Erich Hippke (7 March 1888 – 10 June 1969) was a German Air Force

General Surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

with the rank of

Generaloberstabsarzt and are the top Joint Medical Service (Germany), Joint Medical Service OF8-ranks of the German . The equivalent to this ranks in the German Army, ''Heer'' is ''Generalleutnant'' and in the German Navy the ''Vizeadmiral''. ''Bundeswehr'' In ...

. He is most noted as Chief Medical Officer of the

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

and subsequent Inspector of the Medical Matters for the Luftwaffe 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 ...

Early military career

Erich Hippke was born on March 7, 1888, in the town of Prökuls,

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

. Erich enrolled into the ''Kaiser-Wilhelms-Akademie für das militärärztliche Bildungswesen'' ( Kaiser Wilhelms Academy for military medical education; de), an elite academy for military surgeons in

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 ...

. Hippke joined 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 ...

on April 1, 1907, and was officially assigned to the 4th Guard Infantry Regiment (''4. Garde-Regiment zu Fuß'', de) stationed in

Moabit Moabit () is an inner city locality in the boroughs of Berlin, 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 sector, industr ...

. On March 1, 1912, during his senior years in the academy, Hippke was commissioned Unterarzt (

officer candidate Officer candidate or officer aspirant (OA) is a rank in some militaries of the world that is an appointed position while a person is in training to become an Officer (armed forces), officer. More often than not, an officer candidate was a civilia ...

) on and assigned to ''Grenadier-Regiment 9''. Hippke graduated on June 19, 1913, and served with his regiment in its garrisons to

Stargard Stargard (; 1945: ''Starogród'', 1950–2016: ''Stargard Szczeciński''; or ''Stargard an der Ihna''; ) is a city in northwestern Poland, located in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. In 2021 it was inhabited by 67,293 people. It is situated on ...

Bromberg Bydgoszcz is a city in northern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Kuyavia. Straddling the confluence of the Vistula River and its left-bank tributary, the Brda, the strategic location of Bydgoszcz has made it an inland ...

, and

Demmin Demmin () is a town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, in north-eastern Germany. It was the capital of the former district of Demmin. Geography Demmin lies on the West Pomeranian plain at the confluen ...

. He was also promoted to the rank of Assistenzarzt (equal to ''

Leutnant () is the lowest junior officer rank in the armed forces of Germany ( Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the military of Switzerland. History The German noun (with the meaning "" (in English "deputy") from Middle High German «locum ...

'') on August 18, 1913. With his new promotion, Hippke transferred to the 54th Infantry Regiment "von der Goltz" (''Infanterie-Regiment von der Goltz (7. Pommersches) Nr.54'') stationed in Kolberg as a troop medic. Due to the start of

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 ...

, Hippke's regiment was sent to the Eastern front as a part of the 36th Reserve Division under the command of Generalleutnant Kurt Kruge ( de). Hippke subsequently participated in the

Battle of Gumbinnen The Battle of Gumbinnen, initiated by forces of the German Empire on 20 August 1914, was a German offensive on the Eastern Front during the First World War. Because of the hastiness of the German attack, the Russian Army emerged victorious. Bac ...

and the

Battle of Tannenberg The Battle of Tannenberg, also known as the Second Battle of Tannenberg, was fought between Russia and Germany between 23 and 30 August 1914, the first month of World War I. The battle resulted in the almost complete destruction of the Russ ...

. In September 1915, he was transferred to the Division Staff and appointed

Adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

to the Division Surgeon. In this capacity, Hippke was promoted to the rank of Oberarzt (''

Oberleutnant (English: First Lieutenant) is a senior lieutenant Officer (armed forces), officer rank in the German (language), German-speaking armed forces of Germany (Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the Swiss Armed Forces. In Austria, ''Oberle ...

'') on October 13, 1915, and saw combat in Galicia. In October 1916, Hippke was transferred to the Heeresgruppe Below under the command of General

Otto von Below Otto Ernst Vinzent Leo von Below (18 January 1857 – 9 March 1944) served as a Prussian general officer in the Imperial German Army during the First World War (1914–1918). He arguably became most notable for his command, along with the Aust ...

, serving on the

Macedonian front The Macedonian front, also known as the Salonica front (after Thessaloniki), was a military theatre of World War I formed as a result of an attempt by the Allied Powers to aid Serbia, in the autumn of 1915, against the combined attack of Germa ...

. Hippke spent almost a year with this unit before he was appointed Adjutant of the Army Surgeon within the 11th Army under the command of General

Kuno von Steuben Kuno Arndt von Steuben (Eisenach, 9 April 1855 – Berlin, 14 January 1935) was a Prussian military officer, and a general in the First World War. Life He was born in a noble family, of which Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben (1730–1794) is best k ...

