Wehrmacht Generals Who Became Bundeswehr Officers (& other ranks with dual service)

Discussion in 'Axis Units' started by Gerard, Aug 26, 2005.

  1. von Poop

    von Poop Adaministrator Admin

    I was sure we'd discussed that a while back but can't find the thread (you kpow the feeling ;) ) I thought it was on this one but apparently not.
    There was some denazification of the old awards in (I think) 1953 & you see quite a few Ritterkreuz's etc. with no Swastika dating from this time on the militaria market. - Not sure it would have been the best 'form' to wear them (depending on company and possible offence I suppose), but I feel sure we had some pictures somewhere of RKT's in NATO uniforms & wearing the decoration??
     
  2. James S

    James S Very Senior Member

    Otto Ketchmer another U-Boat ace who achieved high rank in the Bundesmarine.

    Von Poop
    There was some denazification of the old awards in (I think) 1953 & you see quite a few Ritterkreuz's etc. with no Swastika dating from this time on the militaria market.
    There was a range of post 1953 awards made and initially some were tooled / made out of existing stocks of spare parts which remained in stock after the end of the war so the first examples were of quite good quality.
    As parts became exhausted the quality of the post war awards went down and generally speaking they lack the finish of the wartime examples.
     
  3. Smudger Jnr

    Smudger Jnr Our Man in Berlin

    Brownag,

    Adolf Galland did not serve in the Post War Luftwaffe due to, as I recall, leaving the country by unknown means and working in South America.

    He was shunned by the Military authorities on his return and worked in the private sector.

    Regards

    Tom
     
  4. hoggene

    hoggene Member

    Former Generalleutnant of the Wehrmacht, Adolf Heusinger, succeeded Hans Speidel as chief of the Bundeswehr's armed force department {Chef der Abteilung Gesamtstreitkräfte) and became later Chairman of the NATO Military Committee in Washington D.C :huh:
    Adolf Heusinger - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    [​IMG]
     
    von Poop likes this.
  5. Za Rodinu

    Za Rodinu Hot air manufacturer

    Gen. Reinhard Gehlen, head of Fremde Heeres Ost became head of the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND)
     
  6. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    This is a very interesting thread........Just to diverse slightly did the same sort of thing happen to Japanese officers too after the war?
     
  7. hoggene

    hoggene Member

    von Poop likes this.
  8. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    [​IMG]

    He was quite well decorated:

    Hessische Tapferkeitsmedaille (14 October 1918)
    Panzer Badge in Silver (2. Class)
    German Cross in Gold (7 August 1943)
    Wound Badge in Black
    Iron Cross 2. and 1. class


    Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
    • Knight's Cross (1 January 1943)
    • 536. Oak Leaves (28 July 1944)
    • 142. Swords (17 April 1945)
    Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht
    (From Wikipedia)



    He didn't serve but he helped set up the Bundeswehr as a civilian after 1947.

    He won a Gold medal in the Berlin Olympics in 1936 and trained the Canadian horseriding team for the Tokyo Olympics in 1966.
     
  9. Smudger Jnr

    Smudger Jnr Our Man in Berlin

  10. Capt Bill

    Capt Bill wanderin off at a tangent

    Horst Niemach Generalmajor

    Horst Niemack (10 March 1909 – 7 April 1992) was a German general in the infantry, serving during World War II and in the Bundeswehr. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves and Swords was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

    Horst Niemack - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    History of the Panzer Füsilier Regiment Großdeutschland - Host Niemack Biography

    You can find his medals , decorations and uniforms here Stadt Celle

    His medal collection - including helping the W German equestrian olympic team
    [​IMG]
     
  11. Capt Bill

    Capt Bill wanderin off at a tangent

  12. Gerard

    Gerard Seelow/Prora

    Nice link Bill! Hmmmm, still not sure what happened to Walther Wenck post war. the search continues.....
     
  13. Oggie2620

    Oggie2620 Senior Member

    This is a very interesting thread........Just to diverse slightly did the same sort of thing happen to Japanese officers too after the war?

    Since everyone seems to be ignoring this perhaps you could start a new thread for this one Drew. :)
    Dee
     
  14. Capt Bill

    Capt Bill wanderin off at a tangent

    it is not possible to conquer and enemy, and rebuild anew

    the seeds of the new order - german, japanese, iraqi etc must come from their own people

    and to build a force from new, you need to utilise the command of old - but not all of the old guard would be suitable to work in the new
     
  15. Dog green 1

    Dog green 1 Member

    Will Fey, author of 'Armoured Battles of the Waffen SS' was an SS tank commander in a Tiger Abteilung during the war. He served in the Bundeswehr after the war although I don't know at what rank or branch of service.
     
