Kurt Weckmann

Kurt Weckmann
Birth date	18 January 1895(1895-01-18)
Place of birth	Schwerin, Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, German Empire
Death date	14 April 1981 (aged 86)
Place of death	Baden-Baden, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany
Allegiance	German Empire Weimar Republic National Socialist Germany
Service/branch	Prussian Army Imperial German Army Freikorps Reichswehr Heer
Years of service	1914–1945
Rank	Lieutenant General
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	German Cross in Gold
Relations	∞ 1927 Erika Lange

Kurt Johann Friedrich Ludwig Marius Adolf Eduard Alexander Weckmann (18 November 1895 – 14 April 1981) was a German officer, finally Lieutenant General of the Wehrmacht in World War II.

Life

From Easter 1905, Kurt Weckmann attended the Grand Ducal Domschule (Humanistic Gymnasium) in Güstrow, Mecklenburg, where he achieved his Abitur nine years later. On 14 March 1914, he joined the 3rd Posen Infantry Regiment No. 58 in Glogau as an officer candidate. He was sworn-in on 24 March 1914. On 7 August 1914, he was deployed into the field with his regiment. On 22 August 1914, he was wounded at the Western Front and again on 27 September 1918. Altogether he was wounded 12 times during the war, albeit more often lightly than severe. In October 1914, he was wounded twice more and was transferred to the I. Replacement Battalion in November 1914. On 14 April 1915, he returned to the field. His regiment was now deployed at the Eastern Front. In May 1915, he was wounded twice more, the second time severe. he returned to duty in december 1915 and was transferred to the Deputy General Staff of the Army as an orderly officer on 27 December 1915.

On 19 February 1917, he was appointed adjutant of the Railway Department of the Deputy General Staff, mainly coordinating logistics for various military railway directorates on the Eastern Front. On 29 March 1917, he was transferred Chief of the Field Railway Service and was assigned to the Department for Transport War Studies. On 21 May 1917, he was placed at the disposal of the Zloczow District of the General Command of the I Army Corps. On 5 January 1918, he returned to the Department for Transport War Studies. On 26 March 1918, he was commanded to the Line Commandant F in Karlsruhe an on 19 April 1918 to the Chief of the Field Railway Service in Kiev. Heavy fighting followed in support of Ukraine until 21 June 1918. On 1 June 1918, he was transferred to the Warsaw Military Railway Directorate while retaining his previous post with the Chief of the Kiev Field Railway. On 20 July 1918, his command to Kiev as adjutant was officially reclassified as a transfer.

On 12 November 1918, he was placed at the disposal of the XXVII Reserve Corps for employment, on 17 November 1918, he was transferred to Infantry Regiment No. 434 and commanded to the District Commandant 350 to serve as adjutant. On 25 November 1918, he was officially transferred to the District Commandant 350 as adjutant. From 16 November 1918 to 24 January 1919, German troops evacuated Ukraine. On 26 January 1919, he was appointed leader of the Volunteer Battalion 41. The battalion was formed in Povursk from elements of the XXVII. Reserve Corps, Weckmann’s volunteer battalion served under the Schutztruppe Bug (later "Olita" Volunteer Brigade) along the Bug River during the German withdrawal from the east (Courland, Lithuania, and Belarus), above all to protect the major railway junction outside Brest-Litovsk. On 21 October 1919, he was appointed leader of Company “Weckmann” formed from Volunteer Battalion 41.

