Walther von Seydlitz-Kurzbach

Infobox Military Person
name=Walther von Seydlitz-Kurzbach
born=birth date|1888|8|22|df=y
died=death date and age|1976|4|28|1888|8|22|df=y
placeofbirth=Hamburg-Eppendorf
placeofdeath=Bremen


caption=
nickname=
allegiance=flagicon|German Empire German Empire (to 1918)
flagicon|Germany Weimar Republic (to 1933)
flagicon|Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (to 1942)
branch=Heer
serviceyears=1908-1945
rank=General der Artillerie
commands=12. Infanterie-Division
unit=
battles=World War I
World War II
awards="Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves"
laterwork=

Walther von Seydlitz-Kurzbach (22 August 1888–28 April 1976) was a German general. He was born in Hamburg, Germany, into the noble Prussian Seydlitz family.

During World War I he participated on both fronts as an officer. During the Weimar Republic, he remained a professional officer in the Reichswehr; from 1940 to 1942 he commanded the 12th Infantry Division of the German army. When the division was encircled in the Demyansk Pocket, Seydlitz was responsible for breaking the Soviet cordon and enabling German units to escape from encirclement; for this action he was promoted to General ("General der Artillerie") and appointed commander of the LI Corps.

The corps was subordinated to Sixth Army during the Battle of Stalingrad. When the entire Army was trapped in the city in the course of the Soviet Operation Uranus, Seydlitz was one of the generals who argued most forcefully in favor of a breakout, in contravention of Hitler’s orders. On the surrender of the remaining forces in Stalingrad, Seydlitz was taken into Soviet custody.

As a POW he became the leader of the anti-Nazi organization, the League of German Officers ( _de. Bund deutscher Offiziere) and a prominent member of the National Committee Free Germany ( _de. Nationalkomitee Freies Deutschland). He was condemned by many of his fellow generals for his anti-Nazi activities and was sentenced to death in absentia. His idea of creating an anti-Nazi force of some 40,000 German POWs to be airlifted into Germany was not considered credible, while in Germany his family was taken into "Sippenhaft", detention for the crimes of a family member. Seydlitz was ultimately exploited by both Soviet and German propaganda: he was used by the former in broadcasts and literature to encourage German soldiers to surrender, while the latter cultivated the idea of “Seydlitz troops” ( _de. Seydlitztruppen).

In 1949 Seydlitz, who showed little inclination to cooperate with Soviet authorities after the war, requested release into the Soviet occupation zone of Germany. This was refused, and he was charged with atrocities committed against Soviet POWs and the civilian population while in Wehrmacht service. In 1950, a Soviet tribunal sentenced him to 25 years’ imprisonment, but in 1955 he was released to West Germany, where in 1956 his Third Reich death sentence was nullified.

Seydlitz died on 28 April 1976 in Bremen. On 23 April 1996 a posthumous pardon was issued by Russian authorities.

External links

* [http://www.se-i-ydlitz.de/walther.php Walther v. Seydlitz-Kurzbach, General der Artillerie] biography on the website of the Seydlitz family de icon