Wikipedia

Georg von Küchler

Georg Carl Wilhelm Friedrich von Küchler(30 May 1881 – 25 May 1968) was a GermanGeneralfeldmarschall(Field Marshal) of theWehrmachtduring theSecond World War,who was subsequently convicted of war crimes. He commanded the18th ArmyandArmy Group Northduring theSoviet-German war of 1941–1945.

Georg von Küchler
Küchler in 1943
Birth nameGeorg Carl Wilhelm Friedrich von Küchler
Born(1881-05-30)30 May 1881
Philippsruhe Manor,Hanau,Kreis Hanau,Hesse-Nassau,Kingdom of Prussia,German Empire
Died25 May 1968(1968-05-25)(aged 86)
Garmisch-Partenkirchen,Landkreis Garmisch-Partenkirchen,Upper Bavaria,Bavaria,West Germany
Allegiance
Years of service1900 – 1944
RankGeneralfeldmarschall
Commands
Battles / warsWorld War I

World War II

AwardsSee awards
Signature

After the end of the war, he was tried in theHigh Command Trial,as part of theSubsequent Nuremberg trials.On 27 October 1948 he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for war crimes andcrimes against humanitycommitted in theSoviet Union.He was released in 1953.

Early life and World War I

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Born on 30 May 1881 at Schloss Philippsruhe, Küchler's family werePrussian Junker.He entered theImperial Armyin 1900 as an officer cadet in the artillery. He was posted to the 25th Field Artillery Regiment and the following year was commissioned as aLeutnant(second lieutenant). He remained in his regiment until 1907, when he was assigned to Military Riding School. He received a promotion toOberleutnant(first lieutenant) in 1910 and studied at thePrussian Military Academyfor three years. He joined the GreaterGeneral StaffinBerlinafter his graduation from the academy in 1913.[1]

WhenWorld War Icommenced, Küchler was sent to theWestern Front.Now aHauptmann(captain), he was given command of an artillery battery.[1]He participated in the battles at theSommeandVerdunand later in theChampagne Province.[2]Within months of arriving on the Western Front, he had been awarded both the first and second classes of theIron Cross.[3]

After serving on the frontlines, Küchler performed staff duties at IV Corps and later VIII Corps. By the end of 1916 he was the 'Staff Officer, Operations' with the206th Infantry Division.He returned to Germany later in the war to take a similar post with 8th Reserve Division. By the end of the war he was serving of the staff ofRüdiger von der Goltz,commander of theBaltic Sea Division.After the armistice and still in the Baltics, he joined theFreikorpsand fought theRed ArmyinPoland.[2]

Interwar period

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After the war, Küchler was retained in the postwarReichswehr.He initially served in the East Prussian military district (Wehrkreis I) before being given command of a battery in the 5th Artillery Regiment. Promoted tomajorin 1924, he was appointed Commandant of Münster for a time, before serving with the Defence Ministry as inspector of schools. By 1931 he had reached the rank ofOberst(colonel) and the following year was deputy commander of what was to become the1st Infantry Division.By 1934 he was commander of the division having been promoted toGeneralmajor[Note 1]that October. He received a further promotion the next year, toGeneralleutnantand a new posting, Inspector of Army Schools.[2]

In 1938 Küchler supportedAdolf Hitlerin his removal ofWerner von BlombergandWerner von Fritschfrom power. At this stage of his career, Küchler was aGeneral of Artilleryand commander of the 1st Military District. This was a challenging post as it was cc East Prussia and largely surrounded by Poland. Much of his work was in improving the defences of the area but in March 1939, his troops marched into the Lithuanian city of Memel (nowKlaipėda).[2][Note 2]

World War II

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Invasion of Poland

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On the outbreak ofWorld War II,Küchler's district headquarters was designated as the Wehrmacht's3rd Army.He now controlled seven infantry divisions, thePanzer Division Kempfplus four commands of brigade size.[2]During theinvasion of Poland,some of Küchler's troops capturedDanzigwhile the bulk of his forces advanced against the PolishModlin Army.Having taken some ten thousand prisoners, Panzer Division Kempf was within fifty miles nearWarsawbut, along with the rest of the 3rd Army, Kempf was diverted to the east of Poland. Küchler's forces defeated the Polish units in the area and then linked up with Soviet troops. At the conclusion of the Polish campaign, Küchler, still based in Poland, was designated commander of Army Frontier Command North.[5]

