Korfes was born on November 23, 1889, in Wenzen, the son of a pastor. He attended secondary school in Blankenburg.[1]
On March 17, 1909, Korfes enlisted in the Imperial German Army as an Fahnenjunker (officer cadet), joining the 3rd Magdeburg Infantry Regiment No. 66 of the 7th Division. He was promoted to Fähnrich on October 18, 1909, and to lieutenant on August 22, 1910. With the outbreak of the First World War, Korfes was assigned to command a platoon on the Western Front. He took part in the Battle of Liège, one of the first battles of the war. On February 25, 1915, he was promoted to Oberleutnant, receiving command of a battalion. His last promotion before the conclusion of the war occurred on December 18, 1917, to the rank of captain. After the end of the war, Korfes was retained in the Reichswehr of the Weimar Republic, reaching the rank of major on September 30, 1920.[2]
Korfes then studied at the Friedrich Wilhelm University of Berlin. In 1923, he received as a doctorate in political science under the tutelage of Max Sering and Werner Sombart. From April 1920 to June 1937 he was employed at the Reichsarchiv in Potsdam, performing military research. In 1929, he married Gudrun Mertz von Quirnheim [de] (1907–1979), who descended from a minor noble family.[3] In 1933, his first daughter, Sigrid Wegner-Korfes [de] was born.
Korfes returned to active service from the reserves in October 1937. On February 1, 1938, he was promoted to Oberstleutnant (lieutenant colonel). On February 5, 1940, Korfes took command of the 518 Regiment of the 295th Infantry Division. He was promoted to Oberst (colonel) on January 1, 1941. Korfes' regiment and division were part of the spearhead of Operation Barbarossa. On November 2, 1942, Korfes relinquished command and was placed in the Führerreserve. On November 16, 1942, Korfes was reactivated and placed in command of the 295th Infantry Division, succeeding Rolf Wuthmann. By this time, the 295th was deeply involved in the Battle of Stalingrad. The division was destroyed in the battle, and Korfes was taken prisoner by the Red Army on January 31, 1943.[4][5]
Following his capture, Korfes was detained at the Voikovo prison camp. He joined the anti-Nazi National Committee for a Free Germany (NKFD) and took part in radio broadcasts calling for German soldiers to surrender.[4][5] As a result of his cooperation with the Soviet Union, members of Korfes' family were taken to various prisons and concentration camps under the principle of Sippenhaft. Korfes was also involved in the formation of the League of German Officers, an organization bringing together anti-Nazi military officers.
His brother-in-law, Albrecht Mertz von Quirnheim, was part of the July 20 plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler led by Claus von Stauffenberg. His other brother-in-law, Wilhelm Dieckmann [de], was also part of the military resistance against Nazism.
After the conclusion of the Second World War, Korfes was placed in charge of archives at the Ministry of the Interior of the German Democratic Republic. He joined the National Democratic Party and was a founding member of the National Council of the National Front.[1] From 1952 to 1956, he returned to military service as a major general in the Kasernierte Volkspolizei (trans. Barracked People's Police). From 1958 until his death, Korfes was chairman of the Association of Former Officers (Arbeitsgemeinschaft ehemaliger Offiziere [de]).[1][6] He was succeeded as chairman by Arno von Lenski. On August 24, 1964, Korfes died of a heart attack; he was buried at the Neuer Friedhof in Potsdam.[7][8]
