Kurt Freiherr von Liebenstein

Kurt Freiherr von Liebenstein
Kurt Freiherr von Liebenstein, front row 2nd from right at Trent Park Camp.
Born	28 February 1899 Horb am Neckar
Died	3 August 1975 (aged 76) Stuttgart
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918)  Weimar Republic (to 1933)  Nazi Germany (to 1945)  West Germany
Years of service	1916–43 1955–60
Rank	Generalmajor
Commands held	164. leichte Afrika-Division
Battles/wars	World War I World War II Battle of France Operation Barbarossa Battle of Białystok–Minsk Battle of Kiev (1941) Battle of Moscow Second Battle of Kharkov Battle of the Caucasus Tunisia Campaign
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Großes Verdienstkreuz (Great Cross of Merit)

Kurt Freiherr von Liebenstein (28 February 1899 – 3 August 1975) was a German general.

Liebenstein was born in Horb am Neckar in the Kingdom of Württemberg. He joined the German Army on 20 December 1916 as a Fahnenjunker and took part in World War I. He was decorated with the Eisernes Kreuz. German Cross in Gold on 26 January 1942.^[1] Following, he joined the Reichswehr and the Heer.

On 10 May 1943 he was decorated with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Three days later, while commanding the 164. leichte Afrika-Division, he surrendered to the British in Tunisia, with the 164th Infantry earning the distinction of being "the last major German formation in North Africa to lay down its arms".^[2] He was sent to Trent Park , a special camp for generals north of London.

In 1955, he joined the Bundeswehr. In 1960, he retired as Generalmajor.

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914)
  • 2nd Class
• The Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class
  • 1st Class
• Panzer Badge
• German Cross in Gold (26 January 1942)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 10 May 1943 as Generalmajor and commander of 164. leichte Division
• Ärmelband Afrika
• Silver Medal of Military Valor

Notes

1. Patzwall
2. Samuel W. Mitcham, Rommel's Desert Commanders: The Men Who Served the Desert Fox, North Africa, 1941-1942 (Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007) p185

Regarding personal names: Freiherr was a title before 1919, but now is regarded as part of the surname. It is translated as Baron. Before the August 1919 abolition of nobility as a legal class, titles preceded the full name when given (Graf Helmuth James von Moltke). Since 1919, these titles, along with any nobiliary prefix (von, zu, etc.), can be used, but are regarded as a dependent part of the surname, and thus come after any given names (Helmuth James Graf von Moltke). Titles and all dependent parts of surnames are ignored in alphabetical sorting. The feminine forms are Freifrau and Freiin.

References

• 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.

External links

• www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de
• Kurt Freiherr von Liebenstein @ Axis Biographical Research at the Wayback Machine (archived October 28, 2009)