Rudolf Schmidt


Rudolf Friedrich Carl Schmidt was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II who commanded the 2nd Panzer Army on the Eastern Front. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. He was the older brother of Hans-Thilo Schmidt, who sold secrets about the Enigma machine to the French.

Career

Schmidt joined the Prussian Army in 1906 and served during World War I. He was retained in the Reichswehr where he served in staff roles. In October 1936 he was promoted to Generalmajor and appointed commander of the 1st Panzer Division. In 1939 Schmidt led the division in the invasion of Poland.
On 1 February 1940 he was appointed commanding general of the XXXIX Panzer Corps. He led the Corps in France and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for his role in that campaign on 3 June 1940. He was promoted to General der Panzertruppe and appointed acting commander of the 2nd Army which took part in the Battle of Moscow. On 25 December 1941 he was appointed Commander of the 2nd Panzer Army.
His brother Hans-Thilo Schmidt sold details of the Germans' Enigma machine and other sensitive military information to the French Deuxième Bureau from 1931 until the German invasion of France in 1940.
On 16 March with effect and rank seniority from 1 January 1942, Schmidt was promoted to Generaloberst, but on 10 April 1943, he was relieved of his command after the Gestapo arrested his brother for spying for the French, and found letters that Schmidt had written in which he was highly critical of Hitler’s conduct of the war and the Nazi Party. He appeared before a court martial but was acquitted.
According to the order of the Deputy General Command IX Army Corps, Schmidt was discharged from active service with the statutory pension on 6 October with effect from 30 September 1943. Generaloberst Schmidt was never re-activated.

POW

On 16 December 1947 Schmidt was arrested by Soviet soldiers on his way to his home in Weimar. Taken to Moscow, he was initially imprisoned at the Vladimir Central Prison and Butyrka prison. In 1952, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison for war crimes by a military tribunal.
In march 1953, dictator Stalin died.
In September 1955, Chancellor of Germany Adenauer visited Moscow and negotiated with Nikita Khrushchev. On 12 September 1955, he reached an agreement on the return of 10,000 prisoners of war and the establishment of diplomatic relations.
On 7 January 1956, Schmidt was released and repatriated to Germany.

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