Otto Lasch

Last updated • 2 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Otto Lasch
Born(1893-06-25)25 June 1893
Pleß, German Empire
Died29 April 1971(1971-04-29) (aged 77)
Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany
AllegianceFlag of the German Empire.svg  German Empire
Flag of Germany (1935-1945).svg  Nazi Germany
Years of service1914–1918
1935–1945
Rank General of the Infantry
Battles / wars World War I
World War II
Awards Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Otto Lasch (25 June 1893 in Pleß, Oberschlesien – 29 April 1971) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded the LXIV Corps. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves.

Contents

Career

After World War I, Lasch served in the Freikorps in the East Prussian city of Lyck. [1] He joined the Wehrmacht in 1935 and later took part in Operation Barbarossa, playing a pivotal role in capturing Riga in June 1941. [2] He rose to the rank of General of the Infantry [3] [ circular reference ] and functioned as Commandant of Königsberg in East Prussia from November 1944 onward. As Fortress Commandant of Königsberg he was responsible for defending the city and maintaining order among the flood of refugees fleeing from the advancing Red Army.

Following heavy fighting and a three month siege of the city during the Battle of Königsberg by the 36-division-strong 3rd Byelorussian Front under Ivan Chernyakhovsky, Lasch disobeyed Hitler's orders and surrendered Königsberg to the Red Army on 9 April 1945. As a result of his surrender Hitler sentenced him in absentia to death by hanging, and his family, in Denmark and Berlin at the time, was arrested. [4] [5] Lasch went into Soviet captivity and was convicted as a war criminal in the Soviet Union and sentenced to twenty-five years in a corrective labor camp. He was released in 1955. [6] Lasch died in Bonn in 1971.

Lasch authored So fiel Königsberg. Kampf und Untergang von Ostpreußens Hauptstadt, which was published in 1958. In 1965 he wrote Zuckerbrot und Peitsche about his years as a Soviet prisoner of war.

Awards and decorations

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theodor Tolsdorff</span> German World War II general

Theodor Tolsdorff was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was one of 27 recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds. Charged with the killing of Franz Xaver Holzhey in the closing days of the war, Tolsdorff was convicted in 1954 but acquitted in 1960 in trials that drew substantial public interest and media coverage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erich Marcks</span> German World War II general (1891–1944)

Erich Marcks was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He authored the first draft of the operational plan, Operation Draft East, for Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, advocating what was later known as A-A line as the goal for the Wehrmacht to achieve, within nine to seventeen weeks. Marcks studied philosophy in Freiburg in 1909.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hans von Obstfelder</span> German general (1886–1976)

Hans von Obstfelder was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hellmuth Mäder</span> German general

Hellmuth Mäder was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords of Nazi Germany.

Maximilian Fretter-Pico was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erich Buschenhagen</span> German general (1895–1994)

Erich Buschenhagen was a German general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany who commanded the LII Corps during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. Buschenhagen surrendered to the Soviet forces in August 1944, after the Jassy–Kishinev Offensive and was held in the Soviet Union as a war criminal until October 1955.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ehrenfried-Oskar Boege</span> German general and Knights Cross recipient

Ehrenfried-Oskar Boege was a German general during World War II who held several corps level commands. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany.

Fritz-Georg von Rappard was a Nazi German general and war criminal during World War II. He commanded the 7th Infantry Division. In 1946, he was part of a group of Wehrmacht personnel tried for war crimes in open court by the Soviet military tribunal in the city of Velikiye Luki. Along with seven other officers of various ranks, Rappard was convicted and executed.

Ernst-Anton von Krosigk was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded the 16th Army. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany. Krosigk was killed in an air-attack by Soviet forces on 16 March 1945 in the Courland Pocket.

Karl Hermann Arndt was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded several divisions. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany.

Martin Bieber was a German general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II who commanded several divisions. Born in Tabarz, he was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Bieber surrendered to the Soviet forces in May 1945 and was held in the Soviet Union as a war criminal until October 1955. He died in Düsseldorf in 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Klaus von Bismarck</span> German officer and journalist (1912–1997)

Klaus von Bismarck was the Director General of the Westdeutscher Rundfunk from 1961 to 1976, and the president of the ARD broadcasting association in 1963-1964. He was also the president of the German Evangelical Church Assembly from 1977 to 1979 and a member of its presidium from 1950 to 1995, as well as president of the Goethe-Institut from 1977 to 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfons Hitter</span> German general

Alfons Hitter was a German general during World War II who commanded the 206th Infantry Division. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany.

Alexander Conrady was a German general during World War II who commanded the 36th Infantry Division. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany. Conrady was taken prisoner by Soviet troops during Operation Bagration on the night of the 30th of June 1944 while traveling in a halftrack containing two other German Generals, General Hoffmeister and General Engel. They had originally been reported missing but it was later revealed that they were captured. He was released in 1955.

Ernst Sieler was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II who commanded the LIX. Corps. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. Sieler surrendered to the Soviet forces in the course of Red Army's Vistula–Oder Offensive. He was held in the Soviet Union as a war criminal until 1955.

Paul Laux was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded the 16th Army. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hans Traut</span> German general

Hans Traut was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany.

Friedrich Hochbaum was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany. Hochbaum surrendered to Soviet troops in May 1945 and died in captivity in January 1955.

Otto Schünemann was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. Schünemann was killed on 29 June 1944 near Mogilev during the Soviet 1944 summer offensive, Operation Bagration by a Soviet air attack on the Belynitschi-Beresino road.

Gottfried Ludwig Weber was a German general (Generalleutnant) in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany.

References

Citations
  1. Michael Wieck (2003). A Childhood Under Hitler and Stalin: Memoirs of a "certified" Jew. Univ of Wisconsin Press. pp. 274–. ISBN   978-0-299-18544-2.
  2. Andrej Angrick; Peter Klein (15 January 2012). The 'Final Solution' in Riga: Exploitation and Annihilation, 1941–1944. Berghahn Books. pp. 62–. ISBN   978-0-85745-601-4.
  3. de:Otto Lasch
  4. Willemer, Wilhelm. "The German Defence of Berlin 1945". www.allworldwars.com. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  5. R. Loeffel (29 May 2012). Family Punishment in Nazi Germany: Sippenhaft, Terror and Myth. Springer. pp. 88–. ISBN   978-1-137-02183-0.
  6. Andrej Angrick; Peter Klein (15 November 2009). The 'Final Solution' in Riga: Exploitation and Annihilation, 1941–1944. Berghahn Books. pp. 450–. ISBN   978-1-84545-608-5.
  7. 1 2 Thomas 1998, p. 13.
Biography
Military offices
Preceded by
Generalleutnant Friedrich Bayer
Commander of 217. Infanterie-Division
September 27, 1942 - October 1, 1943
Succeeded by
Generalleutnant Walter Poppe
Preceded by
none
Commander of 349. Infanterie-Division
November 20, 1943 - August 1944
Succeeded by
none
Preceded by
none
Commander of LXIV. Armeekorps
August 5, 1944 - November 1, 1944
Succeeded by
General der Infanterie Helmut Thumm