Eduard Wagner
Encyclopedia
General Eduard Wagner (1 April 1894 - 23 July 1944) was a German
Artillery
officer who was the quartermaster-general of the German Army and a member of the resistance to Adolf Hitler
.
He was born in Kirchenlamitz
, Bavaria
. After service in World War I
he was a member of the Reichswehr
. In World War II
he served as the quartermaster-general from 1941 to 1944 and was promoted to General der Artillerie on 1 August 1943.
On July 24 1939 he draw up regulations that allowed German soldiers to take hostages from civilian population and execute them as response to resistance. He personally welcomed the idea of future invasion of Poland, writing that he looks to it "gladly".
In May 1941, he drew up the regulations with Reinhard Heydrich
that ensured that the Army and Einsatzgruppen
would co-operate with murdering Soviet Jews. On the Eastern Front
he had a role in ensuring that suitable winter clothing was supplied to the German forces and on 27 November 1941 he reported that "We are at the end of our resources in both personnel and material. We are about to be confronted with the dangers of deep winter."
Wagner even was well informed about planned war crimes of the future. In late February 1943 Otto Bräutigam
of the Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories
had the opportunity to read a personal report by Wagner about a discussion with Heinrich Himmler
, in which Himmler had expressed the intention to kill about 80% of the populations of France and England by special forces
of the SS
after the German victory. Before, Hitler had called the English lower classes “racially inferior”.
He was a conspirator against Adolf Hitler
and when Claus von Stauffenberg sought approval to an assassination attempt on 15 July 1944 he was cited as being definite that the assassination of Hitler should only be attempted if Heinrich Himmler
was also present. On 20 July 1944 he arranged the airplane that flew Stauffenberg from Rastenburg back to Berlin
after the July 20 plot
bomb had exploded.
After the failure of the coup attempt he feared that his arrest by the Gestapo
was imminent and that he might be forced to implicate other plotters. He committed suicide by shooting himself in the head at noon on 23 July 1944.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
officer who was the quartermaster-general of the German Army and a member of the resistance to Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
.
He was born in Kirchenlamitz
Kirchenlamitz
Kirchenlamitz is a town in the district of Wunsiedel, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated in the Fichtelgebirge, 13 km northwest of Wunsiedel and 19 km south of Hof....
, Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
. After service in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
he was a member of the Reichswehr
Reichswehr
The Reichswehr formed the military organisation of Germany from 1919 until 1935, when it was renamed the Wehrmacht ....
. In World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he served as the quartermaster-general from 1941 to 1944 and was promoted to General der Artillerie on 1 August 1943.
On July 24 1939 he draw up regulations that allowed German soldiers to take hostages from civilian population and execute them as response to resistance. He personally welcomed the idea of future invasion of Poland, writing that he looks to it "gladly".
In May 1941, he drew up the regulations with Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich , also known as The Hangman, was a high-ranking German Nazi official.He was SS-Obergruppenführer and General der Polizei, chief of the Reich Main Security Office and Stellvertretender Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia...
that ensured that the Army and Einsatzgruppen
Einsatzgruppen
Einsatzgruppen were SS paramilitary death squads that were responsible for mass killings, typically by shooting, of Jews in particular, but also significant numbers of other population groups and political categories...
would co-operate with murdering Soviet Jews. On the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
he had a role in ensuring that suitable winter clothing was supplied to the German forces and on 27 November 1941 he reported that "We are at the end of our resources in both personnel and material. We are about to be confronted with the dangers of deep winter."
Wagner even was well informed about planned war crimes of the future. In late February 1943 Otto Bräutigam
Otto Bräutigam
Otto Bräutigam was a German diplomat and lawyer, who worked for the Auswärtiges Amt as well as the Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories of Alfred Rosenberg in Nazi Germany. In this position Bräutigam was involved in the holocaust...
of the Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories
Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories
The Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories was created by Adolf Hitler on July 1941 and headed by the Nazi theoretical expert and Baltic German, Alfred Rosenberg. Alfred Meyer was Rosenberg's deputy. This ministry was created to control the vast areas captured by the Germans in...
had the opportunity to read a personal report by Wagner about a discussion with Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
, in which Himmler had expressed the intention to kill about 80% of the populations of France and England by special forces
Einsatzgruppen
Einsatzgruppen were SS paramilitary death squads that were responsible for mass killings, typically by shooting, of Jews in particular, but also significant numbers of other population groups and political categories...
of the SS
Sicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst , full title Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsführers-SS, or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. The organization was the first Nazi Party intelligence organization to be established and was often considered a "sister organization" with the...
after the German victory. Before, Hitler had called the English lower classes “racially inferior”.
He was a conspirator against Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
and when Claus von Stauffenberg sought approval to an assassination attempt on 15 July 1944 he was cited as being definite that the assassination of Hitler should only be attempted if Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
was also present. On 20 July 1944 he arranged the airplane that flew Stauffenberg from Rastenburg back to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
after the July 20 plot
July 20 Plot
On 20 July 1944, an attempt was made to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Führer of the Third Reich, inside his Wolf's Lair field headquarters near Rastenburg, East Prussia. The plot was the culmination of the efforts of several groups in the German Resistance to overthrow the Nazi-led German government...
bomb had exploded.
After the failure of the coup attempt he feared that his arrest by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
was imminent and that he might be forced to implicate other plotters. He committed suicide by shooting himself in the head at noon on 23 July 1944.