Erhard Milch
Encyclopedia
Erhard Milch was a German
Field Marshal
who oversaw the development of the Luftwaffe
as part of the re-armament of Germany
following World War I
, and served as founding Director of Deutsche Luft Hansa
. Erhard Milch was one of the few high ranking Jews in the Wehrmacht
.
, the son of Anton Milch, a Jewish pharmacist in the Kaiserliche Marine
, and a Christian
mother, Clara Milch, née Rosenau.
and trained as an aerial observer. Although not a pilot, he was appointed to command a fighter wing, Jagdgruppe 6, as a Captain in the waning days of the war.
, formed a small airline in Danzig
under the banner of Lloyd Luftdienst, Norddeutscher Lloyd
’s union of regional German airlines. The airline, which linked Danzig to the Baltic States
was simply called Lloyd Ostflug. In 1923, he became managing director of its successor company, Danziger Luftpost when Lloyd Luftdienst merged with its rival firm Aero Union
to form Deutsche Aero Lloyd. From there, Milch and Sachsenberg went to work for rival Junkers Luftverkehr, where Sachsenberg had been appointed managing director. Sachsenberg only held the position until 1925, when Milch took over from him. It was in this position that Milch oversaw the merger of Junkers Luftverkehr to his previous firm of Deutscher Aero Lloyd in 1926, making him the first managing director of Deutsche Luft Hansa
.
. In this capacity, he was instrumental in establishing the Luftwaffe
, originally responsible for armament production although Ernst Udet
was soon making most of the decisions concerning contracts for military aircraft. He quickly used his position to settle personal scores with other aviation industry personalities, including Hugo Junkers
and Willy Messerschmitt
--specifically, Milch banned the latter from submitting a design in the competition to choose a modern fighter aircraft for the new Luftwaffe. Nevertheless, Messerschmitt proved an equal in political manipulation skills and managed to circumvent Milch's ban to successfully submit a design. As the Messerschmitt-designed Bayerische Flugzeugwerke corporate entry, the Bf 109, proved to be the winner, Messerschmitt retained a very high position within the German aircraft industry, until the failure of the Me 210 aircraft. Even after that it was not necessarily Milch as the leader who did not depose of him, but, put him in an inferior position. The personal score against Messerschmitt is one of the likely reasons that Willy Messerschmitt was not allowed to personally acquire the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke [BFW] until July 1938, resulting in the continued use of the Bf prefix for Messerschmitt aircraft designed before Messerschmitt's acquisition of the company, hence the "Bf-" prefix being the only one used for the Messerschmitt Bf 109, as one example, in all official German documents throughout the entirety of World War II in Europe, dealing with all pre-July 1938 origin Messerschmitt aircraft designs.
In 1935, Milch's ethnicity came into question because his father, Anton Milch, was a Jew. This prompted an investigation by the Gestapo
that Göring suppressed by producing an affidavit signed by Milch's mother stating that Anton was not really the father of Erhard and his six siblings, and naming their true father as Karl Brauer, her deceased uncle. These events and his being issued a German Blood Certificate
, by Adolf Hitler, prompted Hermann Göring to say famously "Wer Jude ist, bestimme ich" (I decide who is a Jew), quoting an expression earlier used by Karl Lueger (1844–1910), an anti- Semitic mayor of Vienna
. Nonetheless, further complications resulted from assertions that the Rosenau family of Milch's mother was also Jewish, raising the implication that Milch may have been a full-blooded Jew.
At the outbreak of World War II
Milch, now with the rank of general, commanded Luftflotte 5
during the Norwegian campaign. Following the defeat of France, Milch was promoted to field-marshal (Generalfeldmarschall
) and given the title Air Inspector General. Milch was put in charge of the production of planes during this time, and his many mistakes were key to the loss of German air superiority as the war progressed. Due to changing the designs and aircraft requirements frequently, manufacturers like Messerschmitt
were unable to focus on aircraft output: additionally, the Germans failed to put their production on a war footing, continuing to run factories only for eight hours a day and failing to include women in the workforce. German aircraft production
did not rise as steep as the Allied and especially the Soviet ones, who outproduced the Germans in 1942 and 1943. In 1944 Milch sided with Joseph Goebbels
and Heinrich Himmler
in attempting to convince Adolf Hitler
to remove Göring from command of the Luftwaffe following the failed invasion of the Soviet Union
. When Hitler refused, Göring retaliated by forcing Milch out of his position. For the rest of the war, he worked under Albert Speer
. Speer's reforms were able to increase German military output drastically, including aircraft production, but it was too late by then.