Küchler refused to use his soldiers to persecute Jewish and Polish civilians, explaining to theGauleiterof East PrussiaErich Kochthat the "German army is not a supplier for a killer gang".[6]This made Himmler furious and Küchler was removed from command.[7][8]In November 1939, Commander in Chief of the ArmyWalther von Brauchitschappointed Küchler commander of the 18th Army, then being organised in northern Germany. It comprised five infantry divisions, as well as a motorized division and the9th Panzer Division,and was intended for operations against Holland.[5]

Invasion of the Netherlands

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Main article:German invasion of the Netherlands

On the morning of 10 May 1940, the German armed forces commenced the implementation of theFall Gelbplan for the invasion of theLow Countriesand France. The order for the invasion was issued by Army Commander-in-ChiefBrauchitsch,without the attack being preceded by adeclaration of war.[9]TheLuftwaffestarted bombing Dutch airfields and other targets, with the city ofRotterdamin particular suffering adevastating assaultthat ended after four days with the old-city center entirely destroyed. The German ground forces entered the country as soon as the bombardments were concluded, led byparatrooperlandings.[10]

Küchler, fighting under GeneralFedor von Bockand commanding the18th Army,defeated the Dutch ground forces atMoerdijk,Rotterdam, and the Hague.[11]After several days of fighting in the country, on May 14, Dutch Army Commander-in-Chief GeneralHenri Gerard Winkelmansurrendered the armies north and east of the riverSchelde,an area encompassing almost all of the Netherlands. Küchler, as the ranking German officer in the area, met the Dutch military delegation led by Winkelman at the village ofRijsoordand witnessed on behalf of the Wehrmacht the document of Dutch capitulation.[12]

Küchler's troops then moved into theKingdom of Belgiumwhere they occupiedAntwerpon 18 May 1940.

Invasion of the Soviet Union

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Küchler (middle, with binoculars) during a visit to Reval (Tallinn) after its capture, August 1941

In 1940 he was supportive of Nazi racial policy and ordered on 22 February a halt to any criticism of "ethnic struggle being carried out in the General Government, for instance, that of the Polish minorities, of the Jews and those regarding Church matters". His order explained that the "final ethnic solution" required unique and harsh measures.[13]

Küchler was an active supporter of the planned war of annihilation(Vernichtungskrieg)against the Soviet Union. After meeting Hitler in March 1941 to plan forOperation Barbarossa,Küchler told his divisional commanders on 25 April 1941:

"We are separated from Russia, ideologically and racially, by a deep abyss. Russia is, if only by the mass of her territory, an Asian state...TheFührerdoes not wish to palm off responsibility for Germany's existence on to a later generation; he has decided to force the dispute with Russia before the year is out. If Germany wishes to live in peace for generations, safe from a threatening danger in the East, this cannot be a case of pushing Russia back a little-or even hundreds of kilometers-but the aim must be to annihilate European Russia, to dissolve the Russian state in Europe ".[14]

Küchler went on to call Red Army commissars "criminals" who should all be shot.

Field MarshalLeeb(right) with Küchler (middle) on an artillery observation post on the eastern front, October 1941

DuringOperation Barbarossa,the 18th Army forced its way toOstrovandPskovafter the Soviet troops of theNorthwestern Frontretreated towards Leningrad. On 10 July 1941, both Ostrov and Pskov were captured and the 18th Army reachedNarvaandKingisepp,from where advance toward Leningrad continued from theLuga Riverline. This had the effect of creating siege positions from theGulf of FinlandtoLake Ladoga,with the eventual aim of isolating Leningrad from all directions.[15]

Küchler was directly involved in the murder of mentally disabled people in the occupied Soviet Union. In December 1941, with his express consent, units of theSDshot 240 mental patients in the Russian town of Makaryevo.[16]

On 17 January 1942, Küchler succeeded Field MarshalWilhelm Ritter von Leebas commander ofArmy Group Northafter the latter was relieved of command. Küchler commanded Army Group North from December 1941 through January 1944, maintaining thesiege of Leningrad.On 30 June 1942 Hitler promoted Küchler toGeneralfeldmarschall.

