Eberhard Kinzel

Eberhard Kinzel
Eberhard Kinzel
Born	18 October 1897 Berlin
Died	23 May 1945 (aged 47) Flensburg
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918)  Weimar Republic (to 1933)  Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Years of service	1914–45
Rank	General der Infanterie
Unit	Heeresgruppe Nord Heeresgruppe Weichsel
Commands held	570. Volksgrenadier-Division 337. Volksgrenadier-Division
Battles/wars	World War I World War II Battle of Stalingrad Battle of Narva (1944) Vistula-Oder Offensive East Pomeranian Offensive
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Relations	Friedrich Lützow (brother-in-law) Günther Lützow (nephew)

Eberhard Kinzel (18 October 1897 – 23 May 1945) was a highly decorated General der Infanterie in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded several divisions. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

Kinzel was with section Fremde Heere Ost, FHO or Foreign Armies East, until the spring of 1942 when he was replaced by Reinhard Gehlen.^[1] The FHO prepared situation maps of the Soviet Union, Poland, Scandinavia and the Balkans; and assembled information on potential adversaries.

Eberhard Kinzel was part of the delegation that participated in the surrender negotiations with Field-Marshal Montgomery at Lüneburg Heath. Eberhard Kinzel, together with his girlfriend Erika von Aschoff, committed suicide on 23 May 1945.^[2]

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914)
  • 2nd Class
  • 1st Class
• Wound Badge (1914)
  • in Black
• Knight's Cross of the House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords (29 July 1918)
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918
• Wehrmacht Long Service Award 4th to 1st Class
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class
  • 1st Class
• Order of the Cross of Liberty 2nd class with swords (25 March 1942)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 23 December 1942 as Oberst im Generalstab (in the General Staff) and Generalstab des Heeres^{[3][Note 1]}

Notes

1. According to Scherzer on 21 December 1942 as chief department GZ [Zentralabteilung—central department] with the chief of the Generalstab des Heeres [until November 1942 chief of the General Staff XXIX Armeekorps].^[4]

References

Citations

1. Höhne & Zolling 1972, p. 10.
2. More 2013, p. 181.
3. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 256.
4. Scherzer 2007, p. 441.

Bibliography

• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
• Höhne, Heinz; Zolling, Hermann (1972). The General Was a Spy: The Truth about General Gehlen and his spy ring. New York: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan. ISBN 978-0-698-10430-3.
• More, Charles (2013). The Road to Dunkirk: The British Expeditionary Force and the Battle of the Ypres-Comines Canal, 1940. London: Frontline. ISBN 978-1-84832-733-7.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.