Heinrich Trettner
Encyclopedia
Heinrich "Heinz" Trettner (19 September 1907 – 18 September 2006) was a German general serving during World War II and from 1964 to 1966 Inspector General of the Bundeswehr. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. He was the last living general of the Wehrmacht
.
and served as adjutant
and IIa to Generalmajor Hugo Sperrle
and Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen during the Spanish Civil War
. On 2 October 1937 he was made Staffelkapitän
of 1./K 88.
in April 1948 and worked initially for the Diözesan-Caritasverband
. He completed his merchant
apprenticeship
with "Vaupel Sohn", a glass retailer Düsseldorf
, in May 1949. He then enrolled at the University of Bonn
and studied Economics and Jurisprudence
, and received his diploma in Economics in 1956.
Immediately after he received his diploma Heinrich Trettner then joined the Bundeswehr
. He was then transferred to the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
SHAPE in Paris serving as commander of the logistics department until 15 September 1959.
As Inspector General, Trettner apparently had a poor relationship with Karl Gumbel, the civilian Deputy Minister of Defence
, and objected to taking orders from a civil servant, Gumbel, in the absence of the Minister. He was also opposed to a ruling by the Minister, in the face of a court order, that members of the military could join a union. These factors led to his resignation, which nearly coincided with that of Werner Panitzki, the chief of staff of the Luftwaffe
.
Heinrich Trettner died one day before his 99th birthday. He was the last living general of the Wehrmacht
.
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...
. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. He was the last living general of 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:...
.
Spanish Civil War
After completing the third course at the 2nd Luftkriegsschule (Air Warfare School) in Berlin, Trettner joined the Condor LegionCondor Legion
The Condor Legion was a unit composed of volunteers from the German Air Force and from the German Army which served with the Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War of July 1936 to March 1939. The Condor Legion developed methods of terror bombing which were used widely in the Second World War...
and served as adjutant
Adjutant
Adjutant is a military rank or appointment. In some armies, including most English-speaking ones, it is an officer who assists a more senior officer, while in other armies, especially Francophone ones, it is an NCO , normally corresponding roughly to a Staff Sergeant or Warrant Officer.An Adjutant...
and IIa to Generalmajor Hugo Sperrle
Hugo Sperrle
Hugo Sperrle was a German field marshal of the Luftwaffe during World War II. His forces were deployed solely on the Western Front and the Mediterranean throughout the war...
and Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen during the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
. On 2 October 1937 he was made Staffelkapitän
Staffelkapitän
Staffelkapitän is a position in flying units of the German Luftwaffe that is the equivalent of RAF/USAF Squadron Commander. Usually today a Staffelkapitän is of Oberstleutnant or Major rank....
of 1./K 88.
Second World War
At the start of the war Trettner was serving as Staff Officer, Operations (Ia) in the Staff of the 7th Fliegerdivision until 14 June 1939. At the same time Trettner was assigned as an advisor with the Fallschirmjäger Inspectorate from 1 January 1939 to 14 December 1940. During the Polish and French campaigns he served as the Chief Of Operations in the Staff of the 7th Fliegerdivision until 14 December 1940. He was later appointed Chief Of Operations in the Staff of the XI. Fliegercorps (15 December 1940 to 6 April 1942), taking part in the airborne operation on Crete. For this he was promoted to Chief of Staff of the XI. Fliegercorps, but on 4 October 1943 was reassigned to head formation and become Commanding Officer of the 4th Fallschirmjäger-Division, a command he held until 3 May 1945 when he was taken prisoner by US troops. He was later transferred to the British Army POW camp in UK, and remained incarcerated until 12 April 1948.Post World War II
Heinrich Trettner was released as a prisoner of warPrisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
in April 1948 and worked initially for the Diözesan-Caritasverband
Caritas (charity)
Caritas Internationalis is a confederate of 164 Roman Catholic relief, development and social service organisations operating in over 200 countries and territories worldwide....
. He completed his merchant
Merchant
A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
apprenticeship
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
with "Vaupel Sohn", a glass retailer Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
, in May 1949. He then enrolled at the University of Bonn
University of Bonn
The University of Bonn is a public research university located in Bonn, Germany. Founded in its present form in 1818, as the linear successor of earlier academic institutions, the University of Bonn is today one of the leading universities in Germany. The University of Bonn offers a large number...
and studied Economics and Jurisprudence
Jurisprudence
Jurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. Scholars of jurisprudence, or legal theorists , hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems and of legal institutions...
