Theodor Tolsdorff

Theodor Tolsdorff
Born	(1909-11-03)3 November 1909 Lehnarten, German Empire
Died	25 May 1978(1978-05-25) (aged 68) Dortmund, West Germany
Buried	Cemetery Heckinghauser Strasse, Wuppertal
Allegiance	Germany
Service / branch	German Army
Years of service	1934–1945
Rank	Generalleutnant (lieutenant general)
Unit	1st Infantry Division
Commands	340th Volksgrenadier Division LXXXII Army Corps
Battles / wars	See battles World War II German invasion of Poland Battle of France Operation Barbarossa Eastern Front Battle of the Bulge Western Front
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds
Crimes
Criminal charge	execution of Franz Xaver Holzhey [de]
Penalty	3.5 years imprisonment in 1954 (acquitted in 1960)

Theodor Tolsdorff (3 November 1909 – 25 May 1978) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was one of 27 recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds. Charged with the killing of Franz Xaver Holzhey [de] in the closing days of the war, Tolsdorff was convicted in 1954 but acquitted in 1960 in trials that drew substantial public interest and media coverage.

Early life

Tolsdorf was born on 3 November 1909, in the family estate in Lehnarten in the Province of East Prussia, a state of the German Empire. Today it is Lenarty in the administrative district of Gmina Olecko, within Olecko County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. He was the youngest of four children and only son of Theodor Tolsdorff, who had served in the military during World War I as a Hauptmann (captain) in the artillery.^[1]

Estate Lehnarten (Treuburg) which belonged to the Tolsdorff family until 1945.^[2]

Tolsdorff was five years old in 1914 when his mother briefly evacuated the estate following the invasion of East Prussia by the Russian First Army, led by Paul von Rennenkampf. He attended the Gymnasium (advanced secondary school) in Königsberg, present-day Kaliningrad, and following the death of his father on 19 October 1919 took over the family estate and became a farmer. He continued his education to become an administrator of his 695 hectares (1,720 acres), including 95 ha (230 acres) of forest, sized estate in Lehnharten.^[1][3][4]

On 1 October 1934, at the age of 24, he joined the 1st Infantry Regiment (Infanterie-Regiment 1) of the 1st Infantry Division as a volunteer in Insterburg.^[1] Tolsdorff was promoted to Feldwebel (sergeant) on 1 February 1936. On 1 June 1936, Tolsdorff was promoted from the ranks to Leutnant (second lieutenant) and to Oberleutnant (first lieutenant) on 1 October 1938. He was given command of 14th anti tank company (14.(Panzerjäger-)Kompanie) of the newly formed 22nd Infantry Regiment (Infanterie-Regiment 22) in the 1st Infantry Division on 1 April 1939.^[3]

World War II

As commander of a company, Tolsdorff participated in the German invasion of Poland in 1939 and was awarded both classes of the Iron Cross.^[5] Tolsdorff participated in the Battle of France in 1940.^[5]

Oak Leaves ceremony, from left to right: Adolf Hitler, Walter Lange, Tolsdorff, Günther Pape, Franz Bäke

Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, began on 22 June 1941. In November, Tolsdorff was wounded while leading an attack.^[3] He was promoted to Hauptmann (captain) on 1 December 1941 and awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) on 4 December 1941, while in the hospital.^[6] He returned to the front in April 1942 and participated in the heavy fighting for Shlisselburg. Tolsdorff was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub) on 15 September 1943.

