Sponeck, Graf von, Hans Emil Otto

Date of birth:: February 12th, 1888 (Düsseldorf/Rhineprovince, Germany)
Date of death:: July 23rd, 1944 (Germersheim/Palatinate, Germany)
Nationality:: German

Biography

Hans Graf von Sponeck was sentenced to death by Hitler on December 29th, 1941 for refusing to uphold a directorder not to withdraw from the Kertsch area. with the help of Generaloberst Haase, the sentence was later transformed to six year's imprisonment. Although he had nothing to do with the attempt to kill Hitler on July 20th, 1944, he was sentenced to death by direct order of Himmler. The sentence was carried out on July 23rd in the Wehrmachtsgefängnis at Germersheim.

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Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes

Period:: Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:: Generalleutnant (Major-general)
Unit:: Kommandeur 22. Infanterie-Division
Awarded on:: May 14th, 1940
Awarded for:: Operation Fall Gelb

The following wartime excerpt (dated 30.08.1940) describes why Sponeck received the Knight’s Cross…

“Generalleutnant Graf Sponeck distinguished himself while serving as the commander of the Luftlande-Infanterie-Division during the battle to crush Dutch resistance. The award of the Knight’s Cross to him is simultaneously a high honour for his fearless subordinated troops.”