__NOTOC__ Georg-Wilhelm Postel (25 April 1896 – 20 September 1953) was a German 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 ...

. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords 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 ...

. Postel was taken prisoner by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

on 30 August 1944 after the capitulation of

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. Convicted as a

war criminal A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...

in the Soviet Union, he was sentenced to 25 years of forced labour in 1949. Postel died in custody on 20 September 1953 of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

. He was interred in the prisoner of war cemetery in Shakhty.

Awards

* Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (10 July 1941) & 1st Class (17 August 1941)Thomas 1998, p. 168. *

German Cross The War Order of the German Cross (), normally abbreviated to the German Cross or ''Deutsches Kreuz'', was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941. It was awarded in two divisions: in gold for repeated acts of bravery or military leade ...

in Gold on 28 February 1942 as ''

Oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German language, German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Colonel. It is currently used by both the Army, ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, a ...

'' in 364th Infantry RegimentPatzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 357. * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords ** Knight's Cross on 9 August 1942 as ''

'' and commander of 364th Infantry RegimentScherzer 2007, p. 603. ** Oak Leaves on 28 March 1943 as ''

Generalmajor is the Germanic languages, Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central Europe, Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and R ...

'' and commander of the 320th Infantry Division ** Swords on 26 March 1944 as ''

Generalleutnant () is the German-language 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 ...

'' and commander of the 320th Infantry Division

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Postel, Georg-Wilhelm 1896 births 1953 deaths Lieutenant generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht) Military personnel of the Kingdom of Saxony Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union Reichswehr personnel German people who died in Soviet detention 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Military personnel from Saxony Tuberculosis deaths in the Soviet Union Tuberculosis deaths in Russia People from Zittau