Gottfried von Erdmannsdorff
Gottfried von Erdmannsdorff | |
|---|---|
| Born | 25 April 1893 Kamenz, German Empire |
| Died | 30 January 1946 (aged 52) Minsk, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Allegiance |  German Empire (to 1918) Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany |
| Service/ | Army (Wehrmacht) |
| Years of service | 1913–33 1934–45 |
| Rank | Generalmajor |
| Commands held | 465th Division "Fortress Mogilev" |
| Battles/wars | World War I
|
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross |
| Relations | Werner von Erdmannsdorff (brother) |
Gottfried von Erdmannsdorff (25 April 1893 – 30 January 1946) was a German general during World War II. He was convicted by a Soviet military tribunal for war crimes at the Minsk Trial and executed in 1946.
Minsk Trial[]
Erdmannsdorff, who was at that time commander of the so-called "Fortress Mogilev" surrendered to the Soviet troops in late June 1944 during the Mogilev Offensive. He was tried by a Soviet tribunal (the Minsk Trial) for crimes committed in Belarus along with 18 other defendants, 14 of whom, including Erdmannsdorff, were sentenced to death on 29 January 1946. The officers were hanged in public (with over 100,000 civilian spectators) in the horse racing venue of Minsk, on 30 January 1946.[1] He was the younger brother of General der Infanterie Werner von Erdmannsdorff.[2]
Awards and decorations[]
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 20 March 1942 as Oberst and commander of Infanterie-Regiment 171[3]
References[]
Citations[]
Bibliography[]
- (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
- Heer, Hannes (1995). "Der Minsker Prozess". Hannesheer.de.
- 1893 births
- 1946 deaths
- People from Kamenz
- People from the Kingdom of Saxony
- Major generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht)
- German military personnel of World War I
- Reichswehr personnel
- Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class
- Recipients of the Gold German Cross
- Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
- German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union
- German people executed by the Soviet Union
- Executed people from Saxony
- Executed military leaders
- Military personnel from Saxony
- 20th-century Freikorps personnel
- Nazis executed by the Soviet Union by hanging
- People executed for war crimes