Genlt. Helmut Borufka

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Edward L. Hsiao
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Genlt. Helmut Borufka

#1

Post by Edward L. Hsiao » 29 Oct 2004, 08:04

Gentlemen,

Lately I'm beginning to wonder what kind of character these East German Generals and Admirals were back then under the Communist regime. I thought for sure that all them were very fanatical and loyal to that regime.
One of them Genlt. Vincenz Mueller end up committing suicide over the guilt of helping to creating the NVA. According to Who's Who in Socialist Countries of Europe encycopedia, Genlt. Helmut Borufka,a former major of the Wehrmacht was not a member of the SED. I don't know know how he views Communist rule in East Germany. Certainly he gave all he got in serving with the NVA. He was made a Gen. Maj. in the mid-1950's while in his 30's. I wonder why plenty of men in the NVA were made Generals in there 30's. Do you have more imformation and a picture of Helmut Borufka? Is he still alive? Thank you.

Sincerely,

Edward

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USAF1986
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#2

Post by USAF1986 » 30 Oct 2004, 01:00

Edward,

Here is his biographical career profile from the source cited below. As of the publication of this book he was apparently still alive.

Best regards,
Shawn

P.S. This book relates that his rank in the Wehrmacht was Leutnant not Major.

Generalleutnant Dipl.-Mil. Helmut Borufka

26 October 1918: Born in Tannwald/Kreis Gablonz (Czechoslovakia)
1937: Trainee, gainfully employed (export merchant)
1937-1938: Service in the Czechoslovakian Army.
1938-1939: Gainfully employed, trainee (export merchant).
1939-1943: Leutnant (panzer grenadier) in the Wehrmacht.
1943-1949: Prisoner of war in Soviet captivity.
1943: Joined the National Committee “Free Germany” (NKFD).
1949: Joined the German Socialist Unity Party (SED).
1949-1951: Leader of the Training and Schools Department/Leader of the Staff 1st Department/Main Administration for Training (HVA) (granted the rank of Chefinspekteur on 1 January 1950).
1951-1952: Special course attendance in the USSR.
1952-1955: Chief of the Training and Inspection Administration/Ministry of the Interior (promoted to Generalmajor on 1 October 1952).
1955-1956: Member of the Collegium of the Ministry of the Interior.
15 October 1955-29 February 1956: Deputy Chief of the of the Barracked People’s Police (KVP) for Training and Schools.
1 March 1956-31 December 1957: Chief of Training/Ministry for National Defense.
1956-1958: Member of the Collegium of the Ministry for National Defense.
1 March 1957-31 March 1962: Deputy Chief of the German Border Police/Border Troops and Chief of Staff/German Border Police/Border Troops Command. (On 15 Sep 1961, the German Border Police was renamed the Border Troops Command. Effective the same date, the command transferred from the control of the Ministry of the Interior to the Ministry for National Defense.)
Jan-May 1960: Delegated with the post of Chief of the German Border Police vice Generalmajor Paul Ludwig.
1962-1964: Attended the Voroshilov General Staff Academy in the USSR.
1 August 1964-31 January 1965: Deputy Chief of the Border Troops and Chief of Staff/Border Troops Command.
1965-1974: Chief of Schools and Continuing Education/Ministry for National Defense (promoted to Generalleutnant on 1 March 1971).
1 May 1974-31 October 1982: Main Inspector of the National People’s Army (NVA).
1974-1982: Member of the Collegium of the Ministry for National Defense.
31 December 1982: Retired.

Major Decorations:
Fatherland’s Merit Order in Gold
Scharnhorst Order

SOURCE: Froh, Klaus & Wenzke, Rüdiger. Die Generale und Admirale der NVA: Ein biographisches Handbuch. Ch. Links Verlag, Berlin, Germany, 2000.


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#3

Post by USAF1986 » 31 Oct 2004, 20:06

Edward,

Here’s a photo of then Generalmajor Borufka from the mid-1950s when he was Deputy Chief of the of the Barracked People’s Police (KVP) for Training and Schools.

Best regards,
Shawn

SOURCE: Hoffmann, Heinz. Moskau-Berlin. Erinnerungen an Freunde, Kampfgenossen und Zeitumstände. Militärverlag der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik, Berlin (East), German Democratic Republic, 1989.
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#4

Post by USAF1986 » 31 Oct 2004, 22:50

Hoffmann wrote in his memoirs that Borufka was captured at Stalingrad on 2 Feb 1943 while serving as a company chief.

Best regards,
Shawn

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#5

Post by USAF1986 » 01 Nov 2004, 06:10

Of interest, Hoffmann mentions that NVA Generalmajor Hermann Rentzsch was captured at Stalingrad as a Hauptmann in January 1943. (Per Froh and Wenzke, Rentzsch was in the Nebelwerfer arm.)

Hoffmann also notes that NVA Oberst Werner Pilz was captured near Cherkassy as a Feldwebel in 1944. He served as an NKFD representative with the 1st Ukrainian Front at the Battle of Breslau. Pilz took command of the Mechanized KVP-Bereitschaft Dresden on 1 September 1953 followed by a brief command of the new 7th Panzer Division (18-31 August 1956). He left active service in 1960 without achieving general officer rank in the NVA.

Best regards,
Shawn

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#6

Post by USAF1986 » 01 Dec 2004, 01:18

Here’s a further interesting detail from Jason D. Mark’s excellent Death of the Leaping Horseman: 24. Panzer-Division in Stalingrad, 12th August-20th November 1942: At the time of his capture, Leutnant der Reserve Borufka was serving as regimental signals officer of Panzergrenadier-Regiment 21 of the 24. Panzer-Division.

Best regards,
Shawn

Edward L. Hsiao
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Re: Genlt. Helmut Borufka

#7

Post by Edward L. Hsiao » 10 Apr 2020, 04:24

An interesting career Helmut Borufka had.

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