Generalarzt
A Generalarzt (English: General Surgeon) of the German Army was from 1934 to 1945 a general's rank equivalent to a Major General (or SS-Brigadeführer).
Contents
Medical ranks compared
The Generalstabsarzt[2] was equivalent to a Lieutenant General (or SS-Gruppenführer) and the Generaloberstabsarzt (also Generaloberstabsveterinär for the veterinary corps) to a General der Waffengattung (or SS-Obergruppenführer). Before c. 1910, the Major General rank was the Generalarzt I. Class (later Obergeneralarzt) whereas the Generalarzt II. Class (renamed Oberstarzt in June 1934) was equivalent to a Colonel. Subsequently, the equivalent naval ranks of the Kriegsmarine were Admiralarzt, Admiralstabsarzt and Admiraloberstabsarzt. In the German Reich, the Surgeon General was the head of the medical service within an army corps (corps doctor), less frequently within a division (division doctor).
History
Until the founding of the German Empire, the rank designations of medical officers (Sanitätsoffiziere) were a matter for the individual German states. A uniform system was first introduced in 1873. Medical students before their final exams, and sometimes biology students, etc., were employed as junior physicians in the armed forces' medical corps. After completing their studies, they were promoted to assistant physician. Further medical ranks are listed in the table below. There were corresponding ranks for veterinarians and pharmacists. Army ranks were usually prefixed with "Feld-" (field), and Navy ranks with "Marine-" (naval).
The subordinate position of the General "Senior" Surgeon (Generaloberarzt; a title abolished in 1934) compared to the Surgeon General (Generalarzt) is confusing. Furthermore, this should not be confused with the rank of Senior Surgeon General (Obergeneralarzt), introduced around 1910/11.
| Medical Ranks 1873–1934 | Medical Ranks 1 April 1934–1945 | |
|---|---|---|
| Generals | ||
| Generaloberstabsarzt (date of introduction unclear)[3] | Generaloberstabsarzt (General Senior Staff Surgeon; General of arm/branch of service) | |
| Generalstabsarzt (as of 1891/92, as can be demonstrated with Alwin von Coler, in Prussia in the rank of Lieutenant General (in individual cases also with the rank of General of the Infantry; see: Otto von Schjerning), in other German states Major General)[4] |
Generalstabsarzt (General Staff Surgeon; Lieutenant General) | |
| Generalstabsarzt/Obergeneralarzt (as of c. 1910/11)[5] /Generalarzt I. Klasse (temporarily the upper half of the seniority list for general physicians; in Prussia formerly corps physician, retained as a job title) |
Generalarzt (General Surgeon; Major General) | |
| Staff Officers | ||
| Generalarzt II. Klasse (lower half of seniority-ranking general physicians) | Oberstarzt (Colonel Surgeon; Colonel) | |
| Generaloberarzt (until 1896/97 Divisionsarzt) | Oberfeldarzt (Senior Field Surgeon; Lieutenant Colonel) | |
| Oberstabsarzt (until 1896/97 in two classes) | Oberstabsarzt (Senior Staff Surgeon; Major) | |
| Captains and Lieutenants | ||
| Stabsarzt (until 1896 in two classes, formerly regimental doctor) | Stabsarzt (Staff Surgeon; Captain) | |
| Oberarzt (until 1896 Assistenzarzt I. Klasse) | Oberarzt (Senior Surgeon; 1st Lieutenant) | |
| Assistenzarzt (until 1896/97 Assistenzarzt II. Klasse) | Assistenzarzt (Assistant Surgeon; 2nd Lieutenant) | |
Generaloberstabsarzt
Until the introduction of the rank hierarchy of Generaloberstabsarzt (Admiraloberstabsarzt), Generalstabsarzt (Admiralstabsarzt) and Generalarzt (Admiralarzt), the General Surgeon was the highest-ranking officer in the medical corps of the German Armed Forces, regardless of current rank. With the reorganization of the medical officer career path on 1 April 1934, the Reichswehr rank of General Surgeon was renamed Colonel Surgeon and so on.
Wehrmacht
In the Wehrmacht, there were the General Surgeon , the General Pharmacist, and the General Veterinary. Only one officer was appointed General Pharmacist before the end of the war. This was Werner Knoll, who was awarded this rank on 1 October 1944. As a Ministerial Director, Knoll wore the Wehrmacht civil service uniform of a general's rank in the secondary color carmine. After his appointment as General Pharmacist, the secondary color was light green. The shoulder pieces bore a silver emblem with the letters HV (for Army Administration or Heeresverwaltung) and a narrow dark green cord between the gold cords.
Further reading
External links
References
- ↑ Erich Hippke was born on 7 March 1888 at the estate of Prökuls (Gut Prökuls), Kreis Memel, Province of East Prussia, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire, as the son of forestry treasurer (Forstkassenrendanten) Wilhelm August Ferdinand Hippke and his wife Helene Eveline Auguste, née Labes. On 28 March 1907, Erich enrolled into the Kaiser-Wilhelms-Akademie für das militärärztliche Bildungswesen, an elite academy for military surgeons in Berlin. Hippke joined the Prussian Army on 1 April 1907 and was officially assigned to the 4th Guards Regiment of Foot (4. Garde-Regiment zu Fuß) stationed in Berlin-Moabit.
- ↑ In Prussia and Bavaria, "General Staff Surgeon of the Army" was the official title of the head of the entire military medical service.
- ↑ The date of introduction of the rank of "Generaloberstabsarzt" (Senior General Surgeon) is unclear. In Germany, it may have been introduced only in the 1920s (see the CV of Dr. Martin Merkel), in Austria-Hungary presumably during the First World War, then corresponding to the rank of Feldmarschalleutnant (Lieutenant General) (see the CV of Alois Pick).
- ↑ http://www.zeno.org/Brockhaus-1911/A/Generalstabsarzt
- ↑ see Karl v. Wegelin (Württemberg), Georg Wilke (Sachsen), Otto Thiele, Berthold von Kern (Preußen), in: Die Grund-und Endprobleme der Erkenntnis, Julius Springer, 1938
