Hellmuth Felmy (28 May 1885 – 14 December 1965) was a German general and war criminal during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, commanding forces in occupied Greece and Yugoslavia. A high-ranking

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...

officer, Felmy was tried and convicted in the 1948 Hostages Trial.

Biography

Born Walter Hellmuth Wolfgang Felmÿ on 28 May 1885 in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

to Otto Emil Alexander and Anna Martha Maria leischerFelmÿ. In 1904, he joined the Imperial Army and, in 1912, Felmy went to flight school to become a pilot for the Imperial Army Air Service. During World War I, Felmy commanded a squadron on the Turkish Front. After the war, he remained in the German military. Felmy alternated between infantry and aviation assignments in the ''

Reichswehr ''Reichswehr'' () was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first years of the Third Reich. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshape ...

'' of the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a Constitutional republic, constitutional federal republic for the first time in ...

. On 4 February 1938, Felmy was promoted to ''

General der Flieger ''General der Flieger'' ( en, General of the aviators) was a General of the branch rank of the Luftwaffe (air force) in Nazi Germany. Until the end of World War II in 1945, this particular general officer rank was on three-star level ( OF-8), e ...

''. By the beginning of World War II, Felmy commanded Air Fleet 2 (''

Luftflotte 2 __NOTOC__ ''Luftflotte'' 2For an explanation of the meaning of Luftwaffe unit designation see Luftwaffe Organisation (Air Fleet 2) was one of the primary divisions of the German Luftwaffe in World War II. It was formed 1 February 1939 in Braunsch ...

'') of the

. On 12 January, he was dismissed due to the Mechelen Incident and replaced by

Albert Kesselring Albert Kesselring (30 November 1885 – 16 July 1960) was a German '' Generalfeldmarschall'' of the Luftwaffe during World War II who was subsequently convicted of war crimes. In a military career that spanned both world wars, Kesselring beca ...

. The reputation of his sons, also members of the Luftwaffe, were also tarnished. In an effort to rehabilitate his family he joined the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

(against protocol). In May 1941, Felmy was called up by the High Command of the Armed Forces ('' Oberkommando der Wehrmacht'', or OKW) to be the commander of

Special Staff F Special Staff F (german: Sonderstab F) was the cover name for a German military mission to Iraq during World War II. ''Sonderstab F'' was created on 20 May 1941 and ceased to exist on 20 June 1941. Description On 23 May, the instructions for ''Son ...

, the military mission to

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. While Felmy was a ''General der Flieger'', he was not responsible for commanding the air force component of the Special Staff. ''Sonderstab F'' lasted from 20 May to 20 June, ending in failure. Felmy commanded the mission in Iraq from occupied Greece. After the failure of the mission to Iraq, Felmy was appointed commander of Army Group Southern Greece (''Befehlshaber Südgriechenland''). From 1942 to 1943, he remained in Greece and commanded a "special deployment" (''zur besonderen Verwendung'', or z. b. V.) unit named after him (''z. b. V. Felmy''). From 1943 to 1944, he commanded the LXVIII Army Corps of the German Army. Late in 1944, the LXVIII Corps moved from Greece to

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

. From 1944 to 1945, he commanded the XXXIV Army Corps.Heiber, pg. 211 In 1945, the XXXIV Corps was defeated during the Yugoslav Partisan General Offensive of March and April. In 1948, during the Hostages Trial in

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

, Felmy was convicted of war crimes in Greece and was given a sentence of 15 years. His sentence was reviewed by the "

Peck Panel David W. Peck (December 3, 1902 – August 23, 1990) was an American jurist. From 1947 to 1957, he was Presiding Justice of the Appellate Division, First Department in New York, and in that time took a leading role in the reform of judiciary of t ...

". He was released early, on 15 December 1951. On 14 December 1965, Felmy died in

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the fourth largest city in the state of Hesse ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...

Posthumous

In 2007, Felmy's writings about Cossacks who fought for the Germans, along with those of

Walter Warlimont Walter Warlimont (3 October 1894 – 9 October 1976) was a German staff officer during World War II. He served as deputy chief of the Operations Staff, one of departments in the ''Oberkommando der Wehrmacht'' (OKW), the Armed Forces High Comma ...

, were published in ''The Cossack Corps''. Felmy's son, Hansjörg Felmy (1931–2007), was a successful actor and appeared in the films

Torn Curtain ''Torn Curtain'' is a 1966 American political thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and starring Paul Newman and Julie Andrews. Written by Brian Moore, the film is set in the Cold War. It is about an American scientist who appears to defe ...

and

Brainwashed Brainwashed may refer to: *Brainwashing, to affect a person's mind by using extreme mental pressure or any other mind-affecting process Music Albums * ''Brainwashed'' (George Harrison album), 2002, or the title song * ''Brainwashed'' (While ...

Notes

References

* * * * } {{DEFAULTSORT:Felmy, Hellmuth 1885 births 1965 deaths Military personnel from Berlin People from the Province of Brandenburg Luftstreitkräfte personnel Luftwaffe World War II generals Greece in World War II German people convicted of crimes against humanity People convicted by the United States Nuremberg Military Tribunals Reichswehr personnel Prussian Army personnel Generals of Aviators Luftwaffe personnel convicted of war crimes

Biography

Posthumous

See also

Notes

References