Fritz Thiele
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Fritz Thiele | |
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| Born | 14 April 1894 Berlin, Province of Brandenburg, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire |
| Died | 4 September 1944 (aged 50) Plötzensee Prison, Berlin, German Reich |
| Cause of death | Execution by hanging |
| Allegiance |  German Empire (to 1918) Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany |
| Service | Army |
| Years of service | 1914–44 |
| Rank | Generalleutnant |
| Commands | Chief of the office group armed forces communications at OKW |
| Battles / wars | World War I World War II |
| Awards | Iron Cross Imperial Order of the Yoke and Arrows Order of the Star of Romania Order of the Cross of Liberty German Cross in Silver |
Fritz Thiele (14 April 1894 – 4 September 1944) was a member of the German resistance who also served as the communications chief of the German Army during World War II.[1]
Life
[edit]Thiele was born in Berlin and joined the Imperial Army in 1914. Working closely with Chief of Army communications General der Nachrichtentruppe Erich Fellgiebel, he was part of the assassination attempt against Adolf Hitler on 20 July 1944. He was responsible as part of the coup attempt in the effort to sever communications between officers loyal to Hitler and armed forces units in the field and from the communications centre at the Bendlerstrasse in Berlin; he relayed a crucial message from Fellgiebel to General Friedrich Olbricht and the other conspirators that the assassination attempt had failed but the coup attempt should still proceed. There are differing accounts of the time when he provided this report.
Thiele himself did not want to proceed with the coup attempt when he knew that the assassination attempt had failed and he left the Bendlerstrasse and visited Walter Schellenberg at the Reich Central Security Office in an attempt to extricate himself.[2]
Death
[edit]Following Fellgiebel's arrest, Thiel was directed to assume his duties before he was himself arrested by the Gestapo on 11 August 1944. He was condemned to death on 21 August 1944 by the Volksgerichtshof and hanged on 4 September 1944 at Plötzensee prison in Berlin.
See also
[edit]Sources
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Tuchel, Johann. "Fritz Thiele". Gedenkstätte Deutscher Widerstand (in German). Memorial of the German Resistance.
- ^ Joachim Fest (1994). Plotting Hitler's Death: The German Resistance to Hitler, 1933-1945. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 0-297-81774-4.
| International | |
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| People | |
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- 1894 births
- 1944 deaths
- Executed members of the 20 July plot
- People from Berlin executed at Plötzensee Prison
- German Army generals of World War II
- Executed people from Berlin
- History of telecommunications in Germany
- Telecommunications in World War II
- People executed by hanging at Plötzensee Prison
- Lieutenant generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht)
- Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class
- Recipients of the Hanseatic Cross
- Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class
- Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Liberty, 1st Class
- German World War II stubs
- Executed military leaders