Hans Graf von Sponeck
Encyclopedia
Hans Graf von Sponeck or Hans Emil Otto Graf Sponeck (February 12, 1888 – July 23, 1944) was a German
General-Leutnant during World War II
who was imprisoned for disobeying orders and later executed. He was the father of Hans von Sponeck
.
, Rhine Province
, just months before his father's death at age 38. Hans spent his early years with his mother in Freiburg
, Breisgau
. This was near the "Burg Sponeck" which had given his family its title name.
Sponeck entered the cadet corps in Karlsruhe
at 10, and became the "head cadet" at 17. He received his commission in 1908 at age 20 with rank of Lieutenant
. He was also a gymnast
and a soccer player. He was promoted to Captain in 1908. He married in 1910 and had two sons by this marriage.
, and was wounded three times. In 1916 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel
. Afterwards he was awarded both orders of the Iron Cross
with Leaves.
. In 1925, Graf von Sponeck was admitted to the Order of Saint John as a Knight of Honor in the Commandery of Brandenburg.
Sponeck commanded Infantry Regiment 48 at Döberitz until late 1937 when he transferred to the Luftwaffe
to establish paratrooper
units. During the course of the Blomberg-Fritsch Affair
, Sponeck was recalled by contemporaries as having suggested his willingness to lead his troops in support of army commander-in-chief Werner von Fritsch
if called to do so, though no such plan ever came to fruition.
On 1 March 1938 Sponeck was promoted to major general
. During the trial of General von Fritsch, Sponeck was called as a character witness but was roughly put down by Göring, who was serving as Court President. Nevertheless, Sponeck became commander of the 22nd Infantry Division with 42nd Army Corps training the troops as airborne infantry (Fallschirmjäger
).
began on 10 May 1940 with Generals Kurt Student
and Hans Graf von Sponeck. Sponeck led the German troops in the failed Battle for the Hague
and was almost captured, only to be saved by the bombardment of Rotterdam
on the 14th of May 1940, that led the Dutch capitulation. He was wounded and on his return to Germany was further awarded with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
by Adolf Hitler
. He was also promoted to he rank of lieutenant general
.
was launched. Hans Sponeck was part of the 11th Army in the south attacking in the direction of Crimea
. On Sponeck's return from injury leave, von Manstein
gave him command of 46. Infanterie-Division
which had taken the Kerch Peninsula
on the extreme east tip of the Crimean Peninsula.
On 26 December 1941 the Russians launched an invasion of Crimea. Their plan was to land seaborne troops at Kerch
and Mount Opuk, supported by later landings at Theodosia
with 42,000 troops. On December 28 the battle in eastern Crimea had developed in favour of the Germans with them having eliminated one of the two Soviet beachheads around the town of Kerch
. Sponeck requested permission to retreat to avoid being cut off and captured and so to regroup, but was denied three times. On 29 December the Russians landed additional forces on the southern coast at Theodosia and Sponeck had only thirty minutes to decide on his actions. On his own initiative, as a trained Prussia
n officer, he gave order for his 10,000 men to retreat. In temperatures of minus 30 degrees Celsius, in a howling snowstorm and icy winds, the battalions of the 46th Infantry Division marched west. The column was some 120 km long. The soldiers marched for 46 hours with only the occasional rest for coffee, to warm up. Many suffered frostbite, and most of the horses starved. Much of the Divisions heavy equipment, including its artillery, remained behind on the frozen road.
On 31 December Sponeck's 46th Infantry arrived at the Parpach neck, where they established a defensive line. The following day, 1 January 1942, the Russians attacked again and were held back by Sponeck's men. The arrival of a rail-mounted unit finished off sixteen Russian T-26
tanks. Sponeck and his forces held off the Russians long enough until reinforcements arrived.
. It did not go well for Sponeck and the court found him guilty of disobedience of a superior officer. Sponeck maintained that he had acted, as taught, on his own initiative against orders, in order to avoid the destruction of his division. He was nevertheless given the death sentence, but Adolf Hitler
commuted the sentence to six years in prison. Hans Sponeck was to serve as an example to those who disobeyed Hitler's new order of no retreat. Sponeck was sent to Germersheim Fortress where he was held as a prisoner. He was allowed into town occasionally and his wife visited him for one week per month in the fortress, with their five year old son (Hans-Christof von Sponeck, later United Nations Diplomat & Assistant Secretary General to Kofi Annan).
