Hans-Joachim Gravenstein

Hans-Joachim Gravenstein
Birth name	Paul Wilhelm Hans-Joachim Gravenstein
Birth date	16 July 1890
Place of birth	Berlin, Province of Brandenburg, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Death date	3 May 1947 (aged 56)
Place of death	Belgrade, Yugoslavia
Allegiance	German Empire Weimar Republic National Socialist Germany
Service/branch	Prussian Army Imperial German Army Freikorps Reichswehr Heer
Years of service	1908–1918 1919 1919–1920 / 1934–1935 1935–1945
Rank	Major General
Battles/wars	World War I World War II Phoney War Battle of France Operation Barbarossa
Awards	Iron Cross Hanseatic Cross House Order of Hohenzollern
Relations	∞ 1917 Margarete Bechstein
Other work	Businessman

Paul Wilhelm Hans-Joachim Gravenstein (sometimes in the order Hans-Joachim Paul Wilhelm Gravenstein; 16 July 1890 – 3 May 1947) was a German officer of the Prussian Army, the Imperial German Army, the Freikorps, the Reichswehr and the Wehrmacht, finally Major General and divisional commander in World War II.

Life

Gravenstein as a businessman

Recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (26 December 1944) Colonel of the Reserves Dipl.-Ing. Carl (Karl) Hermann (b. 30 December 1896 in Wiesbaden), commander of the Grenadier Regiment 384 (Croatian), was one of the few senior officers who survived captivity in Yugoslavia. On 5 April 1947, after a show trial in Belgrade, he was convicted to 20 years of hard labour. He was presumably released in 1953 along with Rudolf Henrici and others. He was still living in Wuppertal-Elberfeld in the 1960s.

After attending a Gymnasium in Charlottenburg and Spandau, Hans-Joachim Gravenstein joined the cadet corps in Plön in 1905 and later was transferred to the Royal Prussian Main Cadet Institute (Hauptkadettenanstalt in Groß-Lichterfelde) near Berlin. On 19 March 1908, he was transferred 6th Company/Garde-Fußartillerie-Regiment in Spandau, which was not yet a part of Greater Berlin (as of 1 October 1920). The regiment was renamed 1. Garde-Fußartillerie-Regiment for the war years from 1914 to 1918.

