Eberhard "Hans "

Eberhard „Hans“ Kinzel, born 18-10-1897, in Berlin, Joseph Goebbels was the Gauleiter of Berlin (see Joseph Goebbels) (did you know), entered the Army on 16-10-1914, age 16, as a war volunteer in the 3rd Brandenburgisches Infanterie-Regiment "Graf Tauentzien von Wittenburg". He was wounded on the battlefield in July 1915, promoted to Lieutenant and received the Ritterkreuz. After the war he joined the Freikorps Wilfried von Oven, von Oven died age 96, on 13-06-2008 in Buenos Aires and later the new Reichswehr. He became a Oberstleutnant in the General Staff on 01-02-1939 and transferred for years  to the Division „Fremde Heere Ost II. In March 1941 he went to Budapest, Hungary with a letter of Generaloberst Halder (see Halder) for the Hungarian Generaloberst Heinrich Werth, Werth died in a Soviet prison in 1952, age 71.

          

       Wilfried von Oven.        Heinrich Werth.            

This letter asked the participation of the Hungarian Army and the right of traverse through Yoegoslavia, in a war against Russia, which was expected soon under the command of General Friedrich von Paulus (see Paulus) and he took the answer back to Berlin. Kinzel was succeeded by Reinhard Gehlen (see Gehlen) and landed in the infamous Führer Reserve (see Adolf Hitler) (did you know). On 23-05-1942 he was assigned as Chief of the Generalstabes of the XXIX. Armeekorps and again in the Reserve on 12-11-1942. He received the Ritterkreuz of the Iron Cross on 23-12-19421 for his leading of the Division “Fremde Heere Ost” and promoted to Major General. He became Chief of the General Staff of the Heeresgruppe Nord with the rank of Lieutenant General, on 01-09-1943. Mid July 1944 he was released of his command and for the third time in the Reserve. Commander of the 570^th Volks Grenadier Division on 01-09-1944, renamed in the 337^th Volks Grenadier Division until March 1945. His new command was Chief of the General Staff of Heeresgruppe Weichsel. On 20-04-1945, Hitler’s birthday, he became a General of the Infantry as Chief of Staff of the Operation Staff North with Gross Admiral Karl Dönitz (see Dönitz). He was a member of the delegation signing the surrender documents, together with Admiral Hans Georg von Friedeburg (see Friedeburg) in the headquarters of Bernard Montgomery (see Montgomery). Kinzel lived a short time with his mistress in a farmhouse, but the threatening of a probably fatal trial, he and his mistress drove to a silent edge of a wood, near Idstedt near Flensburg  and committed suicide, on 24-06-1945, age 47.    “Hans” Eberhard Kinzel is buried on the war cemetery of Karberg, Fahrdorf, near Schleswig, where General Hermann Ramcke (see Ramcke) is buried.