Following Hitler’s suicide
, Milch attempted to flee Germany, but was captured by Allied forces on the Baltic coast on 4 May 1945. On surrendering he presented his baton to the Commando Brigadier Derek Mills-Roberts
, who was so disgusted by what he had seen when liberating the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp
that he broke the baton over Milch's head.
by a United States Military Tribunal in Nuremberg
. He was convicted of two counts:
Milch was sentenced to life imprisonment
at Landsberg prison
. His sentence was commuted to 15 years imprisonment in 1951, but he was released in June 1954. He lived out the remainder of his life at Düsseldorf
, where he died in 1972.
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...
Field Marshal
Generalfeldmarschall
Field Marshal or Generalfeldmarschall in German, was a rank in the armies of several German states and the Holy Roman Empire; in the Austrian Empire, the rank Feldmarschall was used...
who oversaw the development of the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
as part of the re-armament of Germany
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...
following 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...
, and served as founding Director of Deutsche Luft Hansa
Deutsche Luft Hansa
Deutsche Luft Hansa A.G. was a German airline, serving as flag carrier of the country during the later years of the Weimar Republic and throughout the Third Reich.-1920s:Deutsche Luft Hansa was founded on 6 January 1926 in Berlin...
. Erhard Milch was one of the few high ranking Jews in the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
.
Early life
Milch was born in WilhelmshavenWilhelmshaven
Wilhelmshaven is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea.-History:...
, the son of Anton Milch, a Jewish pharmacist in the Kaiserliche Marine
Kaiserliche Marine
The Imperial German Navy was the German Navy created at the time of the formation of the German Empire. It existed between 1871 and 1919, growing out of the small Prussian Navy and Norddeutsche Bundesmarine, which primarily had the mission of coastal defense. Kaiser Wilhelm II greatly expanded...
, and a Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
mother, Clara Milch, née Rosenau.
World War I
Milch enlisted in the German Army in 1910, where he rose to the rank of Lieutenant in the artillery. He later transferred to the LuftstreitkräfteLuftstreitkräfte
The Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte , known before October 1916 as Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches , or simply Die Fliegertruppen, was the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I...
and trained as an aerial observer. Although not a pilot, he was appointed to command a fighter wing, Jagdgruppe 6, as a Captain in the waning days of the war.
Interwar
Milch resigned from the military in 1920 to pursue a career in civil aviation, and with squadron mate Gotthard SachsenbergGotthard Sachsenberg
Gotthard Sachsenberg was a German World War I fighter ace with 31 victories who went on to command the world's first naval air wing...
, formed a small airline in Danzig
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
under the banner of Lloyd Luftdienst, Norddeutscher Lloyd
Norddeutscher Lloyd
Norddeutsche Lloyd was a German shipping company. It was founded by Hermann Henrich Meier and Eduard Crüsemann in Bremen on February 20, 1857. It developed into one of the most important German shipping companies of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and was instrumental in the economic...
’s union of regional German airlines. The airline, which linked Danzig to the Baltic States
Baltic states
The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...
was simply called Lloyd Ostflug. In 1923, he became managing director of its successor company, Danziger Luftpost when Lloyd Luftdienst merged with its rival firm Aero Union
Aero Union
For the Mexico City based cargo Airline see AeroUnionAero Union Corporation is an aircraft operation & maintenance company based in Chico, California, United States...
to form Deutsche Aero Lloyd. From there, Milch and Sachsenberg went to work for rival Junkers Luftverkehr, where Sachsenberg had been appointed managing director. Sachsenberg only held the position until 1925, when Milch took over from him. It was in this position that Milch oversaw the merger of Junkers Luftverkehr to his previous firm of Deutscher Aero Lloyd in 1926, making him the first managing director of Deutsche Luft Hansa
Deutsche Luft Hansa
Deutsche Luft Hansa A.G. was a German airline, serving as flag carrier of the country during the later years of the Weimar Republic and throughout the Third Reich.-1920s:Deutsche Luft Hansa was founded on 6 January 1926 in Berlin...
.
