Otto Stapf (officer)
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__NOTOC__ Otto Stapf (13 November 1890 – 30 March 1963) 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 ...
who commanded the 111th Infantry Division and the XXXXIV. Army Corps and led the Economic Staff East. He was the only recipient of both the
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. While it was order of precedence, lower in preceden ...
and the Knight's Cross of the War Merit Cross with 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 ...
.


Early years and World War I

Otto Johann Leonhard Stapf was born on 13 November 1890 in Hellmitzheim in
Middle Franconia Middle Franconia (, ) is one of the three administrative regions of Franconia, Germany, in the west of Bavaria bordering the state of Baden-Württemberg. The administrative seat is Ansbach; the most populous and largest city is Nuremberg. Subdi ...
as the son of Paul Stapf, a businessman in
Kitzingen Kitzingen () is a town in the Germany, German state of Bavaria, capital of the Kitzingen (district), district Kitzingen. It is part of the Franconia geographical region and has around 21,000 inhabitants. Surrounded by vineyards, Kitzingen County i ...
, and his wife Blondine, ''née'' Meyer. After receiving 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 year ...
from the Altes Gymnasium in
Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...
, Stapf entered the Bavarian Army as a
Fahnenjunker ''Fahnenjunker'' (short Fhj or FJ, ; ) is a military rank of the Bundeswehr and of some former German armed forces. In earlier German armed forces it was also the collective name for many officer aspirant ranks. It was established by the ''Pre ...
(officer candidate) on 1 August 1910 and was commissioned as a
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 ...
(lieutenant) in the 22nd Bavarian Infantry Regiment (''Königlich Bayerisches 22. Infanterie-Regiment Fürst Wilhelm von Hohenzollern'') on 28 October 1912. He served with this regiment in World War I and was promoted to
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 14 January 1916. On 28 June 1918 he was named Adjutant of the 21st Bavarian Infantry Brigade, where he served until the end of the war.


Interwar period

After the end of World War I, he was carried over in 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 ...
, serving in various infantry and cavalry units and staff positions. He was provisionally promoted to captain on 1 July 1921 (later receiving a seniority date of 18 October 1918), to major on 1 February 1931 (with a seniority date of 1 April 1929) and to lieutenant colonel on 1 October 1933. Stapf married Carin Fjellmann on 25 November 1923 in Munich. The couple had two sons and one daughter. Stapf was in command of the 7. Kraftfahr-Abteilung in Munich when the Reichswehr became 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 ...
in 1935, but was soon promoted to colonel on 1 August 1935 and transferred as a section chief to the Army General Staff in Berlin in September. In February 1938, he was attached to
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 ...
's staff as army liaison officer to the Luftwaffe staff. On 10 November 1938, he was named Oberquartiermeister III in the Army General Staff while remaining concurrently as liaison officer to the Luftwaffe. He was promoted to ''
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 ...
'' on 1 April 1939


World War II

Stapf was named commander of the 111th Infantry Division with effect from 5 November 1940 and promoted to ''
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 ...
'' on 1 February 1941. He was briefly commanding general of the XXXXIV. Army Corps in January and February 1942, but was soon transferred to the army's leaders' reserve (''Führerreserve''). In July 1942, Stapf was named chief of the Economic Staff East (''Wirtschaftsstab Ost'') under the Economic Organization East (), whose task was the economic exploitation of the occupied eastern territories. Stapf headed the Economic Staff East until it was dissolved in the fall of 1944. On 1 October 1942, Stapf was promoted to ''
General der Infanterie General of the infantry is a military rank of a General officer in the infantry and refers to: * General of the Infantry (Austria) * General of the Infantry (Bulgaria) * General of the Infantry (Germany) ('), a rank of a general in the German Impe ...
''. With the reorganization of the German military economic organization in late 1944, Stapf became chief of the Field Economic Office (''Feldwirtschaftsamt'') of the
Oberkommando der Wehrmacht The (; abbreviated OKW
ː kaːˈve The colon alphabetic letter is used in a number of languages and phonetic transcription systems, for vowel length in Americanist Phonetic Notation, for the vowels and in a number of languages of Papua New Guinea, and for grammatical tone in s ...
Armed Forces High Command) was the Command (military formation), supreme military command and control Staff (military), staff of Nazi Germany during World War II, that was directly subordinated to Adolf ...
on 15 October 1944, where he remained until the end of the war.


Post–war

After the war, Stapf worked with the United States Army Historical Division. He died on 30 March 1963 in Munich.


Awards and decorations

*
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 ...
(1914) ** 2nd Class (16 November 1914) ** 1st Class (21 January 1916) *
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 ...
(1939) ** 2nd Class (4 October 1939) ** 1st Class (4 June 1940) *
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. While it was order of precedence, lower in preceden ...
on 31 August 1941 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 111. Infanterie-Division * Knight's Cross of the War Merit Cross with Swords 10 September 1944 as
General der Infanterie General of the infantry is a military rank of a General officer in the infantry and refers to: * General of the Infantry (Austria) * General of the Infantry (Bulgaria) * General of the Infantry (Germany) ('), a rank of a general in the German Impe ...
and Chef Wehrmachtwirtschaftstab Ost * Bavarian Military Merit Order, 4th Class with Swords (29 April 1915) * Bavarian Military Merit Order, 4th Class with Crown and Swords (24 June 1918) * Bavarian Prince Regent Luitpold Medal on the Ribbon of the Jubilee Medal of the Bavarian Army (12 March 1911) * Princely Hohenzollern Honor Cross, 3rd Class with Swords (15 July 1915) * Oldenburg Friedrich August Cross, 1st and 2nd Class (15 December 1917) *
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 Black (5 May 1918) * Honor Cross for Combatants (29 December 1934) *
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 through 1st Classes (2 October 1936) * Spanish
Cross of Military Merit The Cross of Military Merit () is Spain's military awards for gallantry or merit in war or peace and is awarded to members of the Spanish Armed Forces, Guardia Civil or civilians. History and attribution Established on 3 August 1864 by Queen ...
with White Decoration, 3rd Class (''Cruz blanca del Merito Militar de 3a clasa'') (12 April 1939)BArch PERS 6/354


References


Citations


Bibliography

* BArch PERS 6/354: Bundesarchiv - Personalakte des Otto Stapfs https://invenio.bundesarchiv.de/invenio/direktlink/3a49e7f7-a174-43d0-96ae-eb6c5981c685/ * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stapf, Otto 1890 births 1963 deaths German Army generals of World War II Generals of Infantry (Wehrmacht) German Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross People from Kitzingen (district) Recipients of the Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross Military personnel from the Kingdom of Bavaria Military personnel from Bavaria Reichswehr personnel