Heinrich Thoma (general)

Heinrich Thoma (26 April 1891 – 30 October 1948) was a German general during World War II. 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.

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

Biography

Thoma was born on 26 April 1891 in Nuremberg in the German Empire[1] In 1910, Thoma 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]

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.[4] 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,[5] 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,[6] and argued in his journal that the all Jews should be exterminated.[7] He also considered the execution of Soviet partisans as just.[8]

Thoma was promoted to Generalleutnant on 1 September 1943 and briefly commanded the Division z.b.V. 413 from 1 to 10 June 1942 before taking command of Division Nr. 432 on 3 August 1942.[2][9] At the end of the war, he was tasked with the leadership of Wehrkreis VIII, the military district of Breslau (Silesia, the Sudetenland districts of Bohemia and Moravia, and southwest Poland), as deputy commander.[1] He died as prisoner of war in the Soviet Union on 30 October 1948 in a hospital at Shuya near Ivanovo.[1][10]

Awards and decorations
Grave in Cherntsy, north of Shuya.

References

Citations
  1. Scherzer 2007, p. 742.
  2. Keilig 1983, p. 344.
  3. Weber 2010, pp. 12–13.
  4. Hartmann 2010, p. 88.
  5. Hartmann 2010, p. 299.
  6. Hartmann 2010, pp. 673–675.
  7. Hartmann 2010, p. 674.
  8. Hartmann 2010, p. 706.
  9. Mitcham 2009.
  10. Hartmann 2010, p. 183.
  11. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 342.
  12. Von Seemen 1976, p. 338.

Bibliography
  • Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (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.
  • 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 (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 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.
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