Brought back to Hitler's headquarters on 31 January 1944, Küchler was relieved of his command and replaced byGeneraloberstModel. Although Model stabilised the situation by March, this was only by withdrawing what was left of 18th Army to the west of Lake Peipus. Küchler in the meantime went into retirement. He declined an invitation fromCarl GoerdelerandJohannes Popitzto join the anti-Hitler movement.[17]

Trial and conviction

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At the end of World War II, Küchler was arrested byAmericanoccupation authorities. He was tried in theHigh Command Trial,as part of theSubsequent Nuremberg Trials.In his testimony regarding thecrimes against the Soviet prisoners of war,Küchler admitted that the conditions in the POW camps were harsh, but insisted that the main cause of that was the winter conditions of 1941–42, which he called an "act of God" and insisted that the army exaggerated POW mortality in their reports in an effort to receive more supplies for the prisoners.[18]

On 27 October 1948 Küchler was sentenced to twenty years' imprisonment forwar crimesandcrimes against humanitycommitted in theSoviet Union.His sentence was reviewed by the "Peck Panel"and reduced to 12 years in 1951.[19]He was released in February 1953 and lived with his wife in the Garmisch region. He died inGarmisch-Partenkirchenon 25 May 1968.[20]

Awards

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Notes

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Footnotes

  1. ^In the Wehrmacht, the rank of Generalmajor was equivalent to abrigadier generalin theUnited States Army.[4]
  2. ^Previously part of Imperial Germany, it was ceded to Lithuania after World War I. However, pressure from Nazi Germany saw the Lithuanian government cede the city.[2]

Citations

  1. ^abMitcham 1988,p. 255.
  2. ^abcdefMitcham 1988,p. 256.
  3. ^abcdeThomas 1997,p. 421.
  4. ^Mitcham 1988,p. 363.
  5. ^abMitcham 1988,p. 257.
  6. ^Thoms 2014:"deutsche Armee sei kein Lieferant für eine Mörderbande"
  7. ^Wette 2006,p. 102.
  8. ^Steinert, Marlis (September 2010).Hitler's war and the Germans: public mood and attitude during the Second World War,p. 57. Ohio University Press.
  9. ^"International Military Tribunal 11-28-1947: High Command Case".UND Scholarly Commons.NurembergTranscripts.12.University of North Dakota.Retrieved29 April2023.
  10. ^Amersfoort, Herman; Kamphuis, Piet, eds. (2005).Mei 1940 — De Strijd op Nederlands grondgebied[May 1940 — The Battle on Dutch Territory] (in Dutch).The Hague:Sdu Uitgevers.ISBN90-12-08959-X.
  11. ^"Georg Karl Friedrich Wilhelm von Küchler".Wehrmacht History.Retrieved29 April2023.
  12. ^Beginning of the German occupation of The Netherlands during WW-II,YouTubedocumentary clip
  13. ^Browning & Matthäus 2007,p. 79.
  14. ^Förster 2004,p. 125.
  15. ^Хомяков, И (2006).История 24-й танковой дивизии ркка(in Russian). Санкт-Петербург: BODlib. pp. 232 с.
  16. ^Hebert 2010,p. 95.
  17. ^Mitcham 1988,p. 266.
  18. ^Hebert 2010,p. 123.
  19. ^Hebert 2010,p. 216–217.
  20. ^Mitcham 1988,p. 268.
  21. ^abcdefghGerman Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv): Personalakte von Georg von Küchler, BArch PERS 6/8
  22. ^Fellgiebel 2000, p. 277.
  23. ^Fellgiebel 2000, p. 71.
  24. ^German Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv): Generalskartei von Georg von Küchler, BArch PERS 6/300080

References

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Military offices
Preceded by
none
 Commander of1st Infantry Division
1 October 1934 – 1 April 1935 		Succeeded by
GeneralleutnantWalther Schroth
Preceded by
none
 Commander of3rd Army
1 September 1939 – 5 November 1939 		Succeeded by
none
Preceded by
none
 Commander of18th Army
5 November 1939 – 16 January 1942 		Succeeded by
GeneraloberstGeorg Lindemann
Preceded by
GeneralfeldmarschallWilhelm Ritter von Leeb
 Commander ofArmy Group North
17 January 1942 – 9 January 1944 		Succeeded by
GeneralfeldmarschallWalter Model
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