Gerd von Rundstedt

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Gerd von Rundstedt bigraphy, stories - German general

Gerd von Rundstedt : biography

12 December 1875 – 24 February 1953

Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt (12 December 1875 – 24 February 1953) was a German Field Marshal (Generalfeldmarschall) during World War II.

Born into a Prussian family with a long military tradition, Rundstedt entered the Imperial German Army in 1892 and rose through the ranks until World War I, in which he served mainly as a staff officer. In the inter-war years, he continued his military career, reaching the rank of Colonel General (Generaloberst) before retiring in 1938.

He was recalled at the beginning of World War II as Commander of Army Group South in the Polish campaign. He commanded Army Group A during the German invasion of France, and was promoted to the rank of Field Marshal on 19 July 1940. In the Russian Campaign, he commanded Army Group South, responsible for the largest encirclement in history, the Battle of Kiev. He was dismissed by Adolf Hitler in December 1941, following the German retreat from Rostov, but was recalled in 1942 and appointed Commander in Chief in the West.

He was dismissed again after the German defeat in Normandy in July 1944, but was again recalled as Commander in Chief in the West in September, holding this post until his final dismissal by Hitler in March 1945. Rundstedt was aware of the various plots to depose Hitler, but refused to support them. After the war, he was charged with war crimes, but did not face trial due to his age and poor health. He was released in 1949, and died in Hanover in 1953.

Last years

Rundstedt was now a free man after four years in custody, but it brought him little joy.Messenger, chapter 15 He was 73, frail and in poor health. He had no home, no money and no income. The family home in Kassel had been requisitioned by the Americans, and the Rundstedt estate in Saxony-Anhalt was in the Soviet Zone and had been confiscated. His wife was living in Solz, but this was in the American Zone, where he could not travel because the Americans (who were displeased by the British decision to release him) still regarded him as a Class 1 war criminal under the denazification laws then in force. Likewise, his money, in a bank account in Kassel, was frozen because of his classification, which also denied him a military pension. The British had assured him that he would not be arrested or extradited if he stayed in the British Zone, but the Americans had made no such guarantee. "It is an awful situation for me and my poor wife," he wrote to Liddell Hart. "I would like to end this life as soon as possible."Messenger p. 296

In the last years of his life Rundstedt became a subject of increasing interest, and he was interviewed by various writers and historians, although he tired easily and his memory was fading. His former chief of staff, Günther Blumentritt, visited him frequently, and began work on a highly sympathetic biography, which appeared in 1952 (though not in Germany). In 1951 he was portrayed sympathetically by Leo G. Carroll in film about Rommel, The Desert Fox, for which he was paid DM3,000 by 20th Century Fox. In January 1952 Bila suffered a stroke which left her partially paralyzed, and Rundstedt himself could hardly walk. Blumentritt and Liddell Hart raised money to provide nursing care for the invalid couple, whose main pleasure in life was by then visits from their grandchildren. Bila died on 4 October 1952. After her death Rundstedt felt he had little left to live for, and declined rapidly. He died at home of heart failure on 24 February 1953.

Under the Nazi regime

In January 1933 Hitler became Chancellor, and within a few months, dictator. The Defence Minister, General Werner von Blomberg, ensured that the Army remained loyal to the new regime. In February he arranged for Hitler to meet with senior generals, including Rundstedt. Hitler assured the generals that he favoured a strong Army and that there would be no interference with its internal affairs. Rundstedt was satisfied with this, but made it clear in private conversations that he did not like the Nazi regime. He also said, however, that he would do nothing to oppose it.Messenger p. 60 In 1934, when General Kurt Freiherr von Hammerstein-Equord resigned as Chief of Staff, Hitler wished to appoint General Walther von Reichenau to succeed him. Rundstedt led a group of senior officers in opposing the appointment, on the grounds that Reichenau was too openly a supporter of the regime. Hitler and Blomberg backed down and General Werner Freiherr von Fritsch was appointed instead. When Fritsch was forced to resign in 1938, Rundstedt again blocked Reichenau’s appointment, and the post went to General Walther von Brauchitsch.Messenger p. 61