Karl Freiherr von Thüngen

Karl Freiherr von Thüngen (26 June 1893 – 24 October 1944) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II who was executed in 1944 after the failed 20 July Plot.

Karl Freiherr von Thüngen
Born	(1893-06-26)26 June 1893 Mainz
Died	24 October 1944(1944-10-24) (aged 51) Brandenburg-Görden Prison, Nazi Germany
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Army (Wehrmacht)
Rank	Generalleutnant
Commands held	18th Panzer Division
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Biography

During World War II, Thüngen served on the Eastern Front, in 1942 and 1943 with the 18th Panzer Division. On 6 April 1943 he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.[1] On 20 July 1944, he was appointed by the conspirators as the commander of the defense group III (Berlin), succeeding the arrested General Joachim von Kortzfleisch.[2] He did not follow the conspirators' orders and later took part in the interrogation of Major Hans-Ulrich von Oertzen, a supporter of the plot under his command.

He was nevertheless subsequently arrested by the Gestapo. He was dismissed from the army by the court of honor and was then tried by the People's Court, sentenced to death by Roland Freisler on 5 October 1944 and shot by firing squad in Brandenburg-Görden Prison on 24 October 1944.

Family

Karl Freiherr von Thüngen was the son of Karl Ernst Freiherr von Thüngen (1839–1927) and Eva Elisabeth Maier (born 1874). He was married twice. His first marriage took place on 11 February 1919 to Margit Edle von Schultes († 1932). On 5 April 1934 he married Marie Freiin von Michel-Raulino (1893–1978). Karl Freiherr Michel von Tüßling was her cousin.

Awards and decorations

Bamberg Cathedral: a plaque commemorates the five "Bamberg Troopers"

• Iron Cross (1914)[3]
  • 2nd Class
  • 1st Class
• German Cross in Gold (18 October 1941)[4]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 6 April 1943 as Generalleutnant and commander of 18. Panzer-Division

References

1. "Generalleutnant Karl Freiherr von Thüngen". Lexikon der Wehrmacht (in German). Retrieved 2018-05-06.
2. Joachim Fest (1994). Plotting Hitler's Death: The German Resistance to Hitler, 1933–1945. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 0-297-81774-4.
3. Rangliste des Deutschen Reichsheeres, Mittler & Sohn Verlag, Berlin, p. 140.
4. Veit Scherzer: Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939-1945, Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, Ranis/Jena 2007, ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2, p. 179.

Military offices
Preceded by General der Panzertruppe Walther Nehring	Commander of 18. Panzer-Division 26 January 1942 – July 1942	Succeeded by General der Nachrichtentruppen Albert Praun
Preceded by General der Nachrichtentruppen Albert Praun	Commander of 18. Panzer-Division 24 August 1942 – 15 September 1942	Succeeded by Generalleutnant Erwin Menny
Preceded by Generalleutnant Erwin Menny	Commander of 18. Panzer-Division February 1943 – 1 April 1943	Succeeded by Generalleutnant Karl-Wilhelm von Schlieben