Coming to Terms with the Past

Generalleutnant Hans Hube assumed command of the 1st Panzer Army in October 1943. After leading successful defensive battles over the winter of 1943/44, he was killed in a plane crash following a visit to Germany for Hitler's 55th birthday.

Generalleutnant Spang commanded 15th Luftwaffe Field Division. He survived the war and died in Hamburg in 1978.

A subordinate to Hans Hube, Generalmajor Wenck served as chief of staff of the 1st Panzer Army. In April 1945, he commanded the German 12th Army and was tasked by Hitler with breaking the Soviet encirclement of Berlin. The operation failed, though Wenck's attack is credited with allowing the escape of thousands of fleeing soldiers and civilians to the Western Allies. Wenck died in a car crash in 1982.

Generalleutnant Vormann commanded the 23rd Panzer Division. In 1944, while in command of the 9th Army, he took part in the brutal suppression of the Warsaw Uprising. He survived the war and wrote his memoirs in the 1950s, dying in 1959.

Generalleutnant Conrad commanded Air Fleet 4. He survived the war and died in 1982.

Generalleutnant Müller commanded the 97. Jäger Division. In 1944, as commander of the XXXXIV Army Corps, he was taken prisoner by the Soviets and held as a war criminal until 1955. He died in 1972.

Generalleutnant von Schwerin commanded the 16. Panzergrenadier Division. In 1944, he led the 116. Panzer Division against British and American forces in Normandy. He survived the war and was an influential figure in the establishment of the West German army (Bundeswehr) in the 1950s. He died in 1980.

Oberstleutnant, First Staff Officer, 16. Panzergrenadier Division. Little biographical information available.

General der Panzertruppen Brandenberger commanded the XXIX Army Corps. In 1944, he led the 7th Army against American troops during the Battle of the Bulge. He survived the war and contributed ten manuscripts to the the United States Army Historical Division on his war experiences. He died in 1955.

Generaloberst Hollidt commanded the 6th Army. In 1944, he was dismissed from command after the 6th Army suffered severe losses. In 1945, he was tried during the Nuremberg Trials and convicted of the unlawful use of prisoners and the deportation and enslavement of civilians. He was released in 1949 and died in 1985.

General der Artillerie de Angelis was deputy commander of the 6th Army under Hollidt. In 1945, he was captured by the Americans and later handed over to Yugoslavia where he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for war crimes. In 1949, he was extradited to the Soviet Union where he was sentenced a further 25 years in prison. After the intervention of German Chancellor Conrad Adenauer, he was released in 1955 and lived until 1974.

General der Gebirgstruppe Schörner commanded the XXXX Panzerkorps. In 1945, he surrendered to the Americans but was quickly transferred to Soviet custody to stand trial for war crimes. He was convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison, being released after a general amnesty in 1955. Known for his brutality, he was re-arrested upon his return to Germany and tried for the execution of German deserters. He was sentenced to four and half years in prison and released in 1960. He died in 1973.

Believed to be Generalmajor Hans Nagel, Chef des Wirtschaftstabes Ost. No photograph available. As head of the Economic Staff East, a Nazi organization tasked with exploiting the resources of conquered Soviet territory for the war effort, Nagel was influential in directing Nazi occupation policy. He survived the war and died in 1964.

Pleiger was director of the Berg und Hüttenwerksgesellschaft Ost (Mining and Metallurgical Company East) and in this capacity was responsible for coal and steel sector under the Wirtschaftstabes Ost. In 1945, he was tried at Nuremberg for crimes against peace, wartime looting, and utilization of forced labor and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment. He was released in 1951 and died in 1985.