Karl-Heinrich Bodenschatz (10 December 1890 – 25 August 1979) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

general who was the

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 ...

Manfred von Richthofen Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (; 2 May 1892 – 21 April 1918), known in English as Baron von Richthofen or the Red Baron, was a fighter pilot with the German Air Force during World War I. He is considered the ace-of-aces of th ...

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 ...

and the liaison officer between

Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician, aviator, military leader, and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which gov ...

and

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 ...

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 ...

Biography

Early life and First World War

Bodenschatz was born in Rehau,

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria ( ; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingd ...

in 1890. He enlisted in the Royal Bavarian 8th Infantry Regiment (''Königlich Bayerisches 8. Infanterie-Regiment „Großherzog Friedrich II. von Baden“'') and was a cadet at the War Academy in

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

. He was commissioned a ''Leutnant'' on 28 October 1912. Following the German entry into World War I he saw active infantry service on the Western Front and participated in the

Battle of Verdun The Battle of Verdun ( ; ) was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in French Third Republic, France. The battle was the longest of the First World War and took place on the hills north ...

. After being wounded four times, in 1916 he transferred to the Deutsche ''

Luftstreitkräfte The ''Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte'' (, German Air Combat Forces)known before October 1916 as (The Imperial German Air Service, lit. "The flying troops of the German Kaiser’s Reich")was the air arm of the Imperial German Army. In English-langu ...

''. He served as an adjutant in '' Jagdstaffel 2'' ("Jasta Boelcke") and then in '' Jagdgeschwader 1'' based at Avesnes-le-sac. He was adjutant to

and later, after the deaths of Manfred von Richthofen and his successor Wilhelm Reinhard, to

, who took over command of the fighter wing in June 1918.German Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv), Luftwaffe Personalakte von Karl Bodenschatz, BArch PERS 6/83

Between the wars

After the war, Bodenschatz was carried over into 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 ...

'' as a regular officer and served in the 21st (Bavarian) Infantry Regiment from 1919 until April 1933. He had maintained a friendship with Göring and joined 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 ...

as his military adjutant, serving in this capacity until 1938, visiting Britain in November 1938. In 1939, he warned the Polish military attaché in Berlin that Nazi Germany was planning to invade Poland by the end of the year.

Second World War

During World War II he was the liaison officer between Hitler's headquarters and the Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe until he was seriously injured in 1944 by 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 ...

bomb at the Wolf's Lair headquarters in Rastenburg,

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 ...

. He was fortunate to survive the explosion as two officers immediately to his left and one to his right were killed.

Post-war

He was captured at Reichenhall on 5 May 1945 and served two years in prison. In 1946 he was called as a witness at the

Nuremberg Trials #REDIRECT Nuremberg trials {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from move ...

of major

Nazi war criminals The following is a list of people who were formally indicted for committing war crimes or crimes against humanity on behalf of the Axis powers during World War II, including those who were acquitted or never received judgement. It does not inc ...

. He died in

Erlangen Erlangen (; , ) is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative district Erlangen), and with 119,810 inhabitants (as of 30 September 2024), it is the smalle ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

, in 1979, aged 88.

Decorations and awards

: ** Military Merit Order, 4th Class with Swords (18 October 1914) ** Prince Regent Luitpold Medal on the Ribbon of the Jubilee Medal for the Bavarian Army (3 March 1911) ** Observer's Badge (6 September 1918) *

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

: **

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 ...

2nd Class (10 October 1914) ** Iron Cross 1st class (13 December 1915) ** Flyer's Commemorative Badge (13 May 1919) *

Grand Duchy of Baden The Grand Duchy of Baden () was a German polity on the east bank of the Rhine. It originally existed as a sovereign state from 1806 to 1871 and later as part of the German Empire until 1918. The duchy's 12th-century origins were as a Margravia ...

: Order of the Zähringer Lion, Knight's Cross 2nd Class with Swords (6 October 1914) *

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

Wound Badge The Wound Badge () was a German military decoration first promulgated by Wilhelm II, German Emperor on 3 March 1918, which was first awarded to soldiers of the Imperial German Army, German Army who were wounded during World War I. Between the worl ...

in Silver (''mattweiß'') (1 August 1918) *

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

: War Medal ("Iron Crescent") (13 November 1917) *

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 ...

: **

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 ...

, 4th to 1st class (2 October 1936) ** German Olympic Decoration, 1st Class (1 December 1936) ** Golden Party Badge (10 December 1940) ** War Merit Cross (1939), 1st and 2nd Class with Swords **

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 Silver on 30 May 1942 as ''General der Flieger'' and chief of Ministeramt in the Reichsluftfahrtministerium with the Oberbefehlshaber der LuftwaffePatzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 537. ** Wound Badge of 20 July 1944 in Gold *

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

Order of the Cross of Liberty The Order of the Cross of Liberty (; ) is one of three official state Order (decoration), orders in Finland, along with the Order of the White Rose of Finland and the Order of the Lion of Finland. The awards of the Order of the Cross of Liberty ...

, 1st Class with Oakleaves and Swords

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * ''Hunting With Richthofen: The Bodenschatz Diaries: Sixteen Months of Battle with J G Freiherr Von Richthofen No. 1''. Grub Street, 1998, .

External links

Karl Bodenschatz Nuremberg trial testimony at the Nizkor Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bodenschatz, Karl 1890 births 1979 deaths 20th-century Freikorps personnel People from Rehau Luftstreitkräfte personnel Luftwaffe World War II generals Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Liberty, 1st Class Military personnel from the Kingdom of Bavaria Reichswehr personnel German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United States Military personnel from Bavaria Adjutants of Adolf Hitler Generals of Aviators Nazi Party members