SOME OF THE PRISONERS HELD AT
SPECIAL CAMP 11

NAME: Generalfeldmarschall Heinrich Alfred Hermann Walther von Brauchitsch

PW NO:           B33418

RANK:            Generalfeldmarschall

CAPTURED:   Arrested at his estate in Rachut / Holstein

DATE:             26th August 45

 

PERSONAL
DATE OF BIRTH:      4 October 1881

PLACE OF BIRTH:    Berlin

DATE OF DEATH:    18 October 1948

PLACE OF DEATH:  Hamburg

 

HAMBURG, Tuesday. Ex-Field-marschall Walter von Brauchitsch one of four German generals awaiting trial as war criminals made certain death-bed statements, as yet undisclosed, before he died in a British military hospital here last night. He was 67. He was appointed German Commander-in-Chief in 1938, but in 1941 Hitler dismissed him for failure to take Moscow. In 1940 he went to the French coast to prepare the intended invasion of England. He did cross to England - as a prisoner of war in 1945.

Newspaper Cutting - Western Mail October 1948

 

NATIONALITY:        German

RELIGION:                Evangelist

OCCUPATION:         Regular Soldier

HEIGHT:                    172cms

WEIGHT:                   62.2kgs

HAIR COLOUR:        Grey, partly bald
EYE COLOUR:          Grey Blue

NEXT OF KIN:          British Zone

ACCOUNT

The son of General der Kavallerie Bernhard von Brauchitsch, Heinrich Alfred Hermann Walther von Brauchitsch was born in Berlin 4th October 1881 and was raised in and around the Imperial Court. His military career began when he was commissioned into the Prussian Guard Corps in March 1900.  After Hitler came to power the German Army was rapidly expanded and as a result, von Brauchitsch became Chief of the East Prussian Military District commanding Group Command 4 at Leipzig.  In 1938, Hitler promoted him to Generaloberst and named him Commander-in-Chief of the Army.

Almost as soon as he was appointed to this post, he became aware of the conspiracy of army officers against Hitler. Despite the fact that von Brauchitsch disapproved of many of Hitler’s plans, he refused to become involved in the conspiracy because he felt bound by the oath of loyalty he, like all other officers of the army, made to Hitler.

In 1938, von Brauchitsch divorced his wife and married the daughter of a Silesian official who was a fanatical supporter of the Nazis. It has been suggested that Hitler provided the necessary funds for settlement with his first wife.

Von Brauchitsch was instrumental in the planning and carrying out of attacks on Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Yugoslavia, Greece and the Soviet Union.  After the early successes of the war, he became more and more subservient to Hitler, complying with the Führer’s orders even against his own better judgment.

In December 1941, von Brauchitsch retired and Hitler himself assumed the role of Commander-in-Chief of the Army.  From then on, von Brauchitsch lived with a cloud over his name.  At the end of the war, von Brauchitsch was arrested on his estate in Schleswig-Holstein and taken to Great Britain, being imprisoned at Island Farm.  Generalfeldmarschall von Brauchitsch was to have been tried by a British Military Court in 1949.  The practically blind Field Marshal died of heart failure in the British military hospital in Hamburg on 18th October 1948.

 

General Erhard Milch, Generaloberst Keitel and Generaloberst von Brauchitsch Note: This is a "Pre-War" photo because nobody is wearing their Knight's Crosses. Keitel & von Brauchitsch were both awarded theirs about one month after the war started.

NOTE: Generalfeldmarschall von Brauchitsch was the younger brother of Adolf von Brauchitsch who retired from the German Army on 31 January 1929 with the rank of Charakter als Generalmajor. Born on 7 November 1876 in Berlin, Adolf von Brauchitsch died on 21 January 1935 in Chemnitz.

Promotions:

Commands & Assignments:

Two interesting emails I received:

Hello I am the great great nephew of Field Marshall Von Brauchitsch from his second marriage. (He was my mothers mother’s Uncle). I thought that you might want to include that his second wife was an enthusiastic Nazi who after the Field Marshall died never married again because she didn't want to loose the ‘Von Brauchitsch’ because of its noble associations. My grandmother even ended up calling her Frau Von Rather than Tante Brigitte.

Chris

NOTE: The word “Tante” translates as “Auntie” or Aunt.

Another story was that “Frau Von’s” oldest daughter (Erika) was thrown out of their home by Frau Von for, “looking too Jewish” and for associating with so called “Untermensch”. My Great Aunt Erika never married, her younger sister Ursula did though to a successful business man called Helmut Freilander.

Chris

NOTE: “Untermensch” means roughly “sub-human.” This was what the Nazis derogatorily called Jews, Slavs, Gypsies and other so-called “non-Aryan” people.