Hoffmann von Waldau, Otto Richard Hermann Heinrich Hoffmann von, born 07-07-1898 in Bankau; Bakó, Poland, 
.During World War II, in 1944, the Germans relocated the Stalag Luft 7 A 
prisoner-of-war camp from Morzyczyn to Bąków. It housed Allied POWs of various nationalities, including British, Canadian, American, Polish, Australian, New Zealander, South African, French and Dutch. On 19-01-1945, the Germans evacuated the camp in a death march, which reached the Stalag III-A camp in Luckenwalde on February 8. Following Germany’s defeat in the war, the village became again part of Poland.
Otto Hoffmann von Waldau during the First World War, joined the Dragoon Regiment “King Frederick III” (2nd Silesian) No. 8 
as a volunteer on 13-12-1915. After his promotion to Leutnant on 22-03-1917, Otto served there as a platoon leader and finally as an orderly officer. For his work, he received both classes of the Iron Cross 
and the Wound Badge in Black. 
After the end of the war, in December 1918, he moved to the staff of the Guard Cavalry Rifle Division. 
On 01-10-1919, he was transferred to the Reichswehr Cavalry Regiment 8, where he again served as a platoon leader. During his service there, which lasted until 1924, he completed pilot training in Switzerland from 1920 to 1923. In 1924 he was transferred to the 3rd Division in Berlin as an image officer and promoted to First Leutnant in August 1925. From October 1928 to September 1931 he took part in the Führer’s assistant training, the camouflaged general staff training. He then served on the staff of the 7th Division and on the staff of the 3rd (Prussian) Cavalry Regiment 
in Rathenow until he was transferred to the Reich Defense Ministry in Berlin in January 1932. Here he spent about half a year preparing for a foreign deployment. The 3rd Cavalry Division (3. Kavallerie-Division) was a unit of the Prussian Army, part of German Army in World War I. The division was formed on the mobilization of the German Army in August 1914. The division was disbanded in November 1916.
His assignment took Hoffman von Waldau to Italy in the late summer of 1932. There he took over responsibility as air attaché at the German embassy in Rome in September. Here he was promoted to Hauptman in March 1933. After three years, he returned to Germany on 31-05-1935 and was posted to the Reich Air Ministry 
as a consultant in the General Staff of the Herman Göring‘s 
Luftwaffe 
until 30-09-1936. After a year as commander of the I. Group in the 153rd Fighter Wing from October 1936 to September 1937, he returned to the General Staff of the Luftwaffe as chief of the 3rd Department. He then served in the General Staff of the Luftwaffe as chief of the training staff and then from February 1939, beyond the start of World War II, until 10-04-1942, as chief of the Luftwaffe command staff. In this position, he was promoted to General Major on 19-07-1940 and to General Leutnant on 01-03-1942.
On 12-04-1942, Waldau was appointed Fliegerführer Afrika; he held this position until the end of August 1942. For his services in North Africa, he was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross 
on 28-06-1942. In September 1942, he was appointed Commanding General of the Xth Air Corps 
in Athens and on 01-01-1943, he was appointed Chief of the Air Force Command Southeast. On 30-01-1943, he was promoted to General of the Air Force.
Death and burial ground of Hoffmann von Waldau, Otto Richard Hermann Heinrich.
Here with Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring, 
1942
On 17-03-1943, his courier plane crashed near Petritsch in Bulgaria due to a technical defect and he is buried at the Dionyssos-Rapendoza German War Cemetery in Dionysos, Regional unit of East Attica, Attica, Greece Section Gruft 1 Reihe 4 Platte 7.
Leave a Reply