• 1 May 1920 Leader of the 2nd Company/Reichswehr Infantry Regiment 39 of Reichswehr Brigade 20
• 1 October 1920 Transferred as a Platoon Leader to the 1st Company/2nd (Prussian) Infantry Regiment
• 15 January 1921 Commanded as adjutant to the staff of the I. Battalion/2nd (Prussian) Infantry Regiment
  • 17 February 1921 newly sworn-in
• 8 April 1921 Returned to the 1st Company of the 2nd (Prussian) Infantry Regiment
• 1 May 1922 Appointed adjutant of the III. Battalion/2nd (Prussian) Infantry Regiment.
• 1 July 1922 Appointed adjutant of the Training Battalion/2nd (Prussian) Infantry Regiment.
• 15 September with effect from 1 October 1923 Transferred to the 2nd (Prussian) Mounted Regiment and commanded to the staff of the Military District Command I in Königsberg
• 1 October 1924 Transferred to the regimental staff of the 2nd (Prussian) Infantry Regiment.
• 1 February 1925 Transferred to the 7th Company/2nd (Prussian) Infantry Regiment.
• 1 October 1925 Transferred to the 4th (Machine Gun) Company/2nd (Prussian) Infantry Regiment
  • 11 January 1926 to 13 February 1926 Commanded to the 1st (Prussian) Artillery Regiment.
• 14 September with effect from 1 October 1926 Transferred to the Reichswehr Ministry
  • 2 to 30 June 1927 Commanded to the 5th Signals Battalion.
  • 2 to 31 August 1927 Commanded to the 5th Pioneer Battalion.
  • 2-30 September 1927 Commanded to the 5th Motorized Battalion.
    • 19 September 1927 granted permission to marry
• 6 September with effect from 1 October 1927 Transferred to the 1st Squadron/13th (Prussian) Mounted Regiment and commanded to the staff of the 4th Division
• 1 April 1928 Transferred to the Training Squadron/12th (Saxon) Mounted Regiment while retaining his previous post with the 4th Division
  • 24 February to 3 March 1929 Commanded to Gas Protection Course E in Berlin.
• 1 January 1930 Transferred to the regimental staff of the 12th (Saxon) Mounted Regiment
• 15 March with effect from 1 April 1930 Transferred to the 9th (Prussian) Infantry Regiment and appointed commander of the 11th Company
  • 1 February 1933 to 30 April 1933 Commanded to the staff of Group Command 1 in Berlin
• 20 March with effect from 1 April 1933 Transferred to the staff of the Artillery Leader II while retaining his previous post with the staff of Group Command 1 in Berlin until 30 April 1933
  • ordered to wear the uniform of general staff officers as of 1 April 1933
• 1 October 1933 Regional Military District Leadership Stettin (Artillery Leader II)
  • 2 August 1934 newly sworn-in
• 1 October 1934 Officially transferred to the General Staff of Artillery Leader II in Stettin
• 15 October 1935 Transferred to the General Staff of the 2nd Division in Stettin (the renamed Artillery Leader II)
• 6 October 1936 Transferred to the General Staff of Army Service Department (Heeresdienststelle) 7 in Stuttgart (later Rottweil, then Freiburg)
• 12 October 1937 Transferred to the General Staff of Army Service Department (Heeresdienststelle) 9 in Dortmund (later Cologne)
• 1 August 1938 Transferred to the General Staff of the War Academy in Berlin as tactics instructor
• 26 August 1939 Transferred to the General Staff of the XXX. Army Corps
• 30 September 1939 Appointed Chief of General Staff of the XXX. Army Corps
• 25 October 1940 Appointed Chief of General Staff of the 9th Army
  • 16 October 1941 Attacked near army headquarters at Sytschewka (Sytschowka) by two Russians (taking a dark shortcut back to headquarters after escorting German troops); stab wounds to the chest, face, and hand, as well as one or more blows to the head with a blunt object; the Russians were apprehended during a raid in the village and later hanged.
• 14 January 1942 Führerreserve (OKH)/Army High Command Leader Reserve
• 20 February 1942 Appointed commander of the General Staff Courses at the War Academy
• 1 March 1943 Appointed commander of the War Academy
• 1 June 1944 Führerreserve (OKH)/Army High Command Leader Reserve
  • Weckmann had fallen severely ill in the spring of 1944
• 27 October 1944 Delegated with the leadership of the 274th Infantry Division
• 26 December 1944 Appointed commander of the 274th Infantry Division
  • The static division (i.e., non-motorized)—subordinated to the LXX Army Corps/Army High Command Norway, since January 1945 to the 20th Mountain Army under Lothar Rendulic (and, from 21 January, under Franz Böhme)—was stationed in the Stavanger area, Norway. It consisted primarily of two grenadier regiments and an artillery regiment as well as divisional support units numbered 274, which manned the fortified strongholds. On 8 May 1945, the army capitulated and entered British captivity.

POW and post-WWII

Weckmann stayed commander of the 274th Infantry Division during demobilization and the transitional period. On 8 July 1945, he was transported to Camp 1 in Britain. POW Camp 1 was located at Grizedale Hall, near Ambleside, in Cumberland. Operating from 1939 to 1946, this site for high-ranking German army prisoners and captured Luftwaffe officers was known as a "special camp" or "Hellmühle" (Hell Mill) due to the strict discipline and interrogation. It was frequently used for high-security detainees early in the war before transitioning to a general camp.

• 9 January 1946 Transferred from Camp 1 to Island Farm Special Camp 11 in South Wales
• 28 January 1947 Transferred to Camp 99 (General Hospital)
• 21 March 1947 Transferred to Island Farm Special Camp 11
• 12 May 1948 Transferred to Camp 186 for repatriation.
• 17 May 1948 Repatriated

From 1952 onwards, he worked for the German Civilian Personnel Service of the French Forces in Germany (French: Forces françaises en Allemagne; F.F.A) in Baden-Baden. From 1962 to 1968, he served as the first president of the Clausewitz Society, which was formed around former General Staff officers of all branches of service. In 1969, he was elected the Society's first honorary president.

Clausewitz Society

The Clausewitz Society, founded in 1961, is an independent, non-partisan, and non-profit registered association of active and former German officers of the General Staff and Admiral Staff. It is named after Carl Philipp Gottlieb von Clausewitz, the Prussian general and military theorist. The society is based in Hamburg. Weckman was elected first president on 18 November 1961.

