Karl Bodenschatz


Karl-Heinrich Bodenschatz was a German general who was the adjutant to Manfred von Richthofen in World War I and the liaison officer between Hermann Göring and Adolf Hitler in World War II.

Biography

Early life and First World War

Bodenschatz was born in Rehau, Kingdom of Bavaria in 1890. He enlisted in the Royal Bavarian 8th Infantry Regiment and was a cadet at the War Academy in Metz. He was commissioned a Leutnant on 28 October 1912. Following the German entry into [World War I] he saw active infantry service on the Western Front and participated in the Battle of Verdun. After being wounded four times, in 1916 he transferred to the Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte. He served as an adjutant in Jagdstaffel 2 and then in Jagdgeschwader 1 based at Avesnes-le-sac. He was adjutant to Manfred von Richthofen and later, after the deaths of Manfred von Richthofen and his successor Wilhelm Reinhard, to Hermann Göring, who took over command of the fighter wing in June 1918.German Federal Archives, Luftwaffe Personalakte von Karl Bodenschatz, BArch PERS 6/83

Between the wars

After the war, Bodenschatz was carried over into the Reichswehr as a regular officer and served in the 21st Infantry Regiment from 1919 until April 1933. He had maintained a friendship with Göring and joined the Luftwaffe as his military adjutant, serving in this capacity until 1938, visiting Britain in November 1938. In 1939, he warned the Polish military attaché in Berlin that Nazi Germany was planning to invade Poland by the end of the year.

Second World War

During World War II he was the liaison officer between Hitler's headquarters and the Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe until he was seriously injured in 1944 by the 20 July plot bomb at the Wolf's Lair headquarters in Rastenburg, East Prussia. He was fortunate to survive the explosion as two officers immediately to his left and one to his right were killed.

Post-war

He was captured at Reichenhall on 5 May 1945 and served two years in prison. In 1946 he was called as a witness at the Nuremberg Trials of major Nazi war criminals. He died in Erlangen, West Germany, in 1979, aged 88.

Decorations and awards