Eduard Wagner (1 April 1894 – 23 July 1944) was a general in the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

who served as quartermaster-general during

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 ...

Life

Wagner was born in Kirchenlamitz,

Upper Franconia Upper Franconia (, ) is a (administrative 'Regierungs''region 'bezirk'' of the state of Bavaria, southern Germany. It forms part of the historically significant region of Franconia, the others being Middle Franconia and Lower Franconia, wh ...

. After service during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he was a member of the Reichswehr. During World War II, he served as the quartermaster-general from 1941 to 1944 and was promoted to

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

on 1 August 1943. On 24 July 1939, he drew up regulations that allowed German soldiers to take hostages from civilian populations and execute them in response to resistance. He personally welcomed the idea of future

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

and wrote that he looked to it "gladly." Wagner had a central role in the death sentences for ten Polish prisoners who were taken during the defense of the Polish Post Office in Danzig. In May 1941, he drew up the regulations with Reinhard Heydrich that ensured that the army and the '' Einsatzgruppen'' would co-operate in murdering

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

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. On the Eastern Front, he had a role in ensuring that suitable winter clothing was supplied to the German forces. On 27 November 1941 he reported, "We are at the end of our resources in both personnel and material. We are about to be confronted with the dangers of deep winter." Wagner created policies against Soviet POWs. On 13 November 1941, he declared that ill Soviet prisoners-of-war who were unfit for labor should be allowed to starve to death. Rations for the rest were cut, which ultimately resulted in the deaths of countless Soviet POWs. He also advocated for the

Siege of Leningrad The siege of Leningrad was a Siege, military blockade undertaken by the Axis powers against the city of Leningrad (present-day Saint Petersburg) in the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front of World War II from 1941 t ...

. During the summer of 1942, before his visit to inspect the 6th Army during the Battle of Stalingrad, he informed Hitler of the "lack of sources of fuel." By then, "all the generals avoided contradicting Hitler," as "all feared the hysterical outbursts of this lofty dictator." After the war, Otto Bräutigam of the Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories claimed in his book that in February 1943, he had the opportunity to read a personal report by Wagner regarding a discussion with

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and military leader who was the 4th of the (Protection Squadron; SS), a leading member of the Nazi Party, and one of the most powerful p ...

in which Himmler had expressed the intention to exterminate about 80% of the populations of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and England by special forces of the SD. Wagner became a conspirator against Hitler. When Claus von Stauffenberg sought approval for an assassination attempt on 15 July 1944, Wagner was cited as being definite that the assassination of Hitler should be attempted only if

was also present. On 20 July, Wagner arranged the airplane that flew Stauffenberg from Rastenburg back to

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 ...

after the bomb that was believed to have killed Hitler had exploded. After the failure of the coup attempt, Wagner feared that his arrest by the

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 ...

was imminent and that he might be forced to implicate other plotters. He committed suicide by shooting himself in the head at noon on 23 July 1944.

References

External links

Eduard Wagner biography at gdw-berlin.de
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wagner, Eduard 1894 births 1944 deaths Holocaust perpetrators German Army personnel of World War I Reichswehr personnel German Army generals of World War II Generals of Artillery (Wehrmacht) Members of the 20 July plot who died by suicide People from Wunsiedel (district) Suicides by firearm in Germany Military personnel from the Kingdom of Bavaria Nazis who died by suicide in Nazi Germany