Gerhard Schmidhuber

Gerhard Schmidhuber
Generalmajor Gerhard Schmidhuber
Born	9 April 1894 Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, German Empire
Died	11 February 1945 (aged 50) Budapest, Pest-Pilis-Solt-Kiskun County, Kingdom of Hungary
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918)  Weimar Republic (to 1920)  Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Years of service	1914–20 1933–45
Rank	Generalmajor
Commands held	7th Panzer Division 13th Panzer Division
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Gerhard Schmidhuber (9 April 1894 – 11 February 1945 in the battle of Budapest) was a German generalmajor. 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 recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

Career

Born in Dresden in the Kingdom of Saxony, Schmidhuber was commanding officer of the Heer's 13th Panzer Division during World War II. When the Germans occupied Hungary in 1944, Schmidhuber was supreme commander of German army forces in that country. In that capacity, he had extensive dealings with the Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg and prevented the liquidation of the Jewish ghetto in the face of the advancing Red Army. Schmidhuber was killed in action in the Battle of Budapest.

Awards

• Iron Cross (1914)
  • 2nd Class (9 May 1915)^[1]
  • 1st Class (7 December 1917)^[1]
• Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (29 September 1939)^[1]
  • 1st Class (24 June 1940)^[1]
• German Cross in Gold on 28 February 1942 as Oberstleutnant in the II./Schützen-Regiment 103^[2]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 18 October 1943 as Oberst and commander of Panzergrenadier-Regiment 304^[3]
  • 706th Oak Leaves on 21 January 1945 as Generalmajor and commander of the 13.Panzer-Division^[4]
• mentioned in the addendum of the Wehrmachtbericht on 20 December 1944.

Reference in the Wehrmachtbericht

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 hard fought defensive battles in the vicinity of Budapest.

References

Citations

1. Thomas 1998, p. 264.
2. Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 411.
3. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 380.
4. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 95.
5. Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 3, p. 373.

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.
• 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

• "Lexikon der Wehrmacht". Gerhard Schmidhuber. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
• (Hungarian)
• (German)