1933–1939
In 1933, Milch took up a position as State Secretary of the newly formed Reichsluftfahrtministerium ("Reich Aviation Ministry" – RLM), answering directly to Hermann GöringHermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
. In this capacity, he was instrumental in establishing the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
, originally responsible for armament production although Ernst Udet
Ernst Udet
Colonel General Ernst Udet was the second-highest scoring German flying ace of World War I. He was one of the youngest aces and was the highest scoring German ace to survive the war . His 62 victories were second only to Manfred von Richthofen, his commander in the Flying Circus...
was soon making most of the decisions concerning contracts for military aircraft. He quickly used his position to settle personal scores with other aviation industry personalities, including Hugo Junkers
Hugo Junkers
Hugo Junkers was an innovative German engineer, as his many patents in varied areas show...
and Willy Messerschmitt
Willy Messerschmitt
Wilhelm Emil "Willy" Messerschmitt was a German aircraft designer and manufacturer. He was born in Frankfurt am Main, the son of a wine merchant...
--specifically, Milch banned the latter from submitting a design in the competition to choose a modern fighter aircraft for the new Luftwaffe. Nevertheless, Messerschmitt proved an equal in political manipulation skills and managed to circumvent Milch's ban to successfully submit a design. As the Messerschmitt-designed Bayerische Flugzeugwerke corporate entry, the Bf 109, proved to be the winner, Messerschmitt retained a very high position within the German aircraft industry, until the failure of the Me 210 aircraft. Even after that it was not necessarily Milch as the leader who did not depose of him, but, put him in an inferior position. The personal score against Messerschmitt is one of the likely reasons that Willy Messerschmitt was not allowed to personally acquire the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke [BFW] until July 1938, resulting in the continued use of the Bf prefix for Messerschmitt aircraft designed before Messerschmitt's acquisition of the company, hence the "Bf-" prefix being the only one used for the Messerschmitt Bf 109, as one example, in all official German documents throughout the entirety of World War II in Europe, dealing with all pre-July 1938 origin Messerschmitt aircraft designs.
In 1935, Milch's ethnicity came into question because his father, Anton Milch, was a Jew. This prompted an investigation 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...
that Göring suppressed by producing an affidavit signed by Milch's mother stating that Anton was not really the father of Erhard and his six siblings, and naming their true father as Karl Brauer, her deceased uncle. These events and his being issued a German Blood Certificate
German Blood Certificate
A German Blood Certificate was a document provided by Hitler to Mischlinge , declaring them deutschblütig . This practice was begun sometime after the Nuremberg Laws of 1935, and allowed exemption from most of Germany's racial laws...
, by Adolf Hitler, prompted Hermann Göring to say famously "Wer Jude ist, bestimme ich" (I decide who is a Jew), quoting an expression earlier used by Karl Lueger (1844–1910), an anti- Semitic mayor of Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. Nonetheless, further complications resulted from assertions that the Rosenau family of Milch's mother was also Jewish, raising the implication that Milch may have been a full-blooded Jew.
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...
Milch, now with the rank of general, commanded Luftflotte 5
Luftflotte 5
Luftflotte 5 was one of the primary divisions of the German Luftwaffe in World War II. It was formed 12 April 1940 in Hamburg for the invasion of Norway....
during the Norwegian campaign. Following the defeat of France, Milch was promoted to field-marshal (Generalfeldmarschall
Generalfeldmarschall
Field Marshal or Generalfeldmarschall in German, was a rank in the armies of several German states and the Holy Roman Empire; in the Austrian Empire, the rank Feldmarschall was used...
) and given the title Air Inspector General. Milch was put in charge of the production of planes during this time, and his many mistakes were key to the loss of German air superiority as the war progressed. Due to changing the designs and aircraft requirements frequently, manufacturers like Messerschmitt
Messerschmitt
Messerschmitt AG was a famous German aircraft manufacturing corporation named for its chief designer, Willy Messerschmitt, and known primarily for its World War II fighter aircraft, notably the Bf 109 and Me 262...
were unable to focus on aircraft output: additionally, the Germans failed to put their production on a war footing, continuing to run factories only for eight hours a day and failing to include women in the workforce. German aircraft production
World War II aircraft production
This table lists aircraft production during World War II by country and year.See Also:*German aircraft production during World War II*United States aircraft production during World War II...
did not rise as steep as the Allied and especially the Soviet ones, who outproduced the Germans in 1942 and 1943. In 1944 Milch sided with Joseph Goebbels
Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism...
and 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 attempting to convince 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...
to remove Göring from command of the Luftwaffe following the failed invasion of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. When Hitler refused, Göring retaliated by forcing Milch out of his position. For the rest of the war, he worked under Albert Speer
Albert Speer
Albert Speer, born Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer, was a German architect who was, for a part of World War II, Minister of Armaments and War Production for the Third Reich. Speer was Adolf Hitler's chief architect before assuming ministerial office...
