to a daughter of Nikolaus von Falkenhorst
, who planned the German invasion of Norway and Denmark
during World War II
.
Dethleffsen joined the Reichswehr
in 1923, and was promoted to the German General Staff
in 1937. He fought as a Captain in the Wehrmacht
on the Eastern Front
in World War II. Dethleffsen was wounded, and awarded with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
for his service. After his injury, he rose to the rank of Generalmajor, and served on the army General Staff in Adolf Hitler
's headquarters. Dethleffsen was arrested on 23 May 1945, and was held until March 1948 in an American Prisoner of War Camp. He was originally held in Luxembourg
with Hermann Göring
, Joachim von Ribbentrop
, and others.
1904 Aug 2: born in Kiel.
1923 Nov 1: entered army.
1925 Nov 1: als Freiwilliger in das Infanterie-Regt 8
1927 Dec 1: Leutnant (2nd Lt.), Infantry-Regt 1
1931 Jan 1: Oberleutnant (1st Lt.)
1931 Oct 1: Adjutant, des I. Bataillons, Inf-Regt 1
1934 Oct 1: Adjutant, II Bataillons, Inf-Regt Konigsberg
1935 May 1: Hauptmann (Captain).
1935 Oct 1: kommandiert zur Kriegsakademie.
1937 Aug 1; transferred to: zum Stab der Kommandantur Glogau versetzt.
1939 Apr 1: transferred to: unter Belassung in dieser Stellung in den Generalstab des Heeres.
1939 Aug 24: transferred to: Generalstab des Hoheren Kommandos z.b.V. XXXV.
1939 Dec 19: Gruppenlieter in der Herres-Ausbildungs-Abteilung des Genealstabs des Heeres.
1940 Oct 1: Major
1941 Feb 15: Ops general-staff officer (Ia) des LVI Armeekorps (motorized).
1942 Jan 10: (Ia) Ops general-staff officer in 330 Infanterie-Division.
1942 Feb 5: wounded in battle.
1942 Feb 6: transferred to Fuhrerreserve OKH.
1942 Apr 1: Oberstleutnant (Lt.Col.)
1942 May 1: awarded German Gold Cross.
1942 Aug 30: Taktiklehrer (tactical instructor) and Horsaalleiter bei den Generalstabs-Lhergangen der Kriegsakademie.
1943 Mar 1: Oberst (Col.)
1943 June 10: Chef des Generalstabs des XXXIX Panzerkorps; awarded Ritterkreuz.
1944 May 5: Chef des Generalstabs der 4 Armee.
1944 Nov 9: Generalmajor (Brigadier General)
1945 Feb 15: Fuhrerreserve OKH.
1945 Feb 18: ins Reserve-Lazarett Detmold eingeliefert.
1945 March 15: kommandiert zur Heeresgruppe Weichsel zur Einarbeitung als Divisions-Kommandeur beim Armeeoberkommano 9
1945 March 15: mit der Fuhrung der Divisionsgruppe "Raegener" beauftraft (Division Dethleffsen).
1945 March 23: Chef der Fuhrungsgruppe im OKW/Wehrmachtfuhrungsstab.
1945 Apr 30: Chef des Generalstabs der Heeresgruppe Weichsel.
1945 May 4: Chef der Heeres-Fuhrungsabteilung im Wehrmachtfuhrungsstab.
1945 May 23: became POW of British.
1948 March 31: retired; left POW camp.
On his release, Dethleffsen became executive secretary of the Wirtschaftspolitische Gesellschaft von 1947 (Society of 1947 for Economic Policy.) The society was used to spread pro-Western feeling in West Germany
. He spent much of his time giving speeches on various military subjects, including support for the European Defence Community
. During the mid-1950s, he was an important figure in the discussions on German rearmament (see: Searle's Wehrmacht Generals). He was unhappy with Western suggestions regarding the German army, and did not believe they understood the German situation. Dethleffsen was critical of the United States
, and is known to have said, "We are good enough for becoming American labor slaves."
Dethleffsen said of the German people after World War II, "The people are confronted with a political system that appears to them as an opaque, intangible, very mysteriously interlocking pluralism of bearers of political influence; puzzled and estranged they let it operate ... The esoteric games of the bearers of influence and power in a strange sphere, in which none of the participants can identify himself with the state or the people, does not induce the people to give up its cool and distant reserve."
Dethleffsen is known to have attended several meetings of the Bilderberg Group
.
He was the author of Das Wagnis der Freiheit (Tactical Mobility of Carriages) (1952); Soldatische Existenz morgen (1953); Der Artillerie gewidmet (1975); and Robert Martinek: General der Artillerie, Lebensbild eines Soldaten (1975).
Dethleffsen died in Munich
on 4 July 1980.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
general
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
from Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
. He was married to a daughter of Nikolaus von Falkenhorst
Nikolaus von Falkenhorst
Nikolaus von Falkenhorst was a German General who planned Operation Weserübung, the invasion of Denmark and Norway in 1940...
