Otto Lasch

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Otto Lasch
Born(1893-06-25)25 June 1893
Pleß, Upper Silesia, Province of Silesia, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Died28 April 1971(1971-04-28) (aged 77)
Bonn-Bad Godesberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany
AllegianceGerman Empire
Weimar Republic
Nazi Germany
BranchPrussian Army
Imperial German Army
Freikorps (Grenzschutz Ost)
Preliminary Reichswehr
Police
German Army
Service years1913–1945
RankGeneral der Infanterie
Battles / warsWorld War I
World War II
AwardsKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
Relations∞ 1919 Lisette Wrobel; 2 daughters

Bernhard Otto Lasch (25 June 1893 in Pleß, Oberschlesien – 28 April 1971) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded the LXIV Corps. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves.

Life

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The son of Prince Pless's chief forester, Otto Lasch (d. 22 March 1924), joined the Jäger Battalion "Prince Bismarck" (Pomeranian) No. 2 in Kulm as an officer candidate, after graduating from Gymnasium with Abitur, on 27 March 1913, with which he participated in the First World War. Towards the end of the war, he was deployed as an aerial observer.

After World War I, Lasch served in the Freikorps in the East Prussian city of Lyck (where his brother Karl Lasch was a city councilor and, since 15 July 1916, First Mayor) as part of the Border Protection East.[1] From 1 January 1920 to 1935, he served with the police, finally as a Police Major. He joined the Wehrmacht on 15 October 1935 and later took part in Operation Barbarossa, playing a pivotal role in capturing Riga in early July 1941.[2] He rose to the rank of General of the Infantry[3] in 1944 and functioned as Commandant of Königsberg in East Prussia from November 1944 onward. As Fortress Commandant of Königsberg he was responsible for defending the city and maintaining order among the flood of refugees fleeing from the invading Red Army.

Following heavy fighting and a three month siege of the city during the Battle of Königsberg by the 36-division-strong 3rd Byelorussian Front under Ivan Chernyakhovsky, Lasch disobeyed Hitler's orders and surrendered Königsberg to the Red Army on 9 April 1945. As a result of his surrender Hitler sentenced him in absentia to death by hanging, and his family in Berlin (plus his wife and eldest daughter who were in Denmark), was arrested.[4][5] They were released after the Surrender of the Wehrmacht. Lasch went into Soviet captivity and was routinely convicted as an alleged war criminal in the Soviet Union and sentenced to twenty-five years in a corrective labor camp in 1948. He was repatriated on 8 October 1955.[6]

Lasch authored So fiel Königsberg. Kampf und Untergang von Ostpreußens Hauptstadt, which was published in 1958. In 1965, he wrote Zuckerbrot und Peitsche [de] about his years as a Soviet prisoner of war.

Russian captivity

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Like so many others, Otto Lasch would become a POW of the Red Army. On 13 April 1945, thousands of Russian leaflets were dropped over German positions. They were signed by the now-prisoners of war General of the Infantry Lasch, Lieutenant General Hermann Haehnle, Colonel Hugo Eduard Wilhelm Freiherr von Süßkind-Schwendi (1903–1996), Colonel Kaspar August Völker (1894–1966), and others, including Colonel Kurt Erdmann-Degenhardt. The text read (although it cannot be assumed that participation was voluntary):

"To the German officers and soldiers! We have been given the opportunity to tell the German army and the German people the truth about the defeat at Königsberg. The German people and the German army must know the truth. On 6 April, the Russian troops began their attack on Königsberg. Over 100,000 soldiers of all branches were in the besieged city. The fortress was prepared for defense. Food supplies were sufficient for eight weeks. Nevertheless, Königsberg was captured by Russian troops as early as 9 April. We were forced to lay down our arms because further resistance was completely pointless. During these four days, we suffered enormous losses among officers, soldiers, and civilians. The heavy Russian bombing raids and the intense artillery and mortar fire quickly destroyed the fortifications and broke the soldiers' will to resist. Ammunition and food supplies were destroyed by Russian fire. Telephone and radio communications failed. There was no longer any way to care for the many wounded. White flags were raised by the civilian population. The people no longer wanted the fighting to continue. Königsberg fell due to the superiority of the Russian forces. It must be prevented that, like Königsberg, the rest of Germany is destroyed by the criminal actions of its government. The Russian troops have crossed the Oder; the British and American troops have reached the Elbe. The war is lost. Only surrender will prevent further needless sacrifices. Hitler and his regime, who have tormented the German people for so long, should perish, but the German people should live. [signed] Russian captivity, 13 April 1945."

Death

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General (Ret.) Lasch died in Bonn in 1971 and is buried in Bad Godesberg with his wife, who predeceased him.

Promotions

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Army

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  • 27 March 1913 Fahnenjunker (Officer Candidate)
  • 11 July 1913 Fahnenjunker-Oberjäger (Officer Candidate with Corporal/NCO/Junior Sergeant rank)
  • 17 February 1914 Fähnrich (Officer Cadet)
  • 7 August 1914 Leutnant (2nd Lieutenant) without Patent
    • later received Patent from 19 December 1912
  • 22 March 1918 Oberleutnant (1st Lieutenant)

Police

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  • 1 January 1920 Polizei-Oberleutnant (1st Lieutenant of the Police)
  • 20 July 1921 Polizei-Hauptmann (Captain of the Police)
  • 6 November 1933 Major der Landespolizei (Major of the State Police) with effect from 1 January 1934

Wehrmacht

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  • 15 October 1935 Major with Rank Seniority (RDA) from 1 July 1934 (55)
  • 18 January 1937 Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel) with effect and RDA from 1 January 1937 (47)
  • 30 November 1939 Oberst (Colonel) with effect and RDA from 1 December 1939 (10)
  • 15 July 1942 Generalmajor (Major General) with effect and RDA from 1 August 1942 (12)
  • 20 April 1943 Generalleutnant (Lieutenant General) with effect and RDA from 1 April 1943 (10c)
  • 15 November 1944 General der Infanterie (General othe Infantry) with effect and RDA from 9 November 1944 (6)

Awards and decorations

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Sources

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  • German Federal Archives: BArch PERS 6/251 and PERS 6/300107

References

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Citations
  1. ^ Michael Wieck (2003). A Childhood Under Hitler and Stalin: Memoirs of a "certified" Jew. Univ of Wisconsin Press. pp. 274–. ISBN 978-0-299-18544-2.
  2. ^ Andrej Angrick; Peter Klein (15 January 2012). The 'Final Solution' in Riga: Exploitation and Annihilation, 1941–1944. Berghahn Books. pp. 62–. ISBN 978-0-85745-601-4.
  3. ^ de:Otto Lasch
  4. ^ Willemer, Wilhelm. "The German Defence of Berlin 1945". www.allworldwars.com. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  5. ^ R. Loeffel (29 May 2012). Family Punishment in Nazi Germany: Sippenhaft, Terror and Myth. Springer. pp. 88–. ISBN 978-1-137-02183-0.
  6. ^ Andrej Angrick; Peter Klein (15 November 2009). The 'Final Solution' in Riga: Exploitation and Annihilation, 1941–1944. Berghahn Books. pp. 450–. ISBN 978-1-84545-608-5.
  7. ^ a b c d Thomas 1998, p. 13.
Biography
  • Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
  • 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.