Heinrich Trettner

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Heinrich Trettner
Great Cross of Merit

Heinrich "Heinz" Trettner (19 September 1907 – 18 September 2006) was a German general who served in the

Federal Republic of Germany. He was the last living general of the Wehrmacht
.

Spanish Civil War

After completing the third course at the

Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen during the Spanish Civil War. On 2 October 1937, he was made Staffelkapitän of 1./K 88.[1]

World War II

From the start of the war until December 1940, Trettner served as Staff Officer, Operations (Ia) in the Staff of the 7th Paratroop Division until 14 June 1939. He was later appointed Chief Of Operations in the Staff of the XI. Paratroop Corps (15 December 1940 to 6 April 1942), taking part in the airborne operation on Crete. He was promoted to Chief of Staff of the XI. Paratroop Corps, but on 4 October 1943 was reassigned to head formation and become Commanding Officer of the 4th Parachute Division, a command he held until 3 May 1945, when he surrendered to US troops.

Cold War

Trettner was released from internment in April 1948 and worked initially for the charity

Caritas. In 1949, he enrolled at the University of Bonn and studied Economics and Jurisprudence, and received his diploma in Economics in 1956. Trettner then joined the Bundeswehr and was transferred to the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
SHAPE in Paris serving as commander of the logistics department until 15 September 1959.

Trettner's 1964 appointment as Inspector General incurred criticism from the East German DDR government. Senior Communist official

Karl Gumbel, the civilian Deputy Minister of Defence, and objected to taking orders from a civil servant, Gumbel, in the absence of the Minister. He was also opposed to a ruling by the Minister, in the face of a court order, that members of the military could join a union. These factors led to his resignation, which nearly coincided with that of Werner Panitzki, the chief of staff of the Air Force.[4]

Trettner was one of the umpires for the 1974

Sandhurst wargame on Operation Sea Lion. Heinrich Trettner was Catholic, and in 1978 he published an article, The Holy See and disarmament, in the German-language edition of the Vatican literary journal Communio, and a corresponding reply the next year.[5]

Trettner died one day before his 99th birthday. He was the last living general of the Wehrmacht.

Awards

References

Citations

  1. ^ Kurowski 1995, p. 251.
  2. ^ "Bonn Backs Army Chief on War‐Crimes Charge; Issues a Detailed Rebuttal of East German Attack; Red Aide Accused Trettner of Misdeeds in 7 Lands". The New York Times. 14 April 1964.
  3. ISBN 9788476580806
  4. ^ Hermann Hagena (May–June 1967). "Civilian Control in the German Armed Forces". Air University Review. United States Air Force. Retrieved 11 April 2008.
  5. ^ "Ausgaben-Index 1972-1979 - Communio".
  6. ^ a b c d Thomas & Wegmann 1986, p. 328.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Thomas & Wegmann 1986, p. 329.
  8. ^ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 426.
  9. ^ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 88.

Bibliography

External links
Military offices
Preceded by
Chief of Staff of the Federal Armed Forces

1 January 1964 – 25 August 1966 		Succeeded by
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