In June 1944, Tolsdorff participated in the fighting against the Soviet Vilnius Offensive. He was promoted to Oberst (colonel) and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern) on 18 July 1944.^[7] Afterwards, he was appointed commander of the new 340th Volksgrenadier Division.^[8] In mid-November, the unit moved to the Aachen-Jülich area on the west to fight U.S. forces trying to cross the Rhine. In December, the unit was withdrawn to prepare for the Ardennes offensive. The division fought as part of the 5th Panzer Army under command of Hasso von Manteuffel.^[9] On 18 March 1945, Tolsdorff received in Berlin the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds. He was promoted to Generalleutnant (lieutenant general) and appointed commander of the LXXXII Army Corps, which was stationed in Bavaria.^[10]

On 8 May, he surrendered in Austria to Lt. Carwood Lipton and Robert F. Sink of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. Tolsdorff's convoy of 31 vehicles drove down from the mountains loaded with his personal baggage, liquor, cigars, cigarettes, and his girlfriends. Private Edward Heffron took Tolsdorff's Luger pistol and a briefcase containing Iron Cross medals and a stash of pornographic pictures.^[11]

Criminal charges, trials, conviction, and acquittal

Tolsdorff was married to Eleonore, née van der Berk (6 September 1921 – 15 April 1996). The marriage produced two sons. His youngest son Jürgen died in 1957, in an accident. His older son, Peter, became a doctor and settled in Bad Honnef.^[12][13]

On 9 May 1947, Tolsdorff was released from American captivity.^[14] He took various jobs, such as truck driver in the firm belonging to his father-in-law, bus driver on the route Diepholz to Hanover, and construction worker. He was arrested on 7 December 1952.^[15]

In 1954, he faced charges for the execution of Franz Xaver Holzhey, an army captain and First World War veteran, on 3 May 1945. Holzhey, without orders, had put up a red cross sign near the command post. The Landgericht (court) in Traunstein had initially sentenced Tolsdorff to three and a half years.^[16] The Federal Court of Justice of Germany overturned the decision in 1959 and ordered a retrial. On 24 June 1960, Tolsdorff was declared not guilty and cleared of all charges.^[17][18]

The same year, Tolsdorff was hired by Deutsche Asphalt GmbH, presently owned by Strabag Group,^[19] and held a position of manager until 1969, when he took over the branch office in Dortmund. Tolsdorff retired on 31 December 1974.^[15] Following a serious accident, he died on 25 May 1978 in Dortmund.^[15]

Summary of career

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (22 September 1939)^[20]
  • 1st Class (23 October 1939)^[20]
• Infantry Assault Badge in Silver^[21]
• Wound Badge (1939) in Gold^[21]
• Tank Destruction Badge^[21]
• German Cross in Gold on 23 August 1942 as Hauptmann in the I./Infanterie-Regiment 22^[22]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds
  • Knight's Cross on 4 December 1941 as Oberleutnant and chief of the 14./Infanterie-Regiment 22^[23][24]
  • 302nd Oak Leaves on 15 September 1943 as Major and commander of the I./Füsilier-Regiment 22^[23][25]
  • 80th Swords on 18 July 1944 as Oberstleutnant and commander of Grenadier-Regiment 1067 and leader of the Kampfgruppe Tolsdorff^[23][26]
  • 25th Diamonds on 18 March 1945 as Generalmajor and commander of the 340. Volksgrenadier-Division^[23][27]

Promotions

1 June 1936:	Leutnant (second lieutenant)[3]
1 October 1938:	Oberleutnant (first lieutenant)[3]
1 December 1941:	Hauptmann (captain)[6]
1 January 1943:	Major (major)[6]
1 March 1944:	Oberstleutnant (lieutenant colonel)[6]
1 August 1944:	Oberst (colonel)
30 January 1945:	Generalmajor (major general)[7]
1 April 1945:	Generalleutnant (lieutenant general)

