Hoppe, Harry Arthur “Stan Laurel”

Hoppe, Harry, born on 11-02-1894 five years after Adolf Hitler (did you know) (see Hitler parents)  (see William Hitler) and changed his name on his birthday of 1943, from Arthur in Harry. His nickname was Stan Laurel, while he was a pretty look a like with the English born actor.

 Hoppe joined the army, age 20, as a war volunteer in the Braunschweigerische 92^nd Infantry Regiment, on 08-11-1914 and participated in World War I. He was in the fields with the 208^th Infantry Regiment and soon after wounded in hospital, on 24-10-1914. He was wounded again in hospital on 09-04-1917 and after the war he announced to the Freikorps “Hülsen”, like General der Panzertruppe, Hasso von Manteuffel and Generalleutnant der Wehrmacht, Eberhard Kinzel. Bernard von Hülsen died age 85, on 02-04-1950.With the outbreak of World War II, Harry was Infantry adviser in the Reconnaissance Staff of the Commander Chief East. As commander of the 124^th Infantry Regiment in the 136^th Infantry Division under General der Infanterie, Paul Laux, Laux died of wounds in Riga at the age of 44, on 02-09-1944, he took part in Operation Barbarossa in June 1941. Heavy involved in the battle for Leningrad and although Leningrad never fell, the capture of Schlüsselberg sealed-off the city from the east and garnered then Oberst Hoppe the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross.  On 14-10-1942 he was delegated with the leadership if the 126^th Division on the Eastern Front.  Later it was transferred to the 1st Parachute Corps , under command of Generaloberst Kurt Student, , defending the Brenner Pass where most of the division was encircled, the remainder later surrendered on the 02-05-1945. On 10-12-1943 he became the commander of the 278^th Division in Italy under High Commander Generalfeldmarschall der Flieger, Albert Kesselring

  . The 278^th was formed in 1940 from older personnel, the first 278^th never saw combat and was dissolved after the fall to France. The second 278^th was formed in mid 1942 in Belgium and was sent to Army Group C Italy in late 1943. Integrated in this unit was one of the few fascist Italian battalions of the RSI, Italian Social Republic, Mussolini’s last “puppe government” used by the German Wehrmacht in the front line. It was named “battaglione d’assalto Forli”, assault battalion Forli. It was composed by 500 fascists from Forli, Benito Mussolini, who defended the city. Facing the Polish II corps , under Lieutenant General Wladyslaw Anders, Hoppe’s  division fought a ferocious defensive battle for the port of Ancona form mid June until early July 1944 and Hoppe was cited in the Wehrmachtbericht for this feat. Ancona fell on 18 07-1944 to Anders II Corps. From 05-04-1945 he was commander of the 278^th Volksgrenadier Division in Italy and landed in British captivity on 02-05-1945, seven days before the end of the war.

     Hoppe was imprisoned in the Island Farm Camp II and on 12-05-1948 transferred to Camp 186 for repatriation. Released Hoppe lived in Wetzlar, where he at the age of 75 died, on 23-08-1969 and is buried with his wife Christine, born von Lynatten, on the Cemetery Bergstrasse, in Wetzlar.