Friedrich Gollwitzer

Friedrich Gollwitzer
206th Infantry Division's commander, Alfons Hitter (second from right) and corps commander Gollwitzer surrender to Soviet forces.
Born	27 April 1889 Bullenheim
Died	25 March 1977 (aged 87) Amberg
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918)  Weimar Republic (to 1933)  Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Years of service	1908–45
Rank	General der Infanterie
Commands held	193. Infanterie-Division 88. Infanterie-Division LIII. Armeekorps
Battles/wars	World War I World War II Annexation of Austria Invasion of Poland Battle of France Second Battle of Kharkov Battle of Voronezh (1942) Battle of Kursk Operation Bagration Vitebsk–Orsha Offensive
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Friedrich Gollwitzer (27 April 1889 – 25 March 1977) was a highly decorated General der Infanterie in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded the LIII. corps. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Friedrich Gollwitzer was captured by Soviet troops in June 1944 during the Vitebsk–Orsha Offensive, and was not released until October 1955.

Allegations of war crimes

In 1964 the public prosecutor's office in Amberg (West Germany) started an inquiry against Gollwitzer over his alleged involvement in war crimes. In 1968 Central Office of the State Justice Administrations for the Investigation of National Socialist Crimes in Ludwigsburg received a letter from Ferdinand D. – a Wehrmacht veteran – who accused Gollwitzer of committing several atrocities during the Invasion of Poland in 1939. In his letter the veteran stated that: “activities of 41st Infantry Regiment under the command of Colonel Gollwitzer (...) were nothing less than genocide. Despite the fact that in Poland there were no partisans at that time almost no village from Kalisz to Warsaw had survived because Gollwitzer sparked an obsession with the partisans in his soldiers' minds”. In particular, Gollwitzer was accused of ordering the execution of 18 Poles in a village Torzeniec which was blamed for the death of three German soldiers (in fact the soldiers were victims of friendly fire). However, the prosecutor's office in Amberg decided to drop the investigation against Gollwitzer.^[1]

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914)
  • 2nd Class (12 March 1915)
  • 1st Class (17 October 1916)
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 (1 February 1935)
• Anschluss Medal
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class
  • 1st Class
• Eastern Front Medal
• German Cross in Gold (25 January 1943)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 8 February 1943 as Generalleutnant and commander of 88. Infanterie-Division ^[2]

References

Citations

1. Jochen Böhler: Zbrodnie Wehrmachtu w Polsce ("Wehrmacht war crimes in Poland"), wydawnictwo Znak, Kraków 2009, p. 123-125
2. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 166.

Bibliography

• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
• Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.

External links

• Lexikon der Wehrmacht
• World War 2 Awards.com
• Friedrich Gollwitzer @ Axis Biographical Research at the Wayback Machine (archived October 28, 2009)