References

Citations

1. Fraschka 2002, p. 293.
2. "Pałac w Białej Oleckiej". Wirtualny Przewodnik po krainie EGO (in Polish). Retrieved 24 June 2014.
3. Stockert 2010, p. 170.
4. Stockert 1998, p. 4.
5. Fraschka 2002, p. 294.
6. Stockert 2010, p. 172.
7. Stockert 2010, p. 174.
8. Hartmann 2012, p. 55.
9. Stockert 1998, p. 10.
10. Mitcham 2021, p. 160.
11. Ambrose 2013, p. 353.
12. Fraschka 2002, p. 299.
13. "Team". HNO Honnef (in German). Retrieved 25 June 2014.
14. Fraschka 2002, p. 298.
15. Stockert 2010, p. 299.
16. Osterloh & Vollnhals 2012, pp. 65–66.
17. Eichmüller 2012, p. 205.
18. Der Spiegel Volume 24/1960.
19. "Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.9666 – Deutsche Asphalt/KEMNA BAU Andrae/Heideasphalt)". eur-lex.europa.eu. 18 May 2020.
20. Thomas 1998, p. 385.
21. Berger 1999, p. 358.
22. Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 478.
23. Scherzer 2007, p. 747.
24. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 424.
25. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 72.
26. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 44.
27. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 38.

Bibliography

• Ambrose, Stephen E. (2013). From D-Day to Victory: Band of Brothers, D-Day, Pegasus Bridge. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4767-5581-6. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
• Berger, Florian (1999). Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern. Die höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges [With Oak Leaves and Swords. The Highest Decorated Soldiers of the Second World War] (in German). Vienna, Austria: Selbstverlag Florian Berger. ISBN 978-3-9501307-0-6.
• Dixon, Jeremy (2024). Hitler’s Heroes During Operation Barbarossa — Knight's Cross Generals on the Eastern Front, 22 June – 5 December 1941. Frontline Books. ISBN 978-1-0361-0157-2.
• Eichmüller, Andreas (2012). Keine Generalamnestie: Die Strafverfolgung von NS-Verbrechen in der frühen Bundesrepublik [No General Amnesty: The Prosecution of Nazi Crimes in the early Federal Republic] (in German). Munich, Germany: Oldenbourg Verlag. ISBN 978-3-486-70412-9. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
• Fraschka, Günther (2002) [1977]. Mit Schwertern und Brillanten—Die Träger der höchsten deutschen Tapferkeitsauszeichnung [With Swords and Diamonds—The Bearers of the Highest German Award for Bravery] (in German) (11 ed.). Munich, Germany: Universitas. ISBN 978-3-8004-1435-2.
• Hartmann, Christian, ed. (2012). Von Feldherren und Gefreiten—Zur biographischen Dimension des Zweiten Weltkriegs [Of Generals and Privates—On the Biographical Dimension of World War II] (in German). De Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-486-70826-4.
• Mitcham, Samuel W. (2007). The German Defeat in the East, 1944–45. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-3371-7.
• Mitcham, Samuel W. (17 September 2009). The Siegfried Line: The German Defense of the West Wall, September-December 1944. Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-1-4617-5163-2.
• Mitcham, Samuel W. (2021). The Death of Hitler's War Machine. Manhattan, New York City: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-68451-138-9. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
• Osterloh, Jörg; Vollnhals, Clemens (2012). NS-Prozesse und deutsche Öffentlichkeit: Besatzungszeit, frühe Bundesrepublik und DDR [Nazi Trials and German Public: Occupation, early Federal Republic and the GDR] (in German). Göttingen, Germany: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. ISBN 978-3-647-36921-1.
• Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Searle, Alaric (2003). Wehrmacht Generals, West German Society, and the Debate on Rearmament, 1949–1959. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers. ISBN 978-0-275-97968-3.
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• Stockert, Peter (2010). Die Brillantenträger der deutschen Wehrmacht 1941–1945—Zeitgeschichte in Farbe [The Diamonds Leaves Bearers of the German Armed Forces 1941–1945—History in Color] (in German). Selent, Germany: Pour le Mérite. ISBN 978-3-932381-59-1.
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• "Späte Opfer" [Late Victims]. Der Spiegel (in German). No. 24. 1960. Retrieved 2 January 2025.

Military offices
Preceded by General der Infanterie Walther Hahm	Commander of the LXXXII. Armeekorps 1 April 1945 – 15 April 1945	Succeeded by General der Infanterie Walter Lucht
Preceded by General der Infanterie Walter Lucht	Commander of the LXXXII. Armeekorps 20 April 1945 – German capitulation	Succeeded by disbanded