Generals who were never captured but spent years as PoW

[askropp]

In the thread concerning the formerly unidentified general who turned out to be Alfred Gutknecht, another possible candidate was Johannes Schräpler - who was eventually excluded because he was captured as an Oberst and promoted to Generalmajor only while in captivity.

Which other officers were promoted to a general's rank after their capture by enemy troops? I remember the following:

10.05.1940 Oberst Georg Friemel (in Ypenburg, Infanterieregiment 65)
22.01.1943 Oberstarzt Dr. Hermann Kayser (in Stalingrad, Korpsarzt des IV. Armeekorps)
01.02.1943 Oberstarzt Dr. Siegfried Müller (in Stalingrad, Korpsarzt des VIII. Armeekorps)
02.02.1943 Oberstarzt Dr. Hans Spiegelberg (in Stalingrad, Korpsarzt des XI. Armeekorps)
11.05.1943 Kapitän zur See z.V. Paul Meixner (in Tunesien, Marinekommando Tunesien)
13.05.1943 Oberst Heinrich-Hermann von Hülsen (in Tunesien, 21. Panzerdivision)
21.08.1944 Oberst Johannes Schräpler (in Frankreich, Artilleriekommandeur 120)
07.09.1944 SS-Oberführer Kurt Meyer (bei Liège, 12. SS-Panzerdivision "Hitlerjugend")

Who can add more officers to this list (posthumous promotions not included)?

[Dieter Zinke]

August-Viktor Henning Otto Ferdinand von Quast

20.01.1943 Chef des Generalstabes der 5. Panzerarmee, Afrika
09.05.1943 - 25.06.1947 in westalliierter Kriegsgefangenschaft
26.06.1947 - 25.02.1948 interniert

01.06.1942 Oberst i.G. (RDA vom 01.04.1942)
01.08.1943 Generalmajor ohne Patent (already in captivity)
01.02.1944 Patent erhalten


Dieter Z.

[askropp]

Thanks, I forgot about him!

As it seems, Hans-Adolf von Arenstorff, also captured in Stalingrad as Führer der 60. Infanteriedivision (mot.), was another one.

[askropp]

Another one: 29.08.1944 Oberst (Luftwaffe) Hans Simon, 15. Flakdivision, Rumänien.

[askropp]

Generalarzt Dr. August Raeß, also captured in Romania, had a RDA from 01.08.1944. Does anybody know whether this promotion was possibly backdated?

[Dieter Zinke]

Generalarzt Dr. August Raeß, also captured in Romania, had a RDA from 01.08.1944. Does anybody know whether this promotion was possibly backdated?

I don't think that his promotion was backdated.

Dr. med. August Hubert Raeß
* 12.01.1892 Neustadt im Landkreis Marburg-Biedenkopf/Hessen


00.00.191_ Feldunterarzt
01.10.1920 Assistenzarzt (5)

91.01.1925 Stabsarzt (1)

01.10.1936 Oberfeldarzt (7)
01.10.1939 Oberstarzt (4)
01.08.1944 Generalarzt (1)

00.05.1917 als Feldunterarzt leicht verwundet in Gefangenschaft

00.00.1920 Promotion zum Dr. med. an der Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Berlin mit der Dissertation “Über die Beziehungen des Diabetes insipidus zur Hypophyse“ (aus der chir. Klinik der Charité zu Berlin)

< 1932 > Chef der Sanitätsstaffel Hannover der 6. (Westfäl.) Sanitätsabteilung, Münster, und Chefarzt des Standortlazaretts Hannover
< 1938 > Divisionsarzt der 26. Infanterie-Division , Köln
26.08.1939 Divisionsarzt der 16. Infanterie-Division, Münster
06.08.1940 Divisionsarzt der 16. Panzer-Division-Division
06.03.1941 Korpsarzt LIV. Armee-Korps
17.01.1942 Führerreserve OKH
04.01.1943 Leitender Sanitätsoffizier bei der deutschen Heeresmission in Rumänien
08.09.1944 in Bukarest in russ. Gefangenschaft; in der Folge Aufenthalte in den NKWD-Lagern (GUPVI): Nr. 48/Černcy, Ležnevo, Nr. 27/Krasnogorsk, Nr. 185/Jurevec
08.12.1944 in Moskau Mitunterzeichner des Aufrufs “An Volk und Wehrmacht“ des Bundes Deutscher Offiziere (BDO) im Nationalkomitee “Freies Deutschland“ (NKFD)
21.04.1950 Ankunft im Repatriierungslager Nr. 69/Frankfurt/Oder


Dieter Z.

[askropp]

Thank you!

Another one: Luftwaffe Oberst Eitel-Friedrich von Manteuffel, captured in Romania 28.08.1944, Generalmajor 01.10.1944

[askropp]

Probably another one: Oberst Carl Bründel, GR 932, captured at Marseille (probably on or around 28 August 1944), promoted Generalmajor from 1 September.

[askropp]

Another one: Generalmajor Alexander Ratcliffe, captured near Orscha on 6 August, promoted on 9 November 1944.

[askropp]

And: Oberst Ludwig Krug, GR 736, captured at Saint Aubin on 7 June 1944, promoted 1 July.

[askropp]

Regarding Raeß, I found info that he was already captured by Romanian forces on 29 August and handed over to the Soviets on 8 September. Still, a promotion before his capture seems plausible.

[Tiglatpalassar]

Dr. med. August Hubert Raeß
* 12.01.1892 Neustadt im Landkreis Marburg-Biedenkopf/Hessen - 19.08.1956 Weimar

[askropp]

Thank you for closing this gap!

[JakeV]

A correction about Raeß's place of death according to Sterbeurkunde (Sterberegister des Standesamtes Jugenheim Nr. 73/1956)

Dr. med. August Hubert Aloys Maria Raeß
* 12.01.1892 in Neustadt im Odenwald
† 19.08.1956 in Jugenheim/Hessen (Herzinfarkt)

Vater: Dr.phil. Hubert Raeß, Forstrat (1853–1922)
Mutter: Elisabeth, geb. Dreesen

15.08.1925 Heirat in Stockholm mit Gunvor Sundblad; 1 Sohn (*1928)

Regards