, who planned the German invasion of Norway and Denmark
Norwegian Campaign
The Norwegian Campaign was a military campaign that was fought in Norway during the Second World War between the Allies and Germany, after the latter's invasion of the country. In April 1940, the United Kingdom and France came to Norway's aid with an expeditionary force...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Dethleffsen joined the Reichswehr
Reichswehr
The Reichswehr formed the military organisation of Germany from 1919 until 1935, when it was renamed the Wehrmacht ....
in 1923, and was promoted to the German General Staff
German General Staff
The German General Staff was an institution whose rise and development gave the German armed forces a decided advantage over its adversaries. The Staff amounted to its best "weapon" for nearly a century and a half....
in 1937. He fought as a Captain in the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
on the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
in World War II. Dethleffsen was wounded, and awarded with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was a grade of the 1939 version of the 1813 created Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was the highest award of Germany to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during World War II...
for his service. After his injury, he rose to the rank of Generalmajor, and served on the army General Staff in Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
's headquarters. Dethleffsen was arrested on 23 May 1945, and was held until March 1948 in an American Prisoner of War Camp. He was originally held in Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
with Hermann Göring
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
, Joachim von Ribbentrop
Joachim von Ribbentrop
Ulrich Friedrich Wilhelm Joachim von Ribbentrop was Foreign Minister of Germany from 1938 until 1945. He was later hanged for war crimes after the Nuremberg Trials.-Early life:...
, and others.
1904 Aug 2: born in Kiel.
1923 Nov 1: entered army.
1925 Nov 1: als Freiwilliger in das Infanterie-Regt 8
1927 Dec 1: Leutnant (2nd Lt.), Infantry-Regt 1
1931 Jan 1: Oberleutnant (1st Lt.)
1931 Oct 1: Adjutant, des I. Bataillons, Inf-Regt 1
1934 Oct 1: Adjutant, II Bataillons, Inf-Regt Konigsberg
1935 May 1: Hauptmann (Captain).
1935 Oct 1: kommandiert zur Kriegsakademie.
1937 Aug 1; transferred to: zum Stab der Kommandantur Glogau versetzt.
1939 Apr 1: transferred to: unter Belassung in dieser Stellung in den Generalstab des Heeres.
1939 Aug 24: transferred to: Generalstab des Hoheren Kommandos z.b.V. XXXV.
1939 Dec 19: Gruppenlieter in der Herres-Ausbildungs-Abteilung des Genealstabs des Heeres.
1940 Oct 1: Major
1941 Feb 15: Ops general-staff officer (Ia) des LVI Armeekorps (motorized).
1942 Jan 10: (Ia) Ops general-staff officer in 330 Infanterie-Division.
1942 Feb 5: wounded in battle.
1942 Feb 6: transferred to Fuhrerreserve OKH.
1942 Apr 1: Oberstleutnant (Lt.Col.)
1942 May 1: awarded German Gold Cross.
1942 Aug 30: Taktiklehrer (tactical instructor) and Horsaalleiter bei den Generalstabs-Lhergangen der Kriegsakademie.
1943 Mar 1: Oberst (Col.)
1943 June 10: Chef des Generalstabs des XXXIX Panzerkorps; awarded Ritterkreuz.
1944 May 5: Chef des Generalstabs der 4 Armee.
1944 Nov 9: Generalmajor (Brigadier General)
1945 Feb 15: Fuhrerreserve OKH.
1945 Feb 18: ins Reserve-Lazarett Detmold eingeliefert.
1945 March 15: kommandiert zur Heeresgruppe Weichsel zur Einarbeitung als Divisions-Kommandeur beim Armeeoberkommano 9
1945 March 15: mit der Fuhrung der Divisionsgruppe "Raegener" beauftraft (Division Dethleffsen).
1945 March 23: Chef der Fuhrungsgruppe im OKW/Wehrmachtfuhrungsstab.
1945 Apr 30: Chef des Generalstabs der Heeresgruppe Weichsel.
1945 May 4: Chef der Heeres-Fuhrungsabteilung im Wehrmachtfuhrungsstab.
1945 May 23: became POW of British.
1948 March 31: retired; left POW camp.
On his release, Dethleffsen became executive secretary of the Wirtschaftspolitische Gesellschaft von 1947 (Society of 1947 for Economic Policy.) The society was used to spread pro-Western feeling in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
. He spent much of his time giving speeches on various military subjects, including support for the European Defence Community
European Defence Community
The European Defense Community was a plan proposed in 1950 by René Pleven, the French President of the Council , in response to the American call for the rearmament of West Germany...
. During the mid-1950s, he was an important figure in the discussions on German rearmament (see: Searle's Wehrmacht Generals). He was unhappy with Western suggestions regarding the German army, and did not believe they understood the German situation. Dethleffsen was critical of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and is known to have said, "We are good enough for becoming American labor slaves."
Dethleffsen said of the German people after World War II, "The people are confronted with a political system that appears to them as an opaque, intangible, very mysteriously interlocking pluralism of bearers of political influence; puzzled and estranged they let it operate ... The esoteric games of the bearers of influence and power in a strange sphere, in which none of the participants can identify himself with the state or the people, does not induce the people to give up its cool and distant reserve."
Dethleffsen is known to have attended several meetings of the Bilderberg Group
Bilderberg Group
The Bilderberg Group, Bilderberg conference, or Bilderberg Club is an annual, unofficial, invitation-only conference of approximately 120 to 140 guests from North America and Western Europe, most of whom are people of influence. About one-third are from government and politics, and two-thirds from...
.
He was the author of Das Wagnis der Freiheit (Tactical Mobility of Carriages) (1952); Soldatische Existenz morgen (1953); Der Artillerie gewidmet (1975); and Robert Martinek: General der Artillerie, Lebensbild eines Soldaten (1975).
Dethleffsen died in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
on 4 July 1980.