| Friedrich Olbricht | |
|---|---|
| 4 October 1888 – 21 July 1944 | |
 General Friedrich Olbricht |
|
| Place of birth | Leisnig |
| Place of death | Berlin (Bendlerblock) |
| Allegiance |  German Empire (to 1918) Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany |
| Service/branch | Heer |
| Years of service | 1907-1944 |
| Rank | General der Infanterie |
| Commands held | 24. Events 610 - Heraclius arrives by ship from Africa at Constantinople, overthrows Byzantine Emperor Phocas Year 1888 ( MDCCCLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Events 356 BC - Herostratus sets fire to the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Leisnig is a small town in the district of Mittelsachsen, federal Free State of Saxony in Germany. Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. The Bendlerblock is a building in Berlin, located in the Stauffenbergstraße (originally named 'Bendlerstrasse' south of the The German Empire is the name commonly used in English to describe Germany from 1871 to 1918 when it was a semi- Constitutional monarchy: beginning with the Unification The term Weimar Republic ( ˈvaɪmarɐ repuˈbliːk is used by historians to signify the democratic and Republican period of Germany from 1919 to 1933 Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers Infanterie-Division |
| Battles/wars | World War I World War II |
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross |
Friedrich Olbricht (4 October 1888 – 21 July 1944) was a German general and one of the plotters involved in the attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler at the Wolfsschanze in East Prussia on 20 July 1944. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross ( German language: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes, often simply Ritterkreuz) was a grade of the Iron Cross Events 610 - Heraclius arrives by ship from Africa at Constantinople, overthrows Byzantine Emperor Phocas Year 1888 ( MDCCCLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Events 356 BC - Herostratus sets fire to the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. East Prussia (Ostpreußen; Rytų Prūsija or Rytprūsiai; Prusy Wschodnie Восточная Пруссия or Vostochnaya Prussiya) refers to the main part Events 1304 - Wars of Scottish Independence: Fall of Stirling Castle - King Edward I of England takes the last rebel stronghold Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
Contents |
Life
Olbricht was born in Leisnig, Saxony, and was the son of the mathematics professor Richard Olbricht. Leisnig is a small town in the district of Mittelsachsen, federal Free State of Saxony in Germany. The Free State of Saxony (Freistaat Sachsen ˈzaksən Swobodny Stat Sakska is the easternmost federal state of Germany.
After his Abitur in 1907, Olbricht joined Infantry Regiment 106 in Leipzig as an ensign. Abitur (from Latin abire = go away go off is a designation used in Germany and Finland for final exams that young adults take at the end of Year 1907 ( MCMVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year The Infantry is the oldest and most numerous of the Combat Arms in the Armed forces, and consists This sort of fix restores section edit linkpoints to where they belong He then fought in the First World War from 1914 to 1918, and afterwards, as a captain, was taken into the Reichswehr, which had been reduced in size under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Year 1914 ( MCMXIV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Year 1918 ( MCMXVIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The Reichswehr ( German for "National Defence" formed the military organisation of Germany from 1919 until 1935 when it was The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. Year 1919 ( MCMXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common
Olbricht was married to Eva Koeppel. The couple had a son and a daughter.
Olbricht's mistrust of the Nazis became apparent early on, particularly after the Beer Hall Putsch in 1923, when he stood together with Hans Oster, Erwin von Witzleben and Georg Thomas, who all distanced themselves from the growing right-wing movement, worried as they were at the allure that the Nazis seemed to have for a lot of military men. Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German The Beer Hall Putsch (also known as the Munich Putsch) was a failed Coup d'état that occurred between the evening of Thursday November 8 Year 1923 ( MCMXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Hans Oster ( August 9, 1887 &ndash April 9, 1945) was deputy head of the Abwehr, under Wilhelm Canaris, and a dedicated Job-Wilhelm Georg "Erwin" von Witzleben ( 4 December 1881 - 8 August 1944) was a German army officer (by 1940 a Georg Thomas ( 20 February 1890 &ndash 29 December 1946) was a German General and a resistance fighter in the Third
In 1926, Olbricht was called into the Reich Defence Ministry as leader of the "Foreign Armies Bureau". Year 1926 ( MCMXXVI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. In 1933, he became chief of staff of the Dresden Division. Year 1933 ( MCMXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
In 1934, Olbricht managed to save several men from being shot in the wake of the Röhm affair by having them assigned to military-political duties under army protection. Year 1934 ( MCMXXXIV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Night of the Long Knives (German) or " Operation Hummingbird " was a Purge that took place in Nazi Germany between June 30 and July They had already been arrested, and would have been put to death in fairly short order.
