Senior German General of WW2, and Author. He was Chief of Staff to Field Marshall von Rundstedt during World War Two. Blumentritt a veteran officer in the First World War, later became a Staff Officer under the Weimar Republic. He then went on to serve in the new Army (Wehrmacht), and was instrumental in planning the invasion of Poland in 1939, and the invasion of France in 1940. He participated in Operation Barbarossa in 1941, and later bore a large part of the responsibility for planning the defense of the Atlantic Wall and Normandy. He remained mainly on the Western Front for the duration of the war. Blumentritt served as Chief of Staff under Kluge during the Anglo-Canadian offensive on Caen and the fighting in the Falaise Pocket. However, in July 1944, Blumentritt was implicated, along with Kluge, in the July 1944 conspiracy to kill Hitler; the plot failed, resulting in the arrest of many Army officers. Blumentritt himself was removed from his position (and Kluge committed suicide on August 17), but he survived the purge because Hitler did not believe him guilty, and in fact later awarded him the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) for his services. After the war, he gave an affidavit at the Nuremberg Trials, though he never testified in person. During his time as a POW, he assisted the U.S. Historical Division in Germany and then later helped in the rearmament of Germany during the Cold War and the development of the modern German army (Bundeswehr). He was portrayed by actors Curd Jürgens in "The Longest Day" (1962) and Hans von Borsody in "A Bridge Too Far" (1977).
(Bio by: Jay Lance)
(Bio by: Jay Lance)
Senior German General of WW2, and Author. He was Chief of Staff to Field Marshall von Rundstedt during World War Two. Blumentritt a veteran officer in the First World War, later became a Staff Officer under the Weimar Republic. He then went on to serve in the new Army (Wehrmacht), and was instrumental in planning the invasion of Poland in 1939, and the invasion of France in 1940. He participated in Operation Barbarossa in 1941, and later bore a large part of the responsibility for planning the defense of the Atlantic Wall and Normandy. He remained mainly on the Western Front for the duration of the war. Blumentritt served as Chief of Staff under Kluge during the Anglo-Canadian offensive on Caen and the fighting in the Falaise Pocket. However, in July 1944, Blumentritt was implicated, along with Kluge, in the July 1944 conspiracy to kill Hitler; the plot failed, resulting in the arrest of many Army officers. Blumentritt himself was removed from his position (and Kluge committed suicide on August 17), but he survived the purge because Hitler did not believe him guilty, and in fact later awarded him the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) for his services. After the war, he gave an affidavit at the Nuremberg Trials, though he never testified in person. During his time as a POW, he assisted the U.S. Historical Division in Germany and then later helped in the rearmament of Germany during the Cold War and the development of the modern German army (Bundeswehr). He was portrayed by actors Curd Jürgens in "The Longest Day" (1962) and Hans von Borsody in "A Bridge Too Far" (1977).
(Bio by: Jay Lance)
(Bio by: Jay Lance)
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Grave site leveled in 2010.
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