Hermann Niehoff

Hermann Niehoff
Born	(1897-04-03)3 April 1897 Papenburg, Province of Hanover, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Died	5 November 1980(1980-11-05) (aged 83) Riegsee, Bavaria, West Germany
Allegiance	German Empire Weimar Republic Nazi Germany
Service / branch	German Army
Years of service	1915–45
Rank	General der Infanterie
Battles / wars	World War I World War II Siege of Breslau (POW)
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Hermann Niehoff (3 April 1897 – 5 November 1980) was a German general during World War II. In 1944, he was a liuetenant general and commander of Heersgebeit Sudfrankreich (Army Group Southern France) facing the US/French invasion of southern France (Operation Dragoon). From 2 March 1945, he was the garrison commander of Fortress Breslau (Festung Breslau) during the Battle of Breslau, which he surrendered to the Soviet 6th Army on 6 May 1945.

Awards

• Iron Cross (1914) 2nd Class (5 August 1916) & 1st Class (12 June 1918)
• Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (26 June 1940) & 1st Class (7 July 1941)
• Honour Roll Clasp of the Army (29 September 1941)
• German Cross in Gold on 6 January 1942 as Oberstleutnant in Infanterie-Regiment 464
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
  • Knight's Cross on 15 June 1944 as Generalleutnant and commander of the 371. Infanterie-Division
  • 764th Oak Leaves on 5 March 1945 as Generalleutnant and commander of the 371. Infanterie-Division

Niehoff was nominated for Swords in 1945 as commander of Breslau. No evidence of the award can be found in the German Federal Archives. The Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR) only assumes that the Swords were awarded. According to Niehoff's testimony he was nominated by Gauleiter Karl Hanke.

References

Bibliography

• 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.
• 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 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Thomas, Franz (1998). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2: L–Z [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 2: L–Z] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2300-9.