Hermann Foertsch (4 April 1895 – 27 December 1961) was a German general 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 ...

who held commands at the divisional, corps and army levels. He was a recipient of the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. The Knight' ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. Foertsch was tried at the Hostages Trial in 1947. The trial resulted in Foertsch's acquittal because he was a staff officer at the time that the criminal orders were transmitted.

Hostages trial

As a chief of staff for several generals commanding Wehrmacht forces in occupied

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

and

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

, Foertsch passed on orders to subordinate units to take hostages or conduct reprisals. These orders were deemed criminal by the Tribunal, but staff officers were not considered culpable unless they drafted such criminal orders or made a special effort to distribute them to the troops that carried them out. Citing a lack of evidence of a commission of an unlawful act, the Tribunal acquitted Foertsch of war crimes.

Later life

After his acquittal, Foertsch collaborated with Hans Speidel in the development of concepts for Germany's rearmament many years before the official foundation of the

Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

, the German army, in 1955. In 1950, Foertsch was the leading member of the select group of former Wehrmacht high-ranking officers invited by Chancellor

Konrad Adenauer Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (; 5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a German statesman who served as the first chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the first leader of the Christian Dem ...

to take part in the conference to discuss

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 ...

's rearmament ''( Wiederbewaffnung''). The conference resulted in the Himmerod memorandum that contributed to the myth of the "

clean Wehrmacht The myth of the clean ''Wehrmacht'' is the negationist notion that the regular German armed forces (the '' Wehrmacht'') were not involved in the Holocaust or other war crimes during World War II. The myth, heavily promoted by German autho ...

". Foertsch was involved in the establishment of the European anti-communist organisation Interdoc.

Awards and decorations

on 27 August 1944 as ''

Generalleutnant is the Germanic variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO rank of ...

'' and commander of 21. Infanterie-Division Fellgiebel 2000, p. 154.

Works

* ''York. Das Leben eines altpreußischen Generals.'', Verlag: Coleman, Lübeck, 1932 * ''Wehrmacht und öffentliche Meinung'', Verlag nicht ermittelbar, 1933 * ''Der deutsche Soldat.'' - Leipzig: Seemann, 1934 * ''Im gleichen Schritt und Tritt! Das tönende Buch vom deutschen Heer'', Verlag: Knorr & Hirth, München, 1934 * ''Die Wehrmacht im nationalsozialistischen Staat.'' Broschek, 1935 * ''Unsere deutsche Wehrmacht.'' - Berlin: Zeitgeschichte-Verl., 1935 * ''Der Offizier der neuen Wehrmacht - Eine Pflichtenlehre.'' - Berlin: Eisenschmidt, 1936. * ''Wehrpflicht-Fibel.'', Verlag "Offene Worte",'' 1937 * ''Schuld und Verhängnis – Die Fritsch-Krise im Frühjahr 1938 als Wendepunkt in der nationalsozialistischen Zeit.'' DVA, 1951 * ''Grundzüge der Wehrpolitik.'', Hanseatische Verlagsanstalt, 1938 * ''Kriegskunst heute und morgen.'' - Berlin: Zeitgeschichte-Verl., 1939 * ''Der Offizier der deutschen Wehrmacht.'' - Berlin: Eisenschmidt, 1940 * ''Psychologische Kriegführung: Vortrag'', Evang. Akademie, 1953 English: * ''The Art of Modern Warfare'', Veritas Press, 1940 * ''My Opinions with Regard to Reports 1'', Historical Division, Headquarters United States Army, 1947 * ''Basic Concepts and Organization for the Conduct of War Prior to World War II'', United States, Department of the Army, 1948 Italian: * ''L'arte della guerra di oggi e di domani.", Nicola Zanichelli Editore, Bologna,, 1940

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * Scott-Smith, Giles. ''Interdoc and West European Psychological Warfare: The American Connection''. Intelligence and National Security Vol. 26, Nos. 2–3, 355–376, April–June 2011. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Foertsch, Hermann 1895 births 1961 deaths People from Wałcz County People from West Prussia German Army generals of World War II Generals of Infantry (Wehrmacht) German Army personnel of World War I Prussian Army personnel Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United States People acquitted of international crimes Yugoslavia in World War II People acquitted by the United States Nuremberg Military Tribunals Reichswehr personnel Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class Himmerod meeting participants 20th-century Freikorps personnel