Günther Pape

Günther Pape
Born	14 July 1907 Düsseldorf, Rhine Province, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Died	21 January 1986 (aged 78) Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany
Allegiance	Weimar Republic (to 1933)  Nazi Germany (to 1945)  West Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Years of service	1927–45 1956–66
Rank	Generalmajor
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Günther Pape (14 July 1907 – 21 January 1986) was a German Generalmajor serving during World War II and recipient of the coveted 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.

Career

Oak Leaves ceremony on 15 September 1943 at the Führerhauptquartier "Wolfschanze", from left to right: Adolf Hitler, Paul Schultz (hidden), Oberst Dr. med. dent. Walter Lange, Major Theodor Tolsdorff, Oberst Günther Pape, Major Dr. Franz Bäke

The Bundeswehr of the Federal Republic of Germany underwent a series of internal discussion and controversies which led to the "Generalkrise" (Crisis of the Generals) in August 1966. Among other issues, the discussion was centred about the inner leadership of the Bundeswehr and the hierarchy of command between the Federal Ministry of Defence and the Bundeswehr. The Inspector of the Luftwaffe Generalleutnant Werner Panitzki and Minister of Defence Kai-Uwe von Hassel resigned on 12 August 1966. Inspector General of the Bundeswehr Generalleutnant Heinrich Trettner resigned the next day followed shortly by Generalmajor Günther Pape, who resigned out of loyalty to his commanding officers.^[1]

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (20 September 1939)^[2]
  • 1st Class (21 May 1940)^[2]
• German Cross in Gold on 23 January 1942 as Major in Krad-Schützen-Bataillon 3^[3]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 10 February 1942 as Major and commander of Krad-Schützen-Bataillon 3^[4]
  • 301st Oak leaves on 15 September 1943 as Oberst and commander of Panzergrenadier-Regiment 394^[4]
• Honour Roll Clasp of the Army (5 December 1944)
• Mentioned in the addendum of the Wehrmachtbericht on 20 December 1944.

Wehrmachtbericht reference

Date	Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording	Direct English translation
20 December 1944 (addendum)	Im Raum von Budapest haben sich in den harten Abwehrkämpfen die Panzergrenadierdivision 'Feldherrnhalle' unter Führung des Generalmajors Pape und die 13. Panzerdivision unter Führung des Generalmajors Schmidhuber, deren Offiziere, Unteroffiziere und Mannschaften zum größten Teil der SA entstammen, durch hervorragende Tapferkeit und Angriffsschwung ausgezeichnet.[5]	The Panzergrenadierdivision 'Feldherrnhalle' under the leadership of Generalmajor Pape and the 13. Panzerdivision under the leadership of Generalmajor Schmidhuber, whose officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers are largely comprised from the SA, distinguished themselves by showing exceptional bravery and attacking spirit, in the vicinity of Budapest.

References

Citations

1. Abenheim 1989, p. 170.
2. Thomas 1998, p. 142.
3. Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 343.
4. Scherzer 2007, p. 583.
5. Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 3, p. 373.

Bibliography

• Abenheim, Donald (1989). Bundeswehr und Tradition: die Suche nach dem gültigen Erbe des deutschen Soldaten — Band 27 von Beiträge zur Militär- und Kriegsgeschichte — Band 27 von Beiträge zur Militärgeschichte. Verlag Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag. ISBN 3-486-55371-2.
• 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.
• Thomas, Franz (1998). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2: L–Z [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 2: L–Z] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2300-9.
• Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 3, 1. Januar 1944 bis 9. Mai 1945 [The Wehrmacht Reports 1939–1945 Volume 3, 1 January 1944 to 9 May 1945] (in German). München, Germany: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co. KG. 1985. ISBN 978-3-423-05944-2.

External links

• "Günther Pape". Lexikon der Wehrmacht. Retrieved 24 February 2010.