. Heinrich Himmler
was given the position of Reichs Security Official and Sponeck was one of the first on his list as a suspected anti-Nazi. Himmler gave the order for Hans Graf von Sponeck to be executed by firing squad on 23 July 1944 in Germersheim
, Germany. Sponeck was allowed Holy Communion before his execution. In a letter to his wife he wrote "I die with firm faith in my Redeemer". Pleading the innocence of his actions in the Kerch peninsula, he went to the firing squad boldly, as witnessed by the priest present, and requested not to be bound or to be blindfolded. Facing the firing squad his last words were "For forty years I have served Germany, which I have loved with my entire heart, as a soldier and an officer. If I must let myself die today, I die in the hope of a better Germany!" Sponeck was buried in Germersheim and while no citations or speeches were permitted at his grave, they did allow the Lord's Prayer
to be said. After the war, Sponeck's mortal remains were exhumed and his last resting place was the Soldiers' Cemetery at Dahn
in the Palatinate forest.
On 23 July 1999, the 55th anniversary of the execution, Sponeck's son by his second marriage, Hans-Christof Graf Sponeck
, who was just six years old when his father was executed, held a requiem at his father's grave. Hans-Christof Graf Sponeck served as Assistant Secretary General and Diplomat, United Nations
, until his retirement a short time ago.
is an historic German
noble
title equivalent in rank to "count
" or to the British "earl
". In Germany today, however, Graf is legally considered part of the name and no longer a noble title.
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...
General-Leutnant during 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...
who was imprisoned for disobeying orders and later executed. He was the father of Hans von Sponeck
Hans von Sponeck
Hans Christof Graf von Sponeck was born 1939 in Bremen, Germany, the son of Hans Graf von Sponeck. He served as a UN Assistant Secretary-General and UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq. In 1957 he was one of the first conscientious objectors in the Federal Republic of Germany...
.
Early history
Sponeck was the youngest of four children, and only son, of Emil August Joseph Anton Graf Sponeck and Maria (née Courtin). He was born in DüsseldorfDüsseldorf
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...
, Rhine Province
Rhine Province
The Rhine Province , also known as Rhenish Prussia or synonymous to the Rhineland , was the westernmost province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822-1946. It was created from the provinces of the Lower Rhine and Jülich-Cleves-Berg...
, just months before his father's death at age 38. Hans spent his early years with his mother in Freiburg
Freiburg
Freiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. In the extreme south-west of the country, it straddles the Dreisam river, at the foot of the Schlossberg. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Breisgau region on the western edge of the Black Forest in the Upper Rhine Plain...
, Breisgau
Breisgau
Breisgau is the name of an area in southwest Germany, placed between the river Rhine and the foothills of the Black Forest around Freiburg im Breisgau in the state of Baden-Württemberg. The district Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, which partly consists of the Breisgau, is named after that area...
. This was near the "Burg Sponeck" which had given his family its title name.
Sponeck entered the cadet corps in Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
at 10, and became the "head cadet" at 17. He received his commission in 1908 at age 20 with rank of Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
. He was also a gymnast
Gymnast
Gymnasts are people who participate in the sports of either artistic gymnastics, trampolining, or rhythmic gymnastics.See gymnasium for the origin of the word gymnast from gymnastikos.-Female artistic:Australia...
and a soccer player. He was promoted to Captain in 1908. He married in 1910 and had two sons by this marriage.
First World War
Sponeck was a front line officer and battalion adjutant during World War IWorld 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 was wounded three times. In 1916 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
. Afterwards he was awarded both orders of the Iron Cross
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
with Leaves.
Interwar period
Between 1924 and 1934 he served on the General Staff HQ and later, as full colonel, commanded an infantry regiment at NeustrelitzNeustrelitz
Neustrelitz is a town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the shore of the Zierker See in the Mecklenburg Lake District. From 1738 until 1918 it was the capital of the duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz...
. In 1925, Graf von Sponeck was admitted to the Order of Saint John as a Knight of Honor in the Commandery of Brandenburg.
Sponeck commanded Infantry Regiment 48 at Döberitz until late 1937 when he transferred to 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....
to establish paratrooper
Paratrooper
Paratroopers are soldiers trained in parachuting and generally operate as part of an airborne force.Paratroopers are used for tactical advantage as they can be inserted into the battlefield from the air, thereby allowing them to be positioned in areas not accessible by land...
units. During the course of the Blomberg-Fritsch Affair
Blomberg-Fritsch Affair
The Blomberg–Fritsch Affair were two related scandals in early 1938 that resulted in the subjugation of the German Armed Forces to dictator Adolf Hitler...