• 2 May 1908 Sworn-in
• 15 October 1908 Certificate of maturity to become an officer cadet (Fähnrich)
• 31 October 1908 to 24 July 1909 Royal Prussian War School Engers
• 10 August 1914 With the 2nd Battery of the 1. Garde-Fußartillerie-Regiment into the field as a platoon leader
  • first battles on the Western Front as of 19 August 1914
  • 1915 transferred to the Eastern Front
• 18 February to 9 March 1916 Commanded to the artillery firing course in Jüterbog
• 24 April 1916 Appointed leader of the 4th Battery/I. Battalion/1. Garde-Fußartillerie-Regiment
• 16 September 1916 Adjutant of the General of the 27th Foot Artillery (subordinate to a division)
  • in February 1917, the position General der Fußartillerie 27 was renamed Artillery Commander 117 (Arko 117)
• 19 February 1917 Adjutant of the Arko 117 subordinated to the 117. Infanterie-Division
  • 16 to 26 March 1918 Leadership course for general staff officers in Wörth
• 1 September to 1 October 1918 Commanded to the Grenadier-Regiment „König Friedrich III.“ (2. Schlesisches) Nr. 11 as battalion leader
• 19 December 1918 Transferred to the 1. Garde-Fußartillerie-Regiment for demobilization
• 1919 Homeland security near Ratibor, Cosel and Gleiwitz (Upper Silesia)
• April 1919 Garde-Kavallerie-Schützen-Korps
  • The Guard Cavalry Rifle Corps was formed in April 1919 from the Guard Cavalry Rifle Division, the Marine Division, and other Freikorps. Its commander was Lieutenant General Heinrich von Hofmann. The corps was deployed in May 1919 in the crushing of the Munich Soviet Republic.
• 1 May 1919 Heavy Reichswehr Artillery Regiment 7
• 7 June 1919 Regimental processing center of the Garde-Fußartillerie-Regiment
• 24 February 1920 Discharged upon application with the right to continue to wear the uniform
• 1 March 1920 to 31 July / 30 September 1921 Apprenticeship with the company "Schlobach Brothers Timber Wholesaler and Sawmill" in Leipzig
• 15 October 1921 Owner of a fur dyeing and tannery (the processing of raw animal skins into leather) in Leipzig
• 1 November 1926 to 30 September 1933 Employee of the C. Bechstein Pianofortefabrik A.G. in Berlin
  • as of 8 April 1927 Full member of the board of the C. Bechstein Pianofortefabrik A.G. in Berlin
  • 2 September 1928 Solemn unveiling of the war memorial in the park of Brösen (Central Saxony) by Guest of Honor Major General (ret.) Hans Gravenstein, accompanied by his son Captain (ret.) Hans-Joachim Gravenstein.
    • Father Hans, who had been commissioned in 1885 and promoted to Major General on 16 September 1917, had once commanded the 2. Westpreußisches Fußartillerie-Regiment Nr. 17 in Danzig to which the memorial, partly financed by the C. Bechstein Pianofortefabrik A.G., was dedicated to. 60 officers as well as 762 NCOs and enlisted men of the regiment had fallen between 1914 and 1918.
• 14 March 1934 Assured in writing that he would serve as an L-officer
• 15 April 1934 Paid training as L-Offizier candidate with the Artillery Commander III (A) of the Reichswehr
• 17 May with effect from 1 May 1934 Landesschutzoffizier (territorial protection / state security officer; L-Offizier) with the Artillery Commander III (A) of the Reichswehr
  • 8 June 1934 Commanded to the Reich Ministry of Defense (RWM)
  • 9 June 1934 Assigned to the Department of National Defense (L)
• 26 July with effect from 1 August 1934 Officially transferred to the Reich Ministry of Defense (RWM)
  • 22 February to 1 April 1936 Firing course for artillery officers in Jüterbog
• 5 March 1935 Appointed supplemental officer (Ergänzungsoffizier; E-Offizier)
• 24 April with effect from 1 May 1936 Placed at disposal of the Supreme Commander of the Army (OBdH) and assigned to the I. Battalion/Artillerie-Regiment 59
• 25 June with effect from 1 July 1936 Appointed active officer with rank seniority from 1 July 1935 and officially transferred to the I. Battalion/Artillerie-Regiment 59 in Berlin-Spandau
  • 4 to 27 August 1937 Course for artillery officers in Jüterbog
• 12 October 1937 Appointed commander of the I. Battalion/Artillerie-Regiment 70 in Koblenz-Niederlahnstein
• The battalion was divided into three heavy horse-drawn batteries. Upon mobilization, the I. Battalion of the 70th Artillery Regiment was subordinated to the 34th Artillery Regiment as the IV. (Heavy) Battalion and subordinated to the 34th Infantry Division. This division was stationed on the West Wall south of Trier, on both sides of Saarlautern.
• 17 February with effect from 6 February 1940 Appointed commander of the Artillerie-Regiment 225
  • 8 to 13 December 1940 Course for artillery commanders in Brussels
• 27 September 1942 Führerreserve OKH
• 26 October 1942 to 28 May 1943 Commander of the Artillerie-Regiment 252
• 28 May 1943 Führerreserve OKH
• 1 September 1943 to 10 January 1945 Artillery Commander 415 (Arko 415)
  • 19 September 1943 to 18 November 1944 Anti-partisan warfare (Bandenbekämpfung) in Croatia and on the Dalmatian islands
• 20 October 1944 Delegated with the leadership of the 373rd (Croatian) Infantry Division as successor to Lieutenant General Eduard Aldrian
  • until he could arrive, Colonel of the Reserves Dipl.-Ing. Karl Hermann (see picture, right) was delegated with the deputy leadership of the division
• 18 November 1944 Took over the 373rd (Croatian) Infantry Division
• January 1945 Officially appointed commander of the 373rd (Croatian) Infantry Division with his promotion to Major General
  • Rudolf Henrici would become his successor as Arko 415

Death

During the night of 9/10 May 1945, a bitter battle took place near and in the village of Raka. In the early morning hours, a large officers' conference, led by Major General Gravenstein, was held to discuss whether to attempt a breakthrough and reach safe ground in Austria or to surrender. The arrival of Colonel Knackfuß with the order to surrender ended the heated debate and, at the same time, the existence of the 373rd (Croatian) Infantry Division. During this conference, the fighting continued. A German police battalion was stationed nearby, which refused to surrender under any circumstances. Meanwhile, a Yugoslav major, driven by a German motorcyclist, had arrived for the conference and demanded an immediate, unconditional surrender. Naturally, the soldiers were promised free passage back to their own border after laying down their weapons. At around 12:00 noon on 10 May 1945, the soldiers of the division surrendered their weapons. First, they were led home for one more day, then the march into captivity began, with the officers and the general leading the way, toward Zagreb. In Steinbrück, Slovenia alone, 3,000 men—Ustasha, police, members of the 373rd Infantry Division and the 104th Jäger Division—were murdered by the bloodthirsty Serbian partisans during these days.

