Erwin von Witzleben
| Erwin von Witzleben | |
|---|---|
Field Marshal von Witzleben in 1940 or '41
|
|
| Born |
4 December 1881 Breslau, Province of Silesia, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire now Wrocław, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland |
| Died | 8 August 1944 (aged 62) Plötzensee Prison, Berlin, Free State of Prussia, Nazi Germany |
| Allegiance |
 German Empire (to 1918) Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany
|
| Service/branch | Army |
| Years of service | 1901–1944 |
| Rank | Generalfeldmarschall |
| Commands held | OB West |
| Battles/wars |
|
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross |
Job Wilhelm Georg Erdmann Erwin von Witzleben (4 December 1881 – 8 August 1944) was a German officer, by 1940 in the rank of Generalfeldmarschall (General Field Marshal), and army commander in the Second World War. A leading conspirator in the 20 July plot, he was designated to become Commander-in-Chief of the Wehrmacht in a post-Nazi regime had the plot succeeded.
Erwin von Witzleben was born in Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland) in the Prussian province of Silesia, the son of Georg von Witzleben (1838–1898), a Hauptmann (captain) in the Prussian Army, and his wife Therese née Brandenburg. The Witzleben dynasty was an Uradel family of old nobility and many officers, descending from Witzleben in Thuringia.
He completed the Prussian Cadet Corps program in Wahlstatt, Silesia and in Lichterfelde near Berlin, and on 22 June 1901 joined the Grenadier Regiment König Wilhelm I No. 7 in Liegnitz, Silesia (now Legnica, Poland) as a Leutnant (lieutenant). In 1910, he was promoted to Oberleutnant (first lieutenant).
He was married to Else Kleeberg from Chemnitz, Saxony. The couple had a son and a daughter.
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