, Sponeck was recalled by contemporaries as having suggested his willingness to lead his troops in support of army commander-in-chief Werner von Fritsch
Werner von Fritsch
Werner Thomas Ludwig Freiherr von Fritsch was a prominent Wehrmacht officer, member of the German High Command, and the second German general to be killed during World War II.-Early life:...
if called to do so, though no such plan ever came to fruition.
On 1 March 1938 Sponeck was promoted to major general
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
. During the trial of General von Fritsch, Sponeck was called as a character witness but was roughly put down by Göring, who was serving as Court President. Nevertheless, Sponeck became commander of the 22nd Infantry Division with 42nd Army Corps training the troops as airborne infantry (Fallschirmjäger
Fallschirmjäger
are German paratroopers. Together with the Gebirgsjäger they are perceived as the elite infantry units of the German Army....
).
Second World War
The German airborne assault on the Low CountriesLow Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
began on 10 May 1940 with Generals Kurt Student
Kurt Student
Kurt Student was a German Luftwaffe general who fought as a fighter pilot during the First World War and as the commander of German Fallschirmjäger during the Second World War.-Biography:...
and Hans Graf von Sponeck. Sponeck led the German troops in the failed Battle for the Hague
Battle for The Hague
The Battle for the Hague was the first paratroop assault in history. It took place on 10 May 1940 as part of the Battle of the Netherlands between the Royal Netherlands Army and Luftwaffe Fallschirmjäger . German paratroopers dropped in and around The Hague and were given orders to capture Dutch...
and was almost captured, only to be saved by the bombardment of Rotterdam
Rotterdam Blitz
The Rotterdam Blitz refers to the aerial bombardment of Rotterdam by the German Air Force on 14 May 1940, during the German invasion of the Netherlands in World War II. The objective was to support the German troops fighting in the city, break Dutch resistance and force the Dutch to surrender...
on the 14th of May 1940, that led the Dutch capitulation. He was wounded and on his return to Germany was further awarded with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was a grade of the 1939 version of the 1813 created Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was the highest award of Germany to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during World War II...
by 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 also promoted to he rank of lieutenant general
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant 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....
.
Eastern campaign
Before dawn on 22 June 1941 the offensive against the Soviet UnionOperation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
was launched. Hans Sponeck was part of the 11th Army in the south attacking in the direction of Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
. On Sponeck's return from injury leave, von Manstein
Erich von Manstein
Erich von Manstein was a field marshal in World War II. He became one of the most prominent commanders of Germany's World War II armed forces...
gave him command of 46. Infanterie-Division
German 46th Infantry Division
The 46th Infantry Division was a division of the German army from 1938 until 1945. It was formed in the latter part of 1938, and was constituted of recruits from the Sudetenland.-History:...
which had taken the Kerch Peninsula
Kerch Peninsula
The Kerch Peninsula is a major and prominent geographic feature located at the eastern portion of Crimea. Stretching towards the Taman peninsula, it is reminiscent of an isthmus between two neighboring seas: Azov Sea and Black Sea...
on the extreme east tip of the Crimean Peninsula.
On 26 December 1941 the Russians launched an invasion of Crimea. Their plan was to land seaborne troops at Kerch
Kerch
Kerch is a city on the Kerch Peninsula of eastern Crimea, an important industrial, transport and tourist centre of Ukraine. Kerch, founded 2600 years ago, is considered as one of the most ancient cities in Ukraine.-Ancient times:...
and Mount Opuk, supported by later landings at Theodosia
Theodosia
Feodosiya is a port and resort city in Crimea, Ukraine, on the Black Sea coast. During much of its history the town was known as Caffa or Kaffa .- History :...
with 42,000 troops. On December 28 the battle in eastern Crimea had developed in favour of the Germans with them having eliminated one of the two Soviet beachheads around the town of Kerch
Kerch
Kerch is a city on the Kerch Peninsula of eastern Crimea, an important industrial, transport and tourist centre of Ukraine. Kerch, founded 2600 years ago, is considered as one of the most ancient cities in Ukraine.-Ancient times:...