  16. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Major i.G. Anton Donnhausser served in the Austrian Army, the Wehrmact and the Bundeswehr.

    Awarded Tank Assault Badge in Bronze, German Cross in Gold, Wound Badge in Silver, Close Combat Clasp in Bronze, Silver and Gold and Knights Cross.
     
  17. sol

    sol Very Senior Member

    Hmmmm, still not sure what happened to Walther Wenck post war. the search continues.....

    Christmas 1947 came Wenck back from captivity and took over in September 1948, a commercial assistant position at Schulte in Bochum, which was later taken over by Dr. C. Otto. In 1955 he took over the management.

    After establishment of the Bundeswehr, Wenck asked you to become the head of this army. He presented the following demands:

    * Chief Inspector but not

    * same rank as the civilian Secretary of State

    * Subordination of the human resources department for all soldiers who have only to follow his orders and instructions

    * no examination by a "staff review committee", at least not for himself

    * the immediate re-introduction of basic necessities such as soldierly "General manager relationship", "General Greeting duty" and

    * personnel changes

    These demands were not met and so was Lieutenant General Heusinger first General Inspector of the Bundeswehr. In 1960 Wenck retired from his company and became General Manager of Diehl in Nuremberg in the military technology and armaments. Wenck came in 1966 in a well-deserved retirement.

    Ritterkreuzträger Walther Wenck

    Translated from German by Google Translate so text probably isn't 100% correct.

    Also some info here

    Wehrmacht generals, West German ... - Google Books
     
  18. Rudolph

    Rudolph Junior Member

    No such knowledge of my father Hans Friedrich Wilhelm Rudolph who joined the Wehrmacht in 1932, no doubt to ensure acceptable living accommodation, food on the table and a pay packet as well. Doubt he even thought that in seven years time his expertise would be called upon when he joined up. Read about him and his family in my book written about life in Germany and during the occupation period up to 1954. Go to FAREWELL to HAMBURG by Dieter Rudolph
    and I wish you a good read. Just an afterthought, thanks for saving me from that madman Adolf.
     
  19. von Poop

    von Poop Adaministrator Admin

    This is a very interesting thread........Just to diverse slightly did the same sort of thing happen to Japanese officers too after the war?

    I know, it's Wiki, and my detailed knowledge of the Japanese Air Force could be written on a match-head, but this bloke appears to be a (the?) Pearl Harbor planner with substantial postwar Service:
    Minoru Genda - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    Genda's military career came to a halt with the Imperial Japanese Navy's dissolution after the war ended.
    Genda returned to active duty in 1954 as a member of the newly established Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF), eventually rising to the rank of general and later the chief of staff. He also test-flew the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star in the U.S. during this period.
    In late 1950s, Genda, as the JASDF's deputy chief of staff, was involved in the political turmoil surrounding the acquisition of a successor to the F-86 Sabre then in service. The JASDF and the Defense Agency wanted the Grumman F-11 Super Tiger, but heavy lobbying by Lockheed—including alleged bribery,[citation needed] through the shadowy underworld figure Yoshio Kodama[citation needed]—of key LDP politicians, including Finance Minister Eisaku Sato and Policy Affairs Research Council chairman Ichiro Kono, led to the adoption of its own contender, the F-104 Starfighter. Genda functioned as Sato's front man in uniform,[citation needed] openly criticizing the Grumman design and working to steer the selection in favor of the Lockheed aircraft. In August 1959, Genda became the JASDF chief of staff, with the blessing of Sato, his political patron. In his new capacity, he finalized the adoption of the Lockheed jet over the objections of his subordinates.[citation needed]
     
  20. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    Whilst looking for another 'Ziegler' I found this one.
    Not a General though as asked for in thread title.
    Werner Ziegler (soldier) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    [​IMG]

    Werner Ziegler (30 April 1916 – 15 April 2001) was a German Major, serving during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves and Swords was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.
    Werner Ziegler was released as a prisoner of war in 1946. He then worked for ten years in the private industry before joining the Bundeswehr. In 1956 he served at the Infantry School in Hammelburg under Brigadegeneral Hellmuth Mäder. In 1960 Ziegler served deputy commander of the Panzergrenadierbrigade 35. Seven years later he retired as Oberst and commander of the Panzergrenadierbrigade' 19 in Ahlen.[1]
     

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