Eberhard Finckh (7 November 1899 – 30 August 1944) was a German colonel on the general staff of the

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

, a longtime opponent of

Nazism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...

and a member of the German resistance to

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

's regime.

Biography

Finckh was born in

Kupferzell Kupferzell is a small German town in the district of Hohenlohe in Baden-Württemberg, Germany named after the Kupfer river flowing through it. The largest neighbouring towns are Künzelsau (to the north) and Schwäbisch Hall (to the south). Hi ...

and grew up in Urach and

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

. He joined the Imperial Army in 1917 and then was a member of the

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

. In 1927 he was posted to the War Academy in

Berlin-Moabit Moabit () is an inner city locality in the borough of Mitte, Berlin, Germany. As of 2022, about 84,000 people lived in Moabit. First inhabited in 1685 and incorporated into Berlin in 1861, the former industrial and working-class neighbourhood is ...

, where he later met

Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg Claus Philipp Maria Justinian Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (; 15 November 1907 – 21 July 1944) was a German German Army (1935–1945), army officer who is best known for his 20 July plot, failed attempt on 20 July 1944 to assassinate Adolf ...

. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he first served in Poland and on the Eastern Front as quartermaster of the 6th Army and in 1943 for

Army Group South Army Group South () was the name of one of three German Army Groups during World War II. It was first used in the 1939 September Campaign, along with Army Group North to invade Poland. In the invasion of Poland, Army Group South was led by Ge ...

. He then served under General

Günther Blumentritt Günther Blumentritt (10 February 1892 – 12 October 1967) was an officer in World War I, who became a Staff Officer under the Weimar Republic and went on to serve as a general for Nazi Germany during World War II. He served throughout the war, ...

as the chief

quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land army, armies, a quartermaster is an officer who supervises military logistics, logistics and requisitions, manages stores or barracks, and distri ...

to the commander-in-chief in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, and he was involved in planning the coup attempt in the West linked to the

20 July plot The 20 July plot, sometimes referred to as Operation Valkyrie, was a failed attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler, the chancellor and leader of Nazi Germany, and overthrow the Nazi regime on 20 July 1944. The plotters were part of the German r ...

with Colonel-General

Carl-Heinrich von Stülpnagel Carl-Heinrich Rudolf Wilhelm von Stülpnagel (2 January 1886 – 30 August 1944) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II who was an army level commander. While serving as military commander of German-occupied France and as com ...

and his adjutant Lieutenant-Colonel Cäsar von Hofacker. On 20 July he was notified by telephone from

Zossen Zossen (; , ) is a German town in the district of Teltow-Fläming in Brandenburg, about south of Berlin, and next to the B96 highway. Zossen consists of several smaller municipalities, which were grouped in 2003 to form the city. Geography Sinc ...

that Hitler had been assassinated. Along with other officers, he was called to a meeting in von Stülpnagel's office and was issued with prearranged orders for the arrest of senior

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

, SS, and SD personnel in Paris. After the failure of the coup attempt, he was arrested by the Gestapo, interrogated at length, and dishonorably discharged from the army by a court of honor. He was then tried by the People's Court on 30 August 1944 with von Stülpnagel, who had blinded himself in a suicide attempt, Caesar von Hofacker, and Ottfried von Linstow. He was sentenced to death by

Roland Freisler Karl Roland Freisler (30 October 1893 – 3 February 1945) was a German jurist, judge and politician who served as the State Secretary of the Reich Ministry of Justice from 1935 to 1942 and as President of the People's Court from 1942 to 194 ...

and executed by hanging the same day at the

Plötzensee prison Plötzensee Prison (, JVA Plötzensee) is a men's prison in the Charlottenburg-Nord locality of Berlin with a capacity for 577 prisoners, operated by the State of Berlin judicial administration. The detention centre established in 1868 has a lon ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

References

External links

Biography at gdw-berlin.de
1899 births 1944 deaths German Army officers of World War II Executed members of the 20 July plot People from Baden-Württemberg executed at Plötzensee Prison People executed by hanging at Plötzensee Prison German Army personnel of World War I People from Hohenlohe (district) People from the Kingdom of Württemberg Recipients of the Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross {{Germany-army-bio-stub Executed military personnel

Biography

See also

References

External links