Hellmuth Pfeifer
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German Empire 
Weimar Republic 
Nazi GermanyHans-Hellmuth Pfeifer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 18 February 1894 |
| Died | 22 April 1945 (aged 51) |
| Allegiance | German Empire Weimar Republic Nazi Germany |
| Branch | German Imperial Army Reichswehr Army (Wehrmacht) |
| Rank | Generalleutnant |
| Commands | 65th Infantry Division |
| Conflicts | World War I
|
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves |
| Spouse | Oda Seitz |
Hans-Hellmuth Pfeifer (18 February 1894 – 22 April 1945) was a German general during World War II. A veteran of World War I, he held higher command positions in WWII, among other, that of the 65th Infantry Division in Italy, selecting its hand grenade symbol which earned the nickname "The Hand Grenade Division."[1]
Pfeifer was killed in action in Finale Emilia, in the Bologna sector, on 22 April 1945; mere days before the final Axis surrender in Italy. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and a staunch Nazi.
Hans-Hellmuth Pfeifer joined the 3rd Kurhessisches Infantry Regiment "von Wittich" No. 83 (3. Kurhessisches Infanterie-Regiment "von Wittich" Nr. 83), Kassel, on March 16, 1912 as an officer cadet (Fahnenjunker).[2][3] On August 18, 1913, he was promoted to lieutenant (Leutnant) in the 4th Hanoverian Infantry Regiment No. 164 (4. Hannoversches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 164), patented 19 August 1911; serving with it as a company officer in the First World War.[3]
After the end of the war he was accepted into the Imperial Army as a first lieutenant (Oberleutnant). He joined the Reichswehr's Infantry Regiment 20 in 1919. With the 200,000-man transitional army in the spring of 1920, he was then part of the staff of the 10th Brigade as an aide-de-camp (Ordonanzoffizier). When the 100,000-man army of the Reichswehr was formed, he was transferred to the 16th Infantry Regiment on 1 October 1920. On 1 October 1921, he was transferred to the 16th Cavalry Regiment as a squadron officer. He was dismissed from active service in the Reichswehr on 1 April 1922. He then worked for the next few years as a department head in the tariff and freight department of Gutehoffnungshütte Oberhausen.
He married Oda Seitz on 5 April 1922.[3]
From 1 April 1929, he took over as the publishing director of the Ludendorff's publishing house Volkswarte (People's Observatory) in Munich.[3][4][5] In this position, among other things, he spread anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. On 1 July 1934, he rejoined the Reichswehr as a captain (Hauptmann). His seniority was set on 1 October 1933.[3] During the expansion of the Reichswehr into the Wehrmacht, Hans-Hellmuth was appointed company commander in one of the two infantry regiments by the Infantry Command VI (Oldenburg or Osnabrück). When the units were exposed on 15 October 1935, he was appointed company commander in the 58th Infantry Regiment. On 1 August 1936, he was promoted to major as such. From 1 October 1937 he was then active in the High Command of the Wehrmacht (Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, OKW).[3][6] There he belonged to the domestic department (I) of the Wehrmacht General Affairs Office (Amtsgruppe Allgemeine Wehrmachtangelegenheiten, AWA); remaining in that capacity by the beginning of World War II, in the summer of 1939. At this time, Pfeifer published several articles that took up the subject of the political soldier.