. Sponeck requested permission to retreat to avoid being cut off and captured and so to regroup, but was denied three times. On 29 December the Russians landed additional forces on the southern coast at Theodosia and Sponeck had only thirty minutes to decide on his actions. On his own initiative, as a trained Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n officer, he gave order for his 10,000 men to retreat. In temperatures of minus 30 degrees Celsius, in a howling snowstorm and icy winds, the battalions of the 46th Infantry Division marched west. The column was some 120 km long. The soldiers marched for 46 hours with only the occasional rest for coffee, to warm up. Many suffered frostbite, and most of the horses starved. Much of the Divisions heavy equipment, including its artillery, remained behind on the frozen road.
On 31 December Sponeck's 46th Infantry arrived at the Parpach neck, where they established a defensive line. The following day, 1 January 1942, the Russians attacked again and were held back by Sponeck's men. The arrival of a rail-mounted unit finished off sixteen Russian T-26
T-26
The T-26 tank was a Soviet light infantry tank used during many conflicts of the 1930s as well as during World War II. It was a development of the British Vickers 6-Ton tank and is widely considered one of the most successful tank designs of the 1930s....
tanks. Sponeck and his forces held off the Russians long enough until reinforcements arrived.
Arrest and trial
On 23 January 1942 Lieutenant General Hans Graf Sponeck's trial took place in front of the Court President 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"...
. It did not go well for Sponeck and the court found him guilty of disobedience of a superior officer. Sponeck maintained that he had acted, as taught, on his own initiative against orders, in order to avoid the destruction of his division. He was nevertheless given the death sentence, but 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...
commuted the sentence to six years in prison. Hans Sponeck was to serve as an example to those who disobeyed Hitler's new order of no retreat. Sponeck was sent to Germersheim Fortress where he was held as a prisoner. He was allowed into town occasionally and his wife visited him for one week per month in the fortress, with their five year old son (Hans-Christof von Sponeck, later United Nations Diplomat & Assistant Secretary General to Kofi Annan).
20 July 1944 Plot
On 20 July 1944 Sponeck heard on his radio of the bomb attempt on Hitler's lifeJuly 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...
. 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 given the position of Reichs Security Official and Sponeck was one of the first on his list as a suspected anti-Nazi. Himmler gave the order for Hans Graf von Sponeck to be executed by firing squad on 23 July 1944 in Germersheim
Germersheim
Germersheim is a town in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, of around 20,000 inhabitants. It is also the seat of the Germersheim district. The neighboring towns and cities are Speyer, Landau, Philippsburg, Karlsruhe and Wörth.-Coat of arms:...
, Germany. Sponeck was allowed Holy Communion before his execution. In a letter to his wife he wrote "I die with firm faith in my Redeemer". Pleading the innocence of his actions in the Kerch peninsula, he went to the firing squad boldly, as witnessed by the priest present, and requested not to be bound or to be blindfolded. Facing the firing squad his last words were "For forty years I have served Germany, which I have loved with my entire heart, as a soldier and an officer. If I must let myself die today, I die in the hope of a better Germany!" Sponeck was buried in Germersheim and while no citations or speeches were permitted at his grave, they did allow the Lord's Prayer
Lord's Prayer
The Lord's Prayer is a central prayer in Christianity. In the New Testament of the Christian Bible, it appears in two forms: in the Gospel of Matthew as part of the discourse on ostentation in the Sermon on the Mount, and in the Gospel of Luke, which records Jesus being approached by "one of his...
to be said. After the war, Sponeck's mortal remains were exhumed and his last resting place was the Soldiers' Cemetery at Dahn
Dahn
----Dahn is a municipality in the Südwestpfalz district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated in the Palatinate Forest, approximately 15 km southeast of Pirmasens, and 25 km west of Landau...
in the Palatinate forest.
Last requiem
Hans von Sponeck
Hans Christof Graf von Sponeck was born 1939 in Bremen, Germany, the son of Hans Graf von Sponeck. He served as a UN Assistant Secretary-General and UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq. In 1957 he was one of the first conscientious objectors in the Federal Republic of Germany...
, who was just six years old when his father was executed, held a requiem at his father's grave. Hans-Christof Graf Sponeck served as Assistant Secretary General and Diplomat, United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, until his retirement a short time ago.
Note on name
GrafGraf
Graf is a historical German noble title equal in rank to a count or a British earl...
is an historic German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
noble
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
title equivalent in rank to "count
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
" or to the British "earl
Earl
An earl is a member of the nobility. The title is Anglo-Saxon, akin to the Scandinavian form jarl, and meant "chieftain", particularly a chieftain set to rule a territory in a king's stead. In Scandinavia, it became obsolete in the Middle Ages and was replaced with duke...
". In Germany today, however, Graf is legally considered part of the name and no longer a noble title.