Wilhelm Schönberg

Wilhelm Schönberg
Birth date	21 February 1872(1872-02-21)
Place of birth	Gut Langgoslin, Kreis Obornik, Province of Posen, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Death date	5 July 1966 (aged 94)
Place of death	Verden (Aller), Lower Saxony, West Germany
Allegiance	German Empire Weimar Republic National Socialist Germany
Service/branch	Prussian Army Schutztruppe Imperial German Army Reichswehr Heer
Years of service	1891–1918 1919–1926 1939–1942
Rank	Lieutenant General
Battles/wars	Herero Wars World War I World War II
Awards	Prussian Crown Order Red Eagle Order Iron Cross House Order of Hohenzollern

Wilhelm Schönberg (also Schoenberg; 21 February 1872 – 5 July 1966) was a German officer of the Prussian Army, the Schutztruppe, the Imperial German Army, the Reichswehr and the Wehrmacht, finally Lieutenant General in World War II.

Life

Father Otto Schönberg sold the Langgoslin estate in Posen in June 1890

Colonel Schönberg, Rangliste des Deutschen Reichsheeres, 1926, p. 113

After achieving his Abitur, Wilhelm Schönberg joined the field artillery of the Prussian Army on 18 March 1891 and served with the 1. Posensches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 20. He received basic training, then attended war school and was appointed battery officer after being commissioned in May 1892. On 18 August 1901, he was transferred to the Feldartillerie-Regiment "Hochmeister" Nr. 72 in Marienwerder. On 16 May 1904, he joined the Schutztruppe of German South-West Africa, served with the 2nd (mounted) Field Artillery Battalion (2nd mounted Field Regiment) under Major Maximilian Gustav Freiherr von Reitzenstein and took part in the Hottentot War. On 1 February 1906, he returned to the Prussian Army and served with the 3rd Battery/Feld-Artillerie-Regiment “General-Feldzeugmeister” (1. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 3 in Brandenburg an der Havel. In 1907, he was transferred to the 2nd Battery. On 27 January 1908, he was promoted to Captain and was appointed commander of the 1st mounted Battery. He took part in WWI with his battery.

• 11 May 1917 Appointed commander of the 2nd Pomeranian Field Artillery Regiment No. 17
• 14 April 1919 Assigned to the Hanover Military Riding School
• 1 October 1920 Commanded to the staff of the 2nd (Prussian) Cavalry Regiment in Lyck (East Prussia)
  • another source states Staff/Reiter-Regiment 9 in Fürstenwalde
• 1 October 1921 Transferred to the staff of the 1st Cavalry Division in Frankfurt an der Oder
• 30 September 1926 Retired

During mobilization for World War II, Schönberg joined the Wehrmacht in the summer of 1939. On 27 August 1939, he was appointed commandant of the Officers' Prisoner of War Camp XI A (Oflag XI A) in Osterode am Harz. On 15 June 1940, he was appointed commander of the POWs of Military District X in Hamburg (respective of the X. Army Corps). This put him in charge of the main camps for prisoners of war X A to X D (Stalag X A to Stalag X D), as well as Oflag X A to Oflag X D. In April 1942, he was promoted to Lieutenant General (z. V.). On 25 April 1942, he handed over his command to Major General Walter Schade and was placed into Führerreserve. On 30 June 1942, his mobilization assignment was terminated (de facto resigned). He did not become a POW at the end of the war.

Family

Wilhelm was the son of Rittmeister a. D. (ret.) and lord of the manor (Gut Lang-Goslin/Langgoslin) Otto Schönberg (1838–1902) and his wife Bertha Friederike Manon Hermina, née Bensch (1841–1928). Father Otto sold the manor and the vast lands in June 1890 for over a half of a million marks and continued as a senior civil servant of the village (Oberbeamter der Ansiedlung zu Langgoslin). He has seven siblings:

• Manon
• Kurt, Captain of the Landwehr a. D., head of department (Abteilungsleiter)
• Augusta
• Ernst, operations manager (Betriebsleiter)
• Karl (b. 7 March 1862), Major d. R.
• Otto (b. 27 March 1863), Colonel
• Franz (b. 19 July 1867), regional master forester (Landforstmeister) in Schneidemühl

Promotions

• 18.3.1891 Fahnenjunker (Officer Candidate)
• 18.10.1891 Fähnrich (Officer Cadet)
• 17.5.1892 Sekondeleutnant (2nd Lieutenant)
  • 1.1.1899 renamed Leutnant
• 14.9.1900 Oberleutnant (1st Lieutenant)
• 16.5.1904 Oberleutnant of the Schutztruppe with Patent from 19.4.1900
• 27.1.1908 Hauptmann (Captain)
• 27.1.1915 Major
• 18.12.1920 Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel) with Rank Seniority (RDA) from 1.10.1920
• 1.10.1923 Oberst (Colonel)
• 1.10.1926 Charakter als Generalmajor (Honorary Major General)
• Summer 1939 Charakter als Generalmajor z. V. (Brevet Major General at Disposal)
• 20.10.1940 Generalmajor z. V. (Active Major General at Disposal) with Rank Seniority (RDA) from 1.10.1940
• 10.4.1942 Generalleutnant z. V. (Lieutenant General at Disposal) with Rank Seniority (RDA) from 1.4.1942

Awards and decorations (excerpt)

• Prussian Centenary Medal 1897 (Zentenarmedaille)
• Prussian Order of the Crown (Kronenorden), 4th Class with Swords in 1905
• South West African Campaign Medal (Südwestafrika-Denkmünze) for combatants with three battle clasps in 1907
• Red Eagle Order (Roter Adlerorden), 4th Class (RAO4)
• Iron Cross (1914), 2nd and 1st Class
• Mecklenburg-Schwerin Military Merit Cross (Großherzoglich Mecklenburgisches Militärverdienstkreuz), 2nd Class (MMV2/MK2)
• Hamburg Hanseatic Cross (Hamburgisches Hanseatenkreuz; HH)
• Princely Schaumburg-Lippe Cross for Faithful Service (Fürstlich Schaumburg-Lippisches Kreuz für treue Dienste 1914; SLK)
• Prussian Long Service Cross for 25 years (Königlich Preußisches Dienstauszeichnungskreuz)
• Saxon Albert Order (Albrechts-Orden), Knight 1st Class with Swords (SA3a⚔)
• House Order of Hohenzollern, Knight's Cross with Swords (HOH3⚔)
• Military Merit Cross (Austria-Hungary), 3rd Class with the War Decoration (ÖM3K)
• Wound Badge (1918) in Black
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 with Swords
• Hungarian World War Commemorative Medal (Ungarische Kriegs-Erinnerungs-Medaille) with Swords
• War Merit Cross (1939), 2nd Class with Swords