Heinz-Georg Lemm

Heinz-Georg Lemm
Birth date	1 June 1919(1919-06-01)
Place of birth	Schwerin, Free State of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, German Reich
Death date	17 November 1994 (aged 75)
Place of death	Ruppichteroth, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Allegiance	National Socialist Germany West Germany
Service/branch	Heer Bundeswehr
Years of service	1935–45 1957–79
Rank	Oberst (Wehrmacht) Generalleutnant (Bundeswehr)
Commands held	Chief of the Army Office
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Heinz-Georg "Hein" Lemm (1 June 1919 – 17 November 1994) was a German officer of the Wehrmacht and the Bundeswehr, at last Generalleunant and Amtschef des Heeresamtes as well as recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords during WWII.

Life

Lemm entered the Heer of the Wehrmacht 1936 with the Infanterie-Regiment 27 in his hometown Schwerin and received his officer training at the Kriegsschule in Munich.

WWII

He fought in the 12th Infantry Division of the Wehrmacht during World War II. He served in the Poland campaign, the Western Campaign, during Operation Barbarossa, the Demyansk Pocket, during the Battle of the Bulge and in the Ruhr pocket, commanding the Füsilier-Regiment 27. During a reconnaissance patrol he was captured by US-Americans, his division capitulated only hours later.

POW

He became a POW and was surprisingly released only 10 months later. Making his way back home to his family in Schwerin, which was now occupied by the Red Army, he was abducted by the Russians and carried off to the east, where he once again was to become a POW until his release 1950.

Bundeswehr

In 1957, Heinz-Georg Lemm joined the Bundeswehr and commanded the 7th Panzergrenadier-Brigade of the 3rd Panzer-Division in Hamburg until 1963, when he was promoted to Brigadegeneral. When Hyacinth Graf Strachwitz von Groß-Zauche und Camminetz died 1968, Lemm delivered the eulogy.

In 1970, he was promoted to Generalmajor and commanded the 5th Panzer-Division in Diez. Promoted further in 1974, he was named Chief of the Troop Office of the Bundeswehr, with the rank of Generalleutnant. He was awarded the Great Cross of Merit with Star and the Legion of Merit and retired on 30 September 1979.

Ordensgemeinschaft

In 1979, he succeeded Horst Niemack as honorary president of the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (German: Ordensgemeinschaft der Ritterkreuzträger des Eisernen Kreuzes). Until 1985 he was also president of the Ring deutscher Soldatenverbände (Ring of German Soldier Associations), from 1985 until 1988 he was their honorary president.

Death

Generalleutnant a. D. Heinz-Georg "Hein" Lemm died on 17 November 1994.

Family

Lemm married during the war his fiancée Gertrud "Gert" von Cardinal, who waited with great loyalty for him to come home from captivity. After over 40 years of marriage, Gert died in June 1984. Lemm, nun widower, married 1992 a second time with 72 years of age. His second wife was the widow of Knight's Cross holder Oberst a. D. Christian Lotze.

Promotions

Wehrmacht

• 1936 Fahnenjunker
• 1937 Fähnrich
• 1938 Leutnant
• 1940 Oberleutnant
• 1 April 1942 Hauptmann
• 1 April 1943 Major
• 1 November 1944 Oberstleutnant
• March 1945 Oberst

Bundeswehr

• 1957 Oberst (BW)
• 1963 Brigadegeneral (BW; one-star general))
• 1970 Generalmajor (BW; two-star general)
• 1974 Generalleutnant (BW; three-star general)

Awards and decorations

Wehrmacht

• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st class
  • 2nd class on 6 October 1939
  • 1st class on 31 December 1940
• Wound Badge (1939) in Silver
• Demyansk Shield (Demjanskschild)
• Infantry Assault Badge in Silver
• Eastern Medal
• Close Combat Clasp in Bronze and Silver
• Tank Destruction Badge for Individual Combatants
• German Cross in Gold on 19 December 1941 as 1st Lieutenant in the 2./Infanterie-Regiment 27
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
  • Knight's Cross on 14 April 1943 as Captain and Commander of I. Bataillon/Füsilier-Regiment 27
  • Oak Leaves on 11 July 1944 as Major and Vommander of I. Bataillon/Füsilier-Regiment 27/12. Infanterie-Division
  • Swords on 15 March 1945 as Lieutenant Colonel and Commander of Füsilier-Regiment 27/12. Volks-Grenadier-Division/I. SS-Panzerkorps/6. SS-Panzerarmee

Bundeswehr

• German Great Cross of Merit with Star (Bundesverdienstkreuz), 1979
• Legion of Merit, 1979

Writings

• Soldaten des Heeres in ihrer Geschichte – Vorträge von Generalleutnant Heinz-Georg Lemm, Amtschef des Heeresamtes, 1977

Further reading

• Walther-Peer Fellgiebel: Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German), Podzun-Pallas, Friedberg 1986, ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
• Veit Scherzer: Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945. Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German), Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag, Jena 2007, ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.