In 1935 came Olbricht's appointment as chief of staff of the Fourth Army Corps stationed in Dresden. Year 1935 ( MCMXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Dresden (etymologically from Old Sorbian Drežďany, meaning people of the riverside forest, Drježdźany is the Capital city of the German In 1938, he took over leadership of the 24th Infantry Division. Year 1938 ( MCMXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. That same year, he unsuccessfully advocated the rehabilitation of Werner von Fritsch, who had been disgraced as a result of an accusation of homosexuality (see Blomberg-Fritsch Affair). Werner Freiherr (Baron von Fritsch ( 4 August 1880 &ndash 22 September 1939) was a prominent Wehrmacht officer member of the The Blomberg-Fritsch Affair (also known as Blomberg-Fritsch-Krise or Blomberg-Fritsch crisis) were two related scandals in early 1938 that resulted in the subjugation
When the Second World War broke out in 1939, Olbricht commanded the 24th Infantry Division during the Invasion of Poland. The Bendlerblock is a building in Berlin, located in the Stauffenbergstraße (originally named 'Bendlerstrasse' south of the World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Invasion of Poland (1939 precipitated World War II. It was carried out by Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small German-allied He lead the division from the front, in one case creating an improvised "motorized unit" by loading troops on his own staff car so he could rush ahead and secure important bridges before they could be demolished by the enemy. For his personal bravery and his dynamic leadership style he was awared the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. For other meanings please see Iron Cross (disambiguation The Iron Cross ( was a Military decoration of the Kingdom of Prussia <General Olbricht: Ein Mann des 20. Juli, Helena P. Page, Bouvier Verlag, Bonn, 1993, pp. 107-128. > On 15 February 1940, Olbricht was promoted to General of the Infantry. Events 590 - Khosrau II is crowned as king of Persia 1637 - Ferdinand III becomes Holy Roman Emperor Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. He was appointed Chief of the General Army Office (Allgemeines Heeresamt) in the Army High Command (Oberkommando des Heeres). He was furthermore made Chief of the Armed Forces Replacement Office (Wehrersatzamt) at the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht. For other uses of OKW see OKW (disambiguation. The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht ( OKW) ( English: "High Command
Starting in the winter of 1941-1942, Olbricht developed the Valkyrie Plan (see:Operation Valkyrie), a General Staff plan which was ostensibly to be used to put down internal unrest, but was in fact a blue print for a coup d'etat. Operation Valkyrie ( Unternehmen Walküre) was an operational plan developed for the Reserve Army of the German Army ( Wehrmacht Heer) Together with the resistance circles around Colonel-General Ludwig Beck, Carl Friedrich Goerdeler and Major-General Henning von Tresckow, he worked to find a means of assassinating Adolf Hitler and using the coup plan to bring down the Nazi regime. Ludwig August Theodor Beck (29 June 1880 &ndash 21 July 1944 was a German General and the Chief of the General Staff of the Oberkommando des Heeres Carl Friedrich Goerdeler ( July 31, 1884 &ndash February 2, 1945) was a conservative German Politician Henning von Tresckow Henning Hermann Robert Karl von Tresckow ( January 10 1901 &ndash July 21 1944) was a Major General in the Hi and welcome to Wikipedia! Please understand that this article is frequently vandalized and vandalism is reverted immediately <General Olbricht: Ein Mann des 20. Juli, Helena P. Page, Bouvier Verlag, Bonn, 1993, pp. 186-191. > In 1943, he asked that Colonel Claus Graf Schenk von Stauffenberg, who would later be the key man in the assassination attempt with the job of actually planting the bomb near Hitler, come to work at his office. Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Claus Philipp Maria Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg ( 15 November 1907 &ndash 21 July 1944) was a German army officer
On the day of the attempted coup d'état, 20 July 1944, Olbricht and Colonel Albrecht Ritter Mertz von Quirnheim initiated Operation Valkyrie, thereby mobilizing the Reserve Army (Ersatzheer). Events 1304 - Wars of Scottish Independence: Fall of Stirling Castle - King Edward I of England takes the last rebel stronghold Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Albrecht Ritter Mertz von Quirnheim ( Operation Valkyrie ( Unternehmen Walküre) was an operational plan developed for the Reserve Army of the German Army ( Wehrmacht Heer) It soon became known, however, that Stauffenberg's briefcase bomb had failed to kill the Führer. The consequences were dire.
After a hastily arranged court martial on the night of 20 July-21 July led by Colonel-General Friedrich Fromm, Olbricht, Albrecht Mertz von Quirnheim, Werner von Haeften, and Claus von Stauffenberg were all led out into the courtyard of the Bendlerblock where they were shot by firing squad. A court-martial (plural courts-martial) is a Military court. These military courts can determine Punishments for members of the Military subject Events 1304 - Wars of Scottish Independence: Fall of Stirling Castle - King Edward I of England takes the last rebel stronghold Events 356 BC - Herostratus sets fire to the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World Friedrich Fromm ( October 8 1888 &ndash March 12 1945) was a German army officer remembered for his betrayal of conspirators Werner Karl von Haeften ( 9 October 1908 - 21 July 1944) was an Oberleutnant in the Wehrmacht, who took part in the military-based The Bendlerblock is a building in Berlin, located in the Stauffenbergstraße (originally named 'Bendlerstrasse' south of the Execution by firing squad is a method of Capital punishment, particularly common in times of war
Literature
- Friedrich Georgi, Soldat im Widerstand. General der Infanterie Friedrich Olbricht; 2. Aufl. , Berlin u. Hamburg 1989 (ISBN 3-489-50134-9)
- Helena P. Page, General Friedrich Olbricht. Ein Mann des 20. Juli; 2. Aufl. , Bonn u. Berlin 1994 (ISBN 3-416-02514-8) (Note the author of this book is better known under her married name Helena Schrader. Helena Page Schrader (born 19 November 1953 in Ann Arbor, Michigan) is an American Historian and Novelist, currently serving in the U )
- Report from Olbricht's son-in-law Friedrich Georgi about the talk on 20 July, in which Olbricht explained his motivations, just before he was arrested.
See also
External links
- Friedrich Olbricht in the German National Library catalogue
- Friedrich Olbricht at "Joric"
- Website on the Military Resistance to Hitler created by Olbricht's biographer, Helena Page Schrader [1]
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