From 25 to 27 September 1968, the annual conference and 6th ordinary general meeting were held for the first time at the Bundeswehr Leadership Academy in Hamburg. With this, the society had found the location that has been the home of both events ever since. At the general meeting, Lieutenant General (Ret.) Kurt Weckmann resigned his position so that, after the demanding years of building up the society and achieving initial stability, a member who had served in the Bundeswehr could now take the helm. The general meeting elected Lieutenant General (Ret.) Gustav-Adolf Kuntzen as the new president. The handover of the business took place on 11 December 1968, although Kuntzen assumed office as president officially on 1 January 1969. In the same year, Weckmann was named "Honorary President". Lieutenant General (Ret.) Hans Hinrichs succeeded Kuntzen on 1 January 1975.

Family

Kurt was the son of Protestant-Lutheran Oberzahlmeister (Senior Paymaster), later Stabszahlmeister (Staff Paymaster) Paul Weckmann and his wife Margarete, née Baumann. Oberzahlmeister and Stabszahlmeister were military administrative officials in the German Army (senior administrative service), responsible for financial management and paymaster duties. The rank of Oberzahlmeister corresponded to that of a 1st Lieutenant*, while the Stabszahlmeister was equivalent to a Captain, often serving on regimental or divisional staffs. One of his siblings, brother Hans Gottfried Paul Fritz Carl August Weckmann (b. 10 August 1897 in Kiel), was also an officer (Captain in 1934/35) and was awarded both classes of the iron Cross, both class of the Mecklenburg-Schwerin Military Merit Cross and the Wound Badge in Mattweiß (Silver) in WWI.

Marriage

On 17 November 1927 in Berlin, Rittmeister Weckmann married his Protestant fiancée Erika Lange (b. 28 April 1907), daughter of Major (Ret.) Oskar Lange and his wife Hildegard, née Weyland in Berlin-Charlottenburg. They would have one daughter:

• Gisela-Margrit (b. 25 January 1936 in Stettin)

Promotions

• 14 March 1914 Fahnenjunker (Officer Candidate)
• 19 July 1914 Fahnenjunker-Unteroffizier (Officer Candidate with Corporal/NCO/Junior Sergeant rank)
• 21 October 1914 Fähnrich (Officer Cadet)
• 4 December 1914 Leutnant (2nd Lieutenant) without Patent
  • 5 September 1917 received Patent from 23 June 1913
• 18 October 1918 Oberleutnant (1st Lieutenant)
  • 1 July 1922 received Reichswehr Rank Seniority (RDA) from 20 June 1918 (125)
• 1 November 1927 Rittmeister (7)
  • 15 March with effect from 1 April 1930 renamed Hauptmann (Captain)
• 1 May 1934 (1) Major
• 1 October 1936 (1) Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel)
• 1 April 1939 (1) Oberst (Colonel)
• 24 January 1942 Generalmajor (Major General) with effect from 1 February 1942
  • 8 April 1942 received RDA from 1 April 1942 (31)
• 20 April 1943 Generalleutnant (Lieutenant General) with effect and RDA from 1 April 1943 (6)

Awards, decorations and honours

• Iron Cross (1914), 2nd and 1st Class
  • 2nd Class on 24 October 1914
  • 1st Class on 6 November 1918
• Mecklenburg-Schwerin Military Merit Cross (Großherzoglich Mecklenburg-Schwerinsches Militärverdienstkreuz), 2nd and 1st Class (MMV1/MK1)
  • 2nd Class on 16 March 1915
  • 1st Class on 4 October 1917
• Wound Badge (1918) in Mattgelb (Gold) on 22 June 1918
• Bug Star of the Freikorps Schutztruppe Bug (Olita Brigade) on 26 February 1919
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 with Swords on 20 December 1934
• Wehrmacht Long Service Award (Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung), 4th to 1st Class
  • 2nd Class on 2 October 1936
  • 1st Class in 1939
• Sudetenland Commemorative Medal with the “Prague Castle” clasp on 22 August 1939
• West Wall Medal (Deutsches Schutzwall-Ehrenzeichen)
• Repetition Clasp 1939 to the Iron Cross 1914, 2nd and 1st Class
• Winter Battle in the East 1941–42 Medal on 5 August 1942
• Wound Badge (1939) in Gold
• German Cross in Gold on 26 February 1942 as Colonel in the General Staff of the 9th Army
• Order of the Cross of Liberty (Finnisches Freiheitskreuz), 1st Class with Swords in August 1943
• Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit (Verdienstkreuz 1. Klasse, Cross of Merit 1st Class) in 1966
• Clausewitz Medal "For Services to the Clausewitz Society" on 11 December 1968

Honours

• Honorary President of the Clausewitz Society on 7 November 1969

Gallery (Finland)

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Writings (excerpt)

• Führergehilfenausbildung, in: "Wehrwissenschaftliche Rundschau", Volume 4, No. 6, June 1954, pp. 268-277

Sources

• German Federal Archives: BArch PERS 6/988 and PERS 6/301262

External links

• Lieutenant General Weckmann injured in Finland during the inspection of a bridge construction (pictures)