Joachim Meichssner
Encyclopedia
Joachim Meichssner was a German
officer and member of the Resistance
against the Nazi régime
.
, German Empire
(modern Iława, Poland),
Since 1912 his father Maximilian worked as a teacher and ecclesiastical supervisor at Schulpforta, where Meichssner also attended school. He volunteered the Reichswehr
in 1924 as an officer cadet. Starting in 1935 he was trained for staff duties at the War Academy of Berlin. In September 1937 he was shifted to the Army High Command. In 1940 he became the 1st general staff officer and group chief in the General Army Office (Allgemeines Heeresamt) under General Friedrich Olbricht
. Here he became involved in the military conspiracy against Hitler.
After a deployment at the eastern front, Meichssner became Chief of the Organization Department of the Armed Forces Command in 1943 and as such had direct, though sporadic, access to Hitler. In September 1943 Colonel Helmuth Stieff
informed Meichssner about the plans to kill Hitler in a suicide attack and tried to convince him to carry out such an attempt; however, Meichssner finally refused after his father had discouraged him for religious reasons and because he “could not bear the stress of waiting”.
The plotters around Claus von Stauffenberg now chose Axel von dem Bussche to kill Hitler in a suicide attack during a demonstration of new winter uniforms, a plan that failed after the uniforms had been destroyed in an Allied air raid.
Meichssner was deployed at Potsdam
during the 20 July plot; initially his involvement in the coup remained undetected but his father, a member of the Confessional Church in Wittenberg
, was arrested by the Gestapo
on 21 July 1944. A week later Joachim Meichssner was also arrested. He was sentenced to death by the Volksgerichtshof on 29 September 1944 and immediately executed at Plötzensee prison
alongside Joachim Sadrozinski
, Fritz von der Lancken, Wilhelm-Friedrich zu Lynar and Otto Herfurth
.
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...
officer and member of the Resistance
German Resistance
The German resistance was the opposition by individuals and groups in Germany to Adolf Hitler or the National Socialist regime between 1933 and 1945. Some of these engaged in active plans to remove Adolf Hitler from power and overthrow his regime...
against the Nazi régime
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
.
Biography
Meichssner was born in Deutsch Eylau, West PrussiaWest Prussia
West Prussia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773–1824 and 1878–1919/20 which was created out of the earlier Polish province of Royal Prussia...
, German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
(modern Iława, Poland),
Since 1912 his father Maximilian worked as a teacher and ecclesiastical supervisor at Schulpforta, where Meichssner also attended school. He volunteered the Reichswehr
Reichswehr
The Reichswehr formed the military organisation of Germany from 1919 until 1935, when it was renamed the Wehrmacht ....
in 1924 as an officer cadet. Starting in 1935 he was trained for staff duties at the War Academy of Berlin. In September 1937 he was shifted to the Army High Command. In 1940 he became the 1st general staff officer and group chief in the General Army Office (Allgemeines Heeresamt) under General Friedrich Olbricht
Friedrich Olbricht
General Friedrich Olbricht was a German general and one of the plotters involved in the attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler at the Wolfsschanze in East Prussia on 20 July 1944.-Early life:...
. Here he became involved in the military conspiracy against Hitler.
After a deployment at the eastern front, Meichssner became Chief of the Organization Department of the Armed Forces Command in 1943 and as such had direct, though sporadic, access to Hitler. In September 1943 Colonel Helmuth Stieff
Helmuth Stieff
Helmuth Stieff was a German general and a member of the OKH during World War II. He took part in attempts by the German resistance to assassinate Hitler, on July 7 and on July 20, 1944....
informed Meichssner about the plans to kill Hitler in a suicide attack and tried to convince him to carry out such an attempt; however, Meichssner finally refused after his father had discouraged him for religious reasons and because he “could not bear the stress of waiting”.
The plotters around Claus von Stauffenberg now chose Axel von dem Bussche to kill Hitler in a suicide attack during a demonstration of new winter uniforms, a plan that failed after the uniforms had been destroyed in an Allied air raid.
Meichssner was deployed at Potsdam
Potsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
during the 20 July plot; initially his involvement in the coup remained undetected but his father, a member of the Confessional Church in Wittenberg
Wittenberg
Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is a city in Germany in the Bundesland Saxony-Anhalt, on the river Elbe. It has a population of about 50,000....
, was arrested 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...
on 21 July 1944. A week later Joachim Meichssner was also arrested. He was sentenced to death by the Volksgerichtshof on 29 September 1944 and immediately executed at Plötzensee prison
Plötzensee Prison
Plötzensee Prison was a Prussian institution built in Berlin between 1869 and 1879 near the lake Plötzensee, but in the neighbouring borough of Charlottenburg, on Hüttigpfad off Saatwinkler Damm. During Adolf Hitler's time in power from 1933 to 1945, more than 2,500 people were executed at...
alongside Joachim Sadrozinski
Joachim Sadrozinski
Joachim Sadrozinski was a German officer who took part in the July 20 plot.Sadrozinski was born in Tilsit, East Prussia and joined the Weimar German Reichswehr as an officer's cadet in April 1926. He was detached to the military Academy in Berlin in April 1939 and later fought in the Second World...
, Fritz von der Lancken, Wilhelm-Friedrich zu Lynar and Otto Herfurth
Otto Herfurth
Otto Herfurth was a highly decorated Generalmajor in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership...
.