70 years ago on this date, March 12,
1945, German General Friedrich Fromm was executed by firing squad for cowardice.
I will post information about this General from Wikipedia and other links.
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Generaloberst Friedrich
Fromm
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Born
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8 October 1888
Berlin, Germany |
Died
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12 March 1945 (aged 56)
Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany |
Allegiance
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German Empire (to 1918)
Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany |
Service/branch
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Army
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Rank
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Generaloberst
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Commands held
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Chef der Heeresausrüstung und Befehlshaber
des Ersatzheeres
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Battles/wars
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World War I
World War II |
Awards
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Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
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Friedrich Fromm (8 October 1888 – 12 March 1945) was
a German army officer. A recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, he
was executed for failing to act against the 20 July plot to assassinate Hitler.
Early life
Fromm
was born in Charlottenburg. He served as a lieutenant during World War I.
Fromm
played at the beginning of the Nazi era an important role in the power
structure of the regime: From 1933, he was responsible for the human and
material upgrade of the German army. Also from 1939 Chief of Army armour and
commander of the Replacement Army (the Ersatzheer).
Head of the Reserve Army
When
Operation Barbarossa stalled outside of Moscow
in December 1941 and the Russian counter-attack started, Hitler took direct
command of the Army and re-organized the armed forces command structure. The
Office of the Chief of Army Armament and the Replacement Army under
Generaloberst Friedrich Fromm was created, subordinate to the commander in
chief, army (head of the OKH, i.e Hitler). Fromm had enough power at
his disposal to control the German state because his position controlled army
procurement and production and commanded all army troops inside Germany.
At
the start of 1942 Fromm, apparently, recommended going over to the defensive
for the whole year; because of the exhausted army stockpiles and the diversion
of production, after Barbarossa initial success in the summer of 1941.
The
20 July plot
Main
article: 20 July plot
In
World War II, Fromm was Commander in Chief of the Reserve Army (Ersatzheer),
in charge of training and personnel replacement for the German Army, a position
he occupied for most of the war. Though he was aware that some of his subordinates—most
notably Claus von Stauffenberg, his Chief of
Staff—were planning an assassination attempt against Adolf
Hitler, he remained quiet and agreed to have a part in it if he became a
top official of the new government after the mutiny, though he didn't have any
direct involvement in the conspiracy. When the attempt to proceed with the
mutiny on 15 July failed, Fromm refused to have any further part in their
mutiny.
However,
on the 20th of July the news broke out that Hitler and several officers of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (Supreme
Command of the Armed Forces) had been the victims of an explosion in the German
military's headquarters on the Eastern Front, the Wolfsschanze
(Wolf's Lair), near Rastenburg, East Prussia (modern day Poland). Fromm quickly
came to the conclusion that it was Stauffenberg and the plotters who were at
fault, and when he attempted to arrest them, he was quickly overthrown and
confined to a jail cell in the Bendlerblock,
the Berlin headquarters of the Ersatzheer among other branches of the
German Military.
When
the mutiny failed, Fromm was found by men of the Ersatzheer and freed.
Against Hitler's orders to take the conspirators alive, he had them executed
immediately by firing squad to cover up potential allegations that he himself
was involved. However, these actions did not save him.
Trial and execution
After
executing the top plotters, Fromm returned to his office for the night after a
reported upcoming air-raid. There in his office he was met by various Nazi
officers, Joseph Goebbels was among them.
Fromm tried to claim credit for ending the coup.
On
the morning of July 22, 1944, Fromm was arrested by Nazi officials and locked
in jail to await trial. Fromm was discharged from the German Army on 14
September 1944. The civilian Fromm was sentenced to death and considered
unworthy for military duty by the Volksgerichtshof
on 7 March 1945. Since the court failed to prove a direct association with the
20 July plotters, he had been charged and convicted for cowardice before
the enemy. The loss of his worthiness for military service led to a
permanent loss of all honors, ranks and orders. On 12 March 1945, Fromm was
executed at the Brandenburg-Görden Prison by firing squad
as part of the post-conspiracy purge. His last words before the firing squad
were reported to be "I die, because it was
ordered. I had always wanted only the best for Germany."
Awards
- Iron Cross (1914)
- 2nd Class
- 1st Class
- Wound Badge (1914)
- in Black
- Hanseatic Cross of Hamburg
- Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918
- Anschluss Medal
- Sudetenland Medal with Prague Castle Bar
- Memel Medal
- Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939)
- 2nd Class
- 1st Class
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 6 July 1940 as General der Artillerie and chief of the Heeresrüstung (armament of the army) and commander in chief of the Ersatzheeres (replacement army) [Note 1]
Film
portrayals
- By Helmut Lohner in the 1990 film The Plot to Kill Hitler.
- By Axel Milberg in the 2004 film Stauffenberg (also known as Operation Valkyrie).
- By Tom Wilkinson in the 2008 film Valkyrie.
References
Footnotes
1.
Fromm, in
connection with the 20 July plot, the failed attempt to assassinate Adolf
Hitler, was discharged from the Heer on 14 September 1944. The civilian Fromm
was sentenced to death and considered unworthy for military duty by the
Volksgerichtshof on 7 March 1945. The loss of his worthiness for military service
led to an eternal loss of all honors, ranks and orders.
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