. Speer's reforms were able to increase German military output drastically, including aircraft production, but it was too late by then.
Following Hitler’s suicide
Death of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler committed suicide by gunshot on Monday, 30 April 1945 in his Führerbunker in Berlin. His wife Eva , committed suicide with him by ingesting cyanide...
, Milch attempted to flee Germany, but was captured by Allied forces on the Baltic coast on 4 May 1945. On surrendering he presented his baton to the Commando Brigadier Derek Mills-Roberts
Derek Mills - Roberts
Brigadier Derek Mills-Roberts was a British commando who fought with the 1st Special Service Brigade during World War II.-Early life:...
, who was so disgusted by what he had seen when liberating the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp
Bergen-Belsen concentration camp
Bergen-Belsen was a Nazi concentration camp in Lower Saxony in northwestern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen near Celle...
that he broke the baton over Milch's head.
Trial and Conviction at Nuremberg
In 1947, Milch was tried as a war criminalWar crime
War crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...
by a United States Military Tribunal in Nuremberg
Subsequent Nuremberg Trials
The Subsequent Nuremberg Trials were a series of twelve U.S...
. He was convicted of two counts:
- War crimes by participating in the ill-treatment and use for forced labor of prisoners of war and the deportation of civilians to the same ends;
- Crimes against humanity by participating in the murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, imprisonment, tortureTortureTorture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
, and use for slave labor of civilians who came under German control, German nationals, and prisoners of war.
Milch was sentenced to life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
at Landsberg prison
Landsberg Prison
Landsberg Prison is a penal facility located in the town of Landsberg am Lech in the southwest of the German state of Bavaria, about west of Munich and south of Augsburg....
. His sentence was commuted to 15 years imprisonment in 1951, but he was released in June 1954. He lived out the remainder of his life at Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
, where he died in 1972.
Dates of Rank
- FähnrichFähnrichFähnrich is a German and Austrian military rank in armed forces which translates as "Ensign" in English. The rank also exists in a few other European military organizations, often with historical ties to the German system. Examples are Sweden, Norway and Finland . The French Army has a similar...
– 18 October 1910 - Leutnant – 18 August 1911
- OberleutnantOberleutnantOberleutnant is a junior officer rank in the militaries of Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In the German Army, it dates from the early 19th century. Translated as "Senior Lieutenant", the rank is typically bestowed upon commissioned officers after five to six years of active duty...
– 18 August 1915 - HauptmannHauptmannHauptmann is a German word usually translated as captain when it is used as an officer's rank in the German, Austrian and Swiss armies. While "haupt" in contemporary German means "main", it also has the dated meaning of "head", i.e...
– 18 August 1918 - Rejoined the Army with rank of OberstOberstOberst is a military rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and Norway. The Swedish rank överste is a direct translation, as are the Finnish rank eversti...
– 28 October 1933 - Generalmajor – 24 March 1934
- GeneralleutnantLieutenant GeneralLieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
– 28 March 1935 - Temporary General der FliegerGeneral der FliegerGeneral der Flieger was a General’s rank of the German Luftwaffe.The rank was equivalent to the long established General der Kavallerie, General der Artillerie and General der Infanterie...
– 30 January 1936 - General der FliegerGeneral der FliegerGeneral der Flieger was a General’s rank of the German Luftwaffe.The rank was equivalent to the long established General der Kavallerie, General der Artillerie and General der Infanterie...
– 20 April 1936 - Generaloberst – 1 November 1938
- GeneralfeldmarschallGeneralfeldmarschallField Marshal or Generalfeldmarschall in German, was a rank in the armies of several German states and the Holy Roman Empire; in the Austrian Empire, the rank Feldmarschall was used...
– 19 July 1940