Leo Philipp Franz Hepp (15 August 1907 – 24 October 1987) was a German military officer, who served as a high-ranking signals officer in the

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

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and as a

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) 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 ...

in the

Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

after the war.

Early life and education

Hepp was born in Ulm in

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

, the son of military veterinarian Dr. Leo Hepp (1871–1950). He completed his secondary education at Karlsgymnasium in Stuttgart, taking his ''

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen yea ...

'' in the spring of 1925.

Career

Pre-war

After taking his ''Abitur'' earlier in 1925, Hepp enlisted in the

Reichswehr ''Reichswehr'' () was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first years of the Third Reich. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshaped ...

and was assigned to Signals Detachment 5 in

Bad Cannstatt Bad Cannstatt, also called Cannstatt (until July 23, 1933) or Kannstadt (until 1900), is one of the outer stadtbezirke, or city boroughs, of Stuttgart in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Bad Cannstatt is the oldest and most populous of Stuttgart's b ...

. After attending the Infantry School in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

and Artillery School in Jüterbog, he was commissioned as a

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

in Signals Detachment 5 and a few years later he was promoted to Oberleutnant. From 1935 to 1937, Hepp was an intelligence instructor at the Munich '' Kriegsschule'' of the Wehrmacht.

World War II

During World War II, he initially served on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

in France as a staff officer of the 12th Army, before being sent in December 1940 to the Balkans. On 2 March 1941 he arrived in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north ...

, and when the 12th Army participated in the occupation of Greece shortly thereafter he served as a logistics staff officer in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

and

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...

. From July 1942 to May 1943, he served as the personnel staff officer for the 9th Infantry Division, with the rank of

Oberstleutnant () is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Lieutenant colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The S ...

. From February 1944 to the end of the war in May 1945, Hepp served as chief of staff for the Chief Signals Officer at the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, under General der Nachrichtentruppe Erich Fellgiebel and Generalleutnant Albert Praun.

Post-war

After the war, Hepp was kept as a prisoner of the United States military, and called as a witness at the

Nuremberg Trials The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II. Between 1939 and 1945, Nazi Germany invaded ...

. He joined the Gehlen Organization, a German intelligence agency established in

Allied-occupied Germany Germany was already de facto occupied by the Allies from the real fall of Nazi Germany in World War II on 8 May 1945 to the establishment of the East Germany on 7 October 1949. The Allies (United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and ...

by the U.S.

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the intelligence agency of the United States during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines for all bran ...

, serving as the head of signals intelligence from 1946 to 1956. Under Hepp's leadership, West Germany's first electronic

listening post A radio listening station (also: listening post, radio intercept station or wireless intercept station, W/T station for wireless telegraphy) is a facility used for military reconnaissance, especially telecommunications reconnaissance (also kno ...

s were set up to spy on

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

, including the famous post at

Tutzing Tutzing is a municipality in the district of Starnberg in Bavaria, Germany, on the west bank of the Starnberger See. Just 40 km south-west of Munich and with good views of the Alps, the town was traditionally a favorite vacation spot for thos ...

disguised as the private firm "Südlabor GmbH". His department of the Gehlen Organization was very helpful to the U.S. intelligence community's efforts to track the movements of Soviet fighter and attack aircraft units. His successor as head of signals intelligence was his old boss Albert Praun.

Bundeswehr

In September 1956, Hepp joined the newly formed armed forces of West Germany, the

. From December 1959 to October 1960, he was commander of the newly formed 10th Panzer Division headquartered in

Sigmaringen Sigmaringen ( Swabian: ''Semmerenga'') is a town in southern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Situated on the upper Danube, it is the capital of the Sigmaringen district. Sigmaringen is renowned for its castle, Schloss Sigmaringen, ...

. From October 1960 to September 1961, he was Deputy

Inspector of the Army The Inspector of the Army (german: Inspekteur des Heeres or ''InspH'') is the title held by the commander and highest ranking officer of the German Army (unless the Inspector General is an army officer) of the modern-day German Armed Forces or '' ...

and Chief of the General Staff, based in

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

. In October 1961, Hepp was appointed the commander of the II Corps headquartered in Ulm, and in February 1962, he was promoted to the rank of Generalleutant. While he was corps commander, he had to handle the controversy surrounding the "Nagold affair" in 1963. This ensued when a recruit collapsed from heat exhaustion during a march of the 6/9 Fallschirmjäger Training Company from

Nagold Nagold is a town in southwestern Germany, bordering the Northern Black Forest. It is located in the ''Landkreis'' (district) of Calw (Germany/Baden-Württemberg). Nagold is known for its ruined castle, Hohennagold Castle, and for its road viad ...

on July 25, and died in hospital a week later. Hepp made the decision, without consulting the Federal Ministry of Defence, to disband the training company for not adhering to proper training methods. In May 1967, Hepp was awarded the Grand Cross of Merit with Star. In September 1967, Hepp retired from the Bundeswehr and passed command of II Corps on to Generalleutnant

Karl Wilhlem Thilo Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer * Karl of Austria, last Austr ...

Federal Intelligence Service

After his retirement from the military, Hepp returned briefly to intelligence, serving in the

Federal Intelligence Service The Federal Intelligence Service (German: ; , BND) is the foreign intelligence agency of Germany, directly subordinate to the Chancellor's Office. The BND headquarters is located in central Berlin and is the world's largest intelligence headq ...

from 1970 to 1972 as the leader of the signals intelligence division at Pullach.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hepp, Leo 1907 births 1987 deaths Military personnel from Ulm Reichswehr personnel German Army officers of World War II Bundeswehr generals People of the Federal Intelligence Service Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Lieutenant generals of the German Army