Fromm, Friedrich.

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Fromm, Friedrich, born 08-10-1888, in Berlin, Germany, Fromm was a lieutenant in World War I, from a military family where duty and punctuality were highly valued.

Fromm played a significant role in the power structure of the early Nazi regime: from 1933, he was responsible for the material and personnel reconstruction of the German army. During World War II, he had risen to Generaloberst and commander of the ‘replacement army’ (Ersatzheer).

In this capacity, he was the superior of Claus Philipp Maria Graf von Schenk von Stauffenberg,

 who worked as his adjutant during the final period.

After Operation Barbarossa stalled and the Russian counteroffensive began, Fromm advised a defensive tactic for 1942 as supplies were running low. At that moment, his opinion was that the war should be ended because the many fronts could no longer be supplied. Operation Barbarossa was the code name for the German Reich’s attack on the Soviet Union on 22-06-1941, during World War II. The military operation was named after Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, one of the leaders of the Third Crusade. The operation itself lasted until December 1941, but the war on the Eastern Front (from the German perspective) that it initiated only ended in May 1945 with Germany’s unconditional surrender to the Soviet Union and the other Allies.

German army losses in Russia (the Eastern Front) during World War II were catastrophic, with estimates for total German personnel losses (killed, missing, captured) ranging from around 5 million to over 7 million soldiers, with roughly 4 million confirmed killed or missing, and a significant portion of all German military deaths (70-80%) occurring there, making it the deadliest theater of the war, marked by immense battles like Stalingrad, Kursk, and Moscow. 

Because he didn’t unconditionally execute every order immediately, he was seen as an enemy of the party by Jozef Goebbels. and Berger, Gottlob Christian,”the Duke of Swabian”,    disliked Fromm and was looking for a way to get rid of him and take over the position. He was supported in this by Heinrich Himmler‘s second-in-command, SS Obergruppenführer, General Waffen SS. Leader SS Führungshauptamt. Jüttner, Hans Gustav Gottlob

Fromm was likely at least aware of the plans of Claus von Stauffenberg and his co-conspirators, and possibly even passively involved in the plot against Adolf Hitler. He was seen as a hesitant person, strictly adhering to the military code of honour. [source?] He was considered a potential ally. He was not part of the inner circle of conspirators. He already had many problems with Keitel and a lot of infighting with the SS .

When Hitler’s death was not confirmed after the assassination attempt of July 20, 1944, he enquired with Wilhelm Bodewin Johann Gustav, “Lakeitel” Keitel, who confirmed that Hitler was still alive. Fromm, who refused to cooperate, was considered a security risk by the coup plotters and was imprisoned. Later that day, however, he was relieved by loyal troops and was able to arrest the main conspirators. He undoubtedly had no need for an interrogation where the conspirators would mention his name and had them executed immediately. This was against Hitler’s explicit order to capture the conspirators alive at all costs. General Ludwig August Theodor Beck was allowed to commit suicide at his own request (in accordance with the officers’ code of honour), but when he failed after two attempts, he was shot. The rest of the coup plotters, including von Stauffenberg, were executed in the courtyard of the Bendlerstrasse barracks in Berlin.

However, this wouldn’t save Fromm. He was arrested and accused of doing nothing despite being aware of the conspiracy. He was arrested on 22-07-1944. On 23-07-1944, he was summoned to Goebbels at the Wolf’s Lair. Joseph Goebbels, Dr Hugo Robert “Werner” Naumann, Martin Ludwig Bormann, and Albert Speer were at the table with Adolf Hitler there. They concluded, partly by asking Keitel for confirmation of Hitler’s death, that he had known about a form of conspiracy, and the summary execution of Von Stauffenberg and his associates made it seem that Fromm was an accomplice. Fromm was discharged from the German army on 14-09-1944. Burger Fromm was sentenced to death as unfit for military service by a people’s court on 07-03-1945. Since the court could not establish a direct association with the conspirators of the coup on 20-07-1944, he was convicted of cowardice in the face of the enemy. The loss of his dignity for military service led to a permanent loss of all honours, ranks, and orders.

Death and burial ground of Friedrich Fromm.

On 12-03-1945, Friedrich Fromm, age 56, was executed by a firing squad in Brandenburg-Görden prison.

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