Tens of thousands died on death marches, starved to death in camps, or were arbitrarily executed or sentenced to death en masse in show trials in Yugoslavia. Among them was also Hans-Joachim Gravenstein. He was "tried" in Belgrade from 27 March to 4 April 1947 and was convicted on 5 April 1947, he was one of nine on this day (eight co-defendants), the deliberations for the verdict of each accused was short. Gravenstein was executed on 3 May 1947 by firing squad. One day later, on 4 May 1947, SS-Brigadeführer Karl Ferdinand Joseph Reichsritter von Oberkamp was executed.

Family

Hans-Joachim was the son of Protestant Major General Johannes "Hans" Paul Ernst Gravenstein (1861–1940) and his wife (∞ 1889) Marie Martha, née Senz (b. 28 September 1868 in Berlin). He had two younger sisters:

• Ilse Clara Marie (b. 24 June 1894 in Berlin)
• Anne-Dörthe Martha (b. 27 January 1896 in Berlin)

On 6 January 1917 in Berlin, 1st Lieutenant Gravenstein married his fiancée Marie Luise Margarete Bechstein (1894–1984), daughter of piano manufacturer Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Bechstein (1860–1931) and granddaughter of the famous founder (1853) of C. Bechstein Pianofortefabrik Friedrich Wilhelm Carl Bechstein (1826–1900). The marriage remained childless.

Promotions

• 19 March 1908 Charakter als Fähnrich (Honorary / Brevet Officer Cadet)
• 31 October 1908 Fähnrich (Officer Cadet) with Patent from 19 November 1908
• 19 August 1909 Leutnant (2nd Lieutenant)
• 24 July 1915 Oberleutnant (1st Lieutenant)
• 15 July 1918 Hauptmann (Captain)
• 17 May 1934 Hauptmann a. D./L-Offizier with effect from 1 May 1934 and Rank Seniority (RDA) from 1 November 1932
  • 1 August 1934 received new RDA from 1 August 1929
• 5 March 1935 Hauptmann/E-Offizier (supplemental Captain)
• 26 August 1935 Major/E-Offizier (supplemental Major) with effect and RDA from 1 September 1935
  • 25 June 1936 active Major with effect and RDA from 1 July 1936
    • another source states with RDA from 1 July 1935 (37)
• 28 February 1938 Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel) with effect and RDA from 1 March 1938 (36)
• 14 February 1941 Oberst (Colonel) with effect and RDA from 1 March 1941
• 15 January 1945 Generalmajor (Major General) with effect and RDA from 1 January 1945

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914), 2nd and 1st Class
  • EK II on 3 October 1914
  • EK I on 15 September 1915
• Military Merit Cross (Austria-Hungary), 3rd Class with the War Decoration (ÖM3K) on 5 November 1917
• House Order of Hohenzollern, Knight's Cross with Swords (HOH3⚔) on 8 September 1918
• Hanseatic Cross of Hamburg (HH) on 12 September 1918
• Tyrolean State Commemorative Medal 1914–1918 (Tiroler Landesdenkmünze) on 22 February 1929
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 with Swords on 21 December 1934
• Wehrmacht Long Service Award (Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung), 4th to 3rd Class on 2 October 1936
• West Wall Medal (Deutsches Schutzwall-Ehrenzeichen) on 20 March 1940
• Repetition Clasp 1939 to the Iron Cross 1914, 2nd and 1st Class
  • Clasp to EK II on 28 May 1940
  • Clasp to EK I on 10 April 1942
• Winter Battle in the East 1941–42 Medal on 21 July 1942
• Order of the Crown of King Zvonimir (Croatia), I. Class with Oak Leaves on 29 April 1944
  • The order could be awarded with oak leaves for exceptional merit. Holders of the Grand Cross and the First Class were entitled to use the title Vitez (Knight) in their name.
• Military Order of the Iron Trefoil (Croatia), I. Class on 18 April 1945

Sources

• German Federal Archives: BArch PERS 6/1306 and PERS 6/299744