, and received his diploma in Economics in 1956.
Immediately after he received his diploma Heinrich Trettner then joined the Bundeswehr
Bundeswehr
The Bundeswehr consists of the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities...
. He was then transferred to the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe is the central command of NATO military forces. It is located at Casteau, north of the Belgian city of Mons...
SHAPE in Paris serving as commander of the logistics department until 15 September 1959.
As Inspector General, Trettner apparently had a poor relationship with Karl Gumbel, the civilian Deputy Minister of Defence
Federal Ministry of Defence (Germany)
The Federal Ministry of Defence is a top-level federal agency, headed by the Federal Minister of Defence as a member of the Cabinet of Germany...
, and objected to taking orders from a civil servant, Gumbel, in the absence of the Minister. He was also opposed to a ruling by the Minister, in the face of a court order, that members of the military could join a union. These factors led to his resignation, which nearly coincided with that of Werner Panitzki, the chief of staff of the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
.
Heinrich Trettner died one day before his 99th birthday. He was the last living general of 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:...
.
Awards
- Cruz de Guerra de España (30 September 1938)
- Medalla de la CampañaMedalla de la CampañaThe Medal for the Campaign of 1936−1939 was a Spanish military decoration. The medal was awarded during the Spanish Civil War.-External links:*...
de España (1 December 1938) - Cuffband CreteCuff titleA cuff title is a form of insignia placed on the sleeve, near the cuff of German military and paramilitary uniforms, most commonly seen in the Second World War but also seen postwar....
- Spanish CrossSpanish CrossThe Spanish Cross was an award of Germany given to Germans who participated in the Spanish Civil War, fighting for Franco.- History :With the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, Germany sent the Condor Legion to give military aid to Francisco Franco's nationalist forces.On April 14, 1939, Germany...
in Gold (6 June 1939) - Wound BadgeWound BadgeWound Badge was a German military award for wounded or frost-bitten soldiers of Imperial German Army in World War I, the Reichswehr between the wars, and the Wehrmacht, SS and the auxiliary service organizations during the Second World War. After March 1943, due to the increasing number of Allied...
(1939) in Black (3 March 1944) - Iron CrossIron CrossThe Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
(1939)- 2nd Class (12 May 1940)
- 1st Class (12 May 1940)
- Combined Pilots-Observation BadgeCombined Pilots-Observation BadgeCombined Pilots-Observation Badge was a German military award instituted on 26 March 1936 by the Commander in Chief of the Luftwaffe Hermann Göring to commemorate soldiers or servicemen who had already been awarded the Pilot's badge or Observer badge...
in Gold with Diamonds - Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak LeavesKnight's Cross of the Iron CrossThe 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...
- Knight's Cross on 24 May 1940 as Major in the general staff and Ia (operations officer) of the 7. Flieger-Division
- 586th Oak Leaves on 17 September 1944 as Generalmajor and commander of the 4. Fallschirmjäger-Division
- Mentioned in the WehrmachtberichtWehrmachtberichtThe Wehrmachtbericht was a daily radio report on the Großdeutscher Rundfunk of Nazi Germany, published by the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht regarding the military situation on all fronts of World War II....
on 28 June 1944 - Legion of MeritLegion of MeritThe Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements...
(USA) (1 November 1964) - Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian OrderRoyal Victorian OrderThe Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
(Great Britain) (18 May 1965) - Grand Cross of the Order of George IOrder of George IThe Royal Order of George I is a defunct order of Greece.- History :The order was founded in 1915 by King Constantine I in honor of his father, George I. It was only the second Greek order to be created after the Order of the Redeemer in 1833, and remained the second senior award of the Greek...
(GreeceGreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
) (16 July 1965) - Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian RepublicOrder of Merit of the Italian RepublicThe Order of Merit of the Italian Republic was founded as the senior order of knighthood by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi in 1951...
(Grande Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) (ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
) (8 August 1965) - Grand Cross with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (18 January 1967)
- Grand Officier of the Légion d'honneurLégion d'honneurThe Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
(France) (31 December 1969)