Paulus Friedrich: biography of the German commander

Paulus Friedrich is one of the field marshals of Nazi Germany. The commander has conducted a huge number of operations against various countries of the anti-Hitler coalition. Commanded the troops in the fateful for the Reich Battle of Stalingrad. His life began at the theaters of the First World War and ended in socialist Germany, where he preached the ideas of anti-fascism.

Youth

Paulus Friedrich was born September 23, 1890 in the family of bookkeepers. He studied diligently in the gymnasium. From his childhood, his father instilled in him the scrupulousness and protectionism. Friedrich showed good achievements in studies. He was very concerned about his position in society and the opinions of others about him. After graduation, he begins to listen to lectures on jurisprudence. But Paulius Friedrich did not become a lawyer: he enlisted in the army. There he served as a fan-junker. In military service, he established himself as an executive officer. Perfectly fit into the post of staff worker, unquestioningly fulfilled all the orders of the authorities and showed ingenuity.

His friends introduced Elena Rosetti, she was an aristocrat with Romanian roots. Paulus Friedrich took her to wife in 1912. It was the wife who began to teach the future field marshal the behavior necessary in high society. Thanks to a visit to various events, Friedrich got acquainted with necessary acquaintances.

Friedrich Paulus: biography. Participation in the First World War

The first world Paulus began in France. He was not a military commander and practically did not attend the advanced, most of the time he spent at the headquarters. Paulus's regiment also visited the Balkans. He was not particularly zealous, but he was ashamed to do all the work assigned to him, therefore he rose to the rank of captain by 1918.

After the war he continued his military career. He occupied leading positions in various units of the armed forces of the Weimar Republic. With the advent of Hitler to power Paulus Friedrich enters into the circle of contacts of the highest figures of the National Socialist Party. He was not an ideological Nazi, but obsession with advancement on a career ladder spodvigla it or him to get necessary acquaintances. His wife was a member of the elite society of the Nazi Party because of her noble origin. Some sources report that Paulus Friedrich was very complex in connection with the lack of a prefix "background" (designation of the nobility in Germany) to his last name.

In political terms, Paulus did not excel. He was not an ideological Nazi, but his knowledge of military affairs allowed him to assume the position of major-general at the beginning of the war.

The beginning of the Second World War

Paulus started a new big war in Poland. In 1939, the Wehrmacht invaded the Polish territories, where they met the first serious resistance, so the victory over many times inferior Poland was regarded as grandiose in Germany.

Paulus also participated in the Belgian and Dutch campaigns. The occupation of these countries did not require significant efforts.

Since the summer of 1940, he has been directly involved in developing a plan for war against the USSR. At the same time, he mainly works in the General Staff and does not leave for the front line. But everything changed in 1942: in the winter Walter Reichenau dies, being an ideological Nazi and ardent admirer of Hitler, he had great respect among the Nazi Party. Before his death, Reichenau commanded the 6th Army. It was Paulus Friedrich who took his place.

With the new compound, the German lieutenant general advanced to Oboyan. There, he repelled the counter-offensive of the Red Army, was presented to several awards. While the teacher Paulus Guderian on his personal initiative launched an offensive against Moscow, Friedrich unquestioningly carried out Hitler's instructions.

The Battle of Stalingrad

In the autumn, the 6th Army came to the Volga, where it was to unfold one of the most significant battles in history. Paulus personally developed operations to capture Stalingrad. Quite quickly, Hitler paid special attention to this sector of the front. Not only oil, which Reich would have received after the fall of Stalingrad, but also the propaganda fact of taking the city, which bore the name of Stalin himself, was important.

Several times Paulus personally addressed Hitler with a demand to withdraw troops. But the Fuhrer assured that he would transfer reinforcements in the near future. At the end of January, the entire 6th army of the Nazis was surrounded. Commander of the 6th Army Paulus faltered and gave the Soviet leadership a request for surrender. After his capture, the NKVD forced Friedrich to join the Union of German Soldiers and Officers. This organization wrote down an appeal to the German people with an appeal to take power from Hitler. After the war, former Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus was in the USSR until the mid-1950s. After that, he was allowed to return to Germany, where he worked closely with the socialist leadership of the GDR.