. In July 1917, Hippke was sent to the Palestine front, where he was assigned to the staff of Heeresgruppe F under the command of General

Erich von Falkenhayn Erich Georg Sebastian Anton von Falkenhayn (11 September 1861 – 8 April 1922) was a German general and Ottoman Field Marshal who served as Prussian Minister of War and Chief of the German General Staff during the First World War. Falkenha ...

. He was tasked again with the capacity of Adjutant of the Army Surgeon. For his service during the War, Hippke was decorated with both classes of

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

, the Prussian Red Cross Medal 3rd Class, and the

Ottoman War Medal The Ottoman War Medal () was a military decoration awarded by the Ottoman Empire. It was commonly known in English as the Gallipoli Star and in German as the ''Eiserner Halbmond'' (Iron Crescent, in allusion to the Iron Cross). It was instituted ...

World War II

In the time of

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 ...

, from 1937 to December 1943, Hippke was the Chief Medical Officer of the

. He was also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Brain Research. Hippke was the true source of the ideas for the so-called "freezing experiments" conducted on behalf of the

, at

Dachau concentration camp Dachau (, ; , ; ) was one of the first concentration camps built by Nazi Germany and the longest-running one, opening on 22 March 1933. The camp was initially intended to intern Hitler's political opponents, which consisted of communists, s ...

Sigmund Rascher Sigmund Rascher (12 February 1909 – 26 April 1945) was a German ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) doctor. He conducted deadly experiments on humans pertaining to high altitude, freezing and blood coagulation under the patronage of ''Reichsführer-SS'' Hei ...

. He was succeeded by Oskar Schröder on May 15, 1944.

Postwar

Hippke was arrested in December 1946. By this time, he was a

general practitioner A general practitioner (GP) is a doctor who is a Consultant (medicine), consultant in general practice. GPs have distinct expertise and experience in providing whole person medical care, whilst managing the complexity, uncertainty and risk ass ...

working in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. He avoided the Doctors' Trial and left Nuremberg without charge. He was never charged with a crime, but American investigators of Nazi medical atrocities later concluded that he was actually the source of the idea for the deadly "freezing experiments" on humans.''Hippkes letter to Wolff of 6 March 1943.'' I

at ''Nuremberg Trials Project.'' (Nürnberger Document NO-262).

Awards and decorations

* German Cross, German Cross in Silver on March 20, 1944 *

War Merit Cross The War Merit Cross () was a state decoration of Nazi Germany during World War II. By the end of the conflict it was issued in four degrees and had an equivalent civil award. A " de-Nazified" version of the War Merit Cross was reissued in 1957 ...

(1939), 1st and 2nd class with Swords *

German Red Cross Decoration The German Red Cross Decoration () is a State decoration, decoration founded in 1922, replaced by the Social Welfare Decoration in 1939 and re-founded in its present form on 8 May 1953. It is awarded by the German Red Cross. Badge of Honor of ...

1st Class *

(1914), 1st and 2nd class (World War I decoration) * Prussian Red Cross Medal 3rd Class, (World War I decoration) *

(World War I decoration) * Spanish Cross in Bronze without Swords *

Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 The Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 (), commonly referred to as the Hindenburg Cross or the German WWI Service Cross, was established by Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, President of the German Weimar Republic, by an order dated 13 July ...

(''Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer'') *

Wehrmacht Long Service Award The Wehrmacht Long Service Award () was a List of military decorations of the Third Reich, military service decoration of Nazi Germany issued for satisfactory completion of a number of years in military service. History On 16 March 1936, Adolf ...

, 1st Class (''Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung'') *

Anschluss Medal The ''Anschluss'' Commemorative Medal () was a decoration of Nazi Germany awarded during the interwar period, and the first in a series of German Occupation Medals, Occupation Medals. Description Instituted on 1 May 1938, the medal commemorated ...

(''Die Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 13. März 1938'') *

Memel Medal The Return of Memel Commemorative Medal (''Medaille zur Erinnerung an die Heimkehr des Memellandes''; 22. März 1939) was a decoration of Nazi Germany awarded during the interwar period, the last in a series of German Occupation Medals, Occupati ...

(''Medaille zur Erinnerung an die Heimkerhr des Memellandes 22. März 1939'') *

Sudetenland Medal The 1 October 1938 Commemorative Medal () was commonly known as the Sudetenland Medal. It was a decoration of Nazi Germany awarded during the interwar period, and the second in a series of Occupation Medals. Description Instituted on 18 October ...

(''Die Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 1. Oktober 1938'') * Grand Officer of the Italian Military Order of Savoy * Imperial Order of the Yoke and the Arrows (

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

) * Austrian World War I Medal with Swords * Hungarian World War I Medal with Swords

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hippke, Erich 1888 births 1969 deaths Luftwaffe World War II generals Nazi human subject research Physicians in the Nazi Party Prussian Army personnel Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class German military personnel of the Spanish Civil War German Army personnel of World War I

Early military career

World War II

Postwar

Awards and decorations

See also

References