Hugo Gutmann
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Hugo Gutmann | |
---|---|
Born | Nuremberg, Kingdom of Bavaria, German Empire | 19 November 1880
Died | 22 June 1962 San Diego, California, U.S. | (aged 81)
Allegiance | German Empire |
Service/ | Artillery branch, Bavarian Army |
Years of service | 1902–1919 |
Rank | Lieutenant |
Unit | Regiment "List" |
Commands held | 16th Bavarian Reserve Regiment |
Awards | Iron Cross, First Class |
Hugo Gutmann, later known as Henry G. Grant (19 November 1880 – 22 June 1962), was a
Early life and army career
Gutmann was born on 19 November 1880 in Nuremberg. In 1902, Gutmann joined the Bavarian Army and had risen to the rank of highest ranking NCO (Feldwebel) by 1904, when he was transferred to the reserves. When World War I began in 1914, Gutmann was recalled and he joined a unit known (after its first commander) as the "List" Regiment. On 15 April 1915, he was promoted to Lieutenant (Leutnant) and appointed as a company commander and acting adjutant for the Regiment's artillery battalion.
Throughout most of 1918, from 29 January to 31 August, Lt. Gutmann served as Adolf Hitler's direct superior. Gutmann later recommended Hitler's award of the Iron Cross First Class (a decoration rarely awarded to one of Hitler's Gefreiter rank).[1] The decoration was presented to Hitler on 4 August 1918, near Soissons, by the regimental commander, Major von Tubeuf.[1] Hitler wore this medal throughout the remainder of his career, including while serving as Führer of Nazi Germany.
Gutmann himself was an Iron Cross recipient, having been awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class on 2 December 1914 (incidentally the same day as Hitler), as well as the Iron Cross 1st Class on 4 December 1915.
Post-World War I and Nazi years
On 8 February 1919, Gutmann was demobilized from the German Army, but was still maintained on the army rolls as a reserve lieutenant. He married later that year and went on to father two children. During the 1920s, Gutmann owned and operated an office-furniture shop in Vordere Sterngasse 3 in Nuremberg.
In the autumn of 1933, Gutmann applied for a veteran's war pension, which was granted (
In 1938, Gutmann was arrested by the
Post-World War II
Gutmann lived in St. Louis, Missouri, and worked as a typewriter salesman. He was married and had two children.
Gutmann died in San Diego, California, on 22 June 1962. He was buried at Home of Peace Cemetery in San Diego.
Portrayal in media
In the 2003 television mini-series Hitler: The Rise of Evil, Hugo Gutmann was portrayed by actor Brendan Hughes.
Notes
- ^ a b Kershaw 2008, p. 59.
- ^ According to the historian Werner Maser, Gutmann received, by Hitler's intervention, a pension from Nazi Germany until the end of the Second World War in Europe.
- ISBN 9780199233205.
References
- Kershaw, Ian (2008). Hitler: A Biography. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-06757-6.