Heinrich Thoma
Born26 April 1891
Nuremberg
Died30 October 1948(1948-10-30) (aged 57)
Shuya, Soviet Union
Allegiance German Empire
 Weimar Republic
 Nazi Germany
Service/branchArmy
Years of service1910–45
RankGeneralleutnant
Unit296th Infantry Division
Commands held519th Infantry Regiment
Battles/warsWorld War I
World War II
AwardsKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Heinrich Thoma (26 April 1891 – 30 October 1948) was a German general during World War II. In October 1941 while a regimental commander in the 296th Infantry Division during Operation Barbarossa, the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union, he was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, the highest award in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. From June 1942 until the end of the war he commanded rear area and replacement divisions, and was deputy commander of a military district. As a prisoner of war he died in the Soviet Union in 1948.

Biography

Heinrich Thoma was born on 26 April 1891 in Nuremberg in the Kingdom of Bavaria within the German Empire.[1] In 1910, he joined the military service of the German Army as a Fahnenjunker (cadet). On 28 October 1912, he was commissioned as a Leutnant (second lieutenant) with the Königlich Bayerisches 16. Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment, a regiment of the 6th Bavarian Reserve Division.[2] Later during World War I, Adolf Hitler served as a dispatch runner in this regiment.[3] Following World War I, Thoma served in the Reichswehr of the Weimar Republic. He was promoted to Oberstleutnant (lieutenant colonel) on 1 January 1935 and to Oberst (colonel) on 1 August 1937. On 24 November 1938, Thoma took command of the 85th Infantry Regiment, a regiment of the 10th Infantry Division.[2]

World War II

World War II in Europe began on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. During this invasion, Thoma commanded the 85th Infantry Regiment in its advance towards the Vistula, reported that thousands of Polish soldiers were captured.[4]

During Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, Thoma served as officer in the 296th Infantry Division and commanded the 519th Infantry Regiment.[5] On 1 September 1941, he was promoted to Generalmajor, a rank equivalent to brigadier general.[2] Although he regarded the population of the areas occupied by the advancing Wehrmacht as relatively primitive,[6] Thoma expressed sympathy for Ukrainians and Volga Germans that his unit encountered, noting their poverty. As an ardent antisemite, he blamed Jews for the local conditions,[7] and argued in his journal that the all Jews should be exterminated.[8] He also considered the execution of Soviet partisans as just.[9]

Thoma briefly commanded the 413th Landesschützen Division from 1 June 1942 until it was disbanded on 10 June,[2][10] before taking command of the 432nd Replacement Division on 3 August 1942.[2][11] Thoma's command was responsible for raising replacement units in Silesia.[12] Thoma was promoted to Generalleutnant on 1 September 1943 and except for a short period in September and October 1943, he commanded the division until the end of the war.[13] In 1944, Thoma's division was given responsibility for both replacement and training units, and this continued until early 1945. In the spring of that year the division was incorporated into the field army.[12] At the end of the war, he was also the deputy commander of Wehrkreis VIII, the military district of Breslau (Silesia, the Sudetenland districts of Bohemia and Moravia, and southwest Poland).[1] He was held as prisoner of war in NKVD special camp No. 48 in the Soviet Union, died on 30 October 1948 in a hospital at Shuya near Ivanovo, and buried in the camp cemetery.[1][14]

Awards and decorations

Grave in Cherntsy

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 Scherzer 2007, p. 742.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Keilig 1983, p. 344.
  3. ↑ Weber 2010, pp. 12–13.
  4. ↑ Hargreaves 2010, pp. 166–167.
  5. ↑ Hartmann 2010, p. 88.
  6. ↑ Hartmann 2010, p. 299.
  7. ↑ Hartmann 2010, pp. 673–675.
  8. ↑ Hartmann 2010, p. 674.
  9. ↑ Hartmann 2010, p. 706.
  10. ↑ Mitcham 2007, pp. 72–73.
  11. ↑ Mitcham 2007, pp. 76–78.
  12. 1 2 Mitcham 2007, p. 77.
  13. ↑ Mitcham 2007, p. 78.
  14. ↑ Hartmann 2010, p. 183.
  15. ↑ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 342.
  16. ↑ Von Seemen 1976, p. 338.

Bibliography

  • Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer [in German] (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
  • Hargreaves, Richard (2010). Blitzkrieg Unleashed: The German Invasion of Poland, 1939. Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-0724-4.
  • Hartmann, Christian (2010). Wehrmacht im Ostkrieg: Front und militärisches Hinterland 1941/42 [Wehrmacht in the Eastern-War. Front and Military Rear Area 1941/42] (in German) (1st ed.). Munich: Oldenbourg Verlag. ISBN 978-3-486-70225-5.
  • Keilig, Wolfgang [in German] (1983). Die Generale des Heeres 1939–1945. Truppenoffiziere, Sanitätsoffiziere im Generalsrang, Waffenoffiziere im Generalsrang, Offiziere der Kraftfahrparktruppe im Generalsrang, Ingenieur-Offiziere im Generalsrang, Wehrmachtsrichter im Generalsrang, Verwaltungsoffiziere im Generalsrang, Veterinäroffiziere im Generalsrang [The Army Generals 1939–1945. Troop Officers, Medical Officers in the General Rank, Weapons Officers in the General Rank, Officers of the Motor Vehicle Park Troops in the General Rank, Engineer Officers in the General Rank, Armed Forces Judges in the General Rank, Administrative Officers in the General Rank, Veterinary Officers in the General Rank] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0202-0.
  • Mitcham, Samuel (2007). German Order of Battle: 291st-999th Infantry Divisions, Named Infantry Divisions, and Special Divisions in World War II. Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-3437-0.
  • Mitcham, Samuel W. (2009). The Men of Barbarossa. Commanders of the German invasion of Russia 1941. Havertown: Caseate Publ. ISBN 978-1-935149-15-6.
  • Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
  • Von Seemen, Gerhard (1976). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 : die Ritterkreuzträger sämtlicher Wehrmachtteile, Brillanten-, Schwerter- und Eichenlaubträger in der Reihenfolge der Verleihung : Anhang mit Verleihungsbestimmungen und weiteren Angaben [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 : The Knight's Cross Bearers of All the Armed Services, Diamonds, Swords and Oak Leaves Bearers in the Order of Presentation: Appendix with Further Information and Presentation Requirements] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7909-0051-4.
  • Weber, Thomas (2010). Hitler's First War: Adolf Hitler, The Men of the List Regiment, and the First World War. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-923320-5.
  • Mitcham, Samuel W. (1985). Hitler's Legions: The German Army Order of Battle World War II (First ed.). New York: Stein and Day. pp. 268, 272–273. ISBN 0812829921. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
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