Johann Adolf Graf von Kielmansegg (30 December 1906 – 26 May 2006) was a German

general staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...

officer during the

Second World War 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 ...

and later general of the ''

Bundeswehr The (, ''Federal Defence'') are the armed forces of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. The is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part consists of the four armed forces: Germ ...

''.

Family

Johann Adolf Graf von Kielmansegg was the youngest of three children of Johann Adolf von Kielmansegg (1864 - 1907) and his wife Eva Mathilde (1868 - 1953). His two sisters Ilse and Anna both quickly married into noble families.

Military career

Kielmansegg 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 7 April 1926 after his time in cadet school in Rosleben and served as a

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

officer in the 16th Cavalry Regiment in

Hofgeismar Hofgeismar () is a town in the district of Kassel, in northern Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km north of Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Ge ...

, Langensalza and

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...

. In 1930 he was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

, and in 1937, to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. From October 1937 to August 1939 he received General Staff training at the

Prussian Military Academy The Prussian Staff College, also Prussian War College () was the highest military facility of the Kingdom of Prussia to educate, train, and develop general staff officers. Location It originated with the ''Akademie für junge Offiziere der I ...

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 ...

. During the Second World War Kielmansegg served in various divisions, staff regiments and fronts in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

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

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. From 1942 to 1944 he served as General Staff officer to the High Command of the ''

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

'' ('' OKW''). On 1 May 1944, he was promoted to colonel. Several months later, he was arrested 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 ...

for being a co-conspirator of 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 ...

, but released on 23 October 1944 for a lack of evidence. He later said: In November 1944, shortly before the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive or Unternehmen Die Wacht am Rhein, Wacht am Rhein, was the last major German Offensive (military), offensive Military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western ...

, he was given command of the 111th Panzer Grenadier Regiment, and led it in battle until 16 April 1945. After the war, Kielmansegg was first a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and later American prisoner of war. He was released in May 1946 and later worked as a truck driver on a farm. From February 1948, he worked as a journalist. And finally from 1949 onwards, as a publishing assistant 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 ...

In 1949, Kielmansegg published a book called ''The Fritsch Affair of 1938'' in the defence on his uncle, General

Werner von Fritsch Thomas Ludwig Werner Freiherr von Fritsch (4 August 1880 – 22 September 1939) was a German ''Generaloberst'' (Full General, full general) who served as Oberkommando des Heeres, Commander-in-Chief of the German Army (Wehrmacht), German Army fro ...

, in order to "wash away those charges of homosexual activity". Remarkably, Fritsch's fierce antisemitism and openly anti-democratic views were not addressed as problematic aspects of his personality. In October 1950 Kielmansegg was appointed to the Blank Office in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

, where he remained until 1955. Later in 1955, he became the Secretary for Military Policy, and then Deputy Director General of National Defence. During this time, he was the German delegate in the negotiations on the

European Defence Community European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other We ...

and the

London and Paris Conferences The London and Paris Conferences were two related conferences held in London and Paris during September–October 1954 to determine the status of West Germany. The talks concluded with the signing of the Paris Agreements (Paris Pacts, or Paris ...

. Kielmansegg is considered one of the spiritual fathers of the principle of "Inner Guidance", which was the hallmark of the Federal Armed Forces in uniform with the concept of the citizen. In 1955, Kielmansegg re-joined the German Armed Forces in the rank of brigadier general. From 1955 to 1958 he acted as National Military Representative at Supreme Headquarters of Allied Powers in Europe (SHAPE). Then Kielmansegg, from 1958 to 1960, commanded the 5th Panzer Division in

Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...

as a major general. In 1961, he commanded the 10th Panzer Grenadier Division in Sigmaringen. In 1963 he was again active in the International area and was, since 5 July 1963, as lieutenant general of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

's Supreme Command, of Allied Land Forces Central Europe in

Fontainebleau Fontainebleau ( , , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the Kilometre zero#France, centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a Subprefectures in Franc ...

, in

. In 1965, he was awarded with the Freiherr-vom-Stein Prize. On 15 March 1967, he was promoted to Commander-in-Chief of NATO's forces in Central Europe, first in Fontainebleau, France, and then in Brunssum, in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Later life

On 1 April 1968, Kielmansegg retired from the ''Bundeswehr''. His NATO successor was . In 1985, together with Oskar Weggel, he published the book ''Invincible?'', analysing the military power of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. Kielmansegg recorded an extended account of his experiences with the ''Wehrmacht'' in World War II for the production of the television documentary series '' Hitler's Warriors'' (or ''Hitler's Generals'') (1998).

Death

Von Kielmansegg died on 26 May 2006 in his 100th year.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kielmansegg, Johann von 1906 births 2006 deaths Generals of the German Army German Army officers of World War II German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United States German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United Kingdom Himmerod meeting participants Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Military personnel from Hesse People from Hofgeismar Prisoners and detainees of Germany