Heinz Günther Guderian

Heinz Günther Guderian
Born	(1914-08-23)23 August 1914 Goslar, Prussia, German Empire (now in Lower Saxony)
Died	25 September 2004(2004-09-25) (aged 90) Bad Godesberg, Bonn, Germany
Allegiance	Nazi Germany (1933 to 1945) West Germany (from 1956)
Service / branch	Army (1933–45) Bundeswehr (1956–74)
Years of service	1933–1945 (Wehrmacht) 1956–1974 (Bundeswehr)
Rank	Oberstleutnant im Generalstab (Wehrmacht) Generalmajor (Bundeswehr)
Unit	116. Panzerdivision
Commands	General der Kampftruppen
Battles / wars	World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Relations	Heinz Guderian (father)

Heinz Günther Guderian Jr (23 August 1914 – 25 September 2004) was a German officer in the Wehrmacht and later a major general and Inspector of Panzer Troops in the West German Bundeswehr and NATO. He was the son of World War II General Heinz Guderian. He was a Colonel in the Wehrmacht Heer from 1941-1945 and a General in the German Bundeswehr in the German Heer branch from 1962-1974 .

Born in Goslar in what was then the Prussian Province of Hanover, Heinz Günther Guderian entered the German Army as an officer cadet on 1 April 1933. He was promoted to second lieutenant in 1935 and served as a Zugführer (platoon leader), battalion and regimental adjutant and company commander in Panzer Regiments 1 and 35. He saw combat during the invasion of Poland and was wounded twice during the Battle of France in 1940. He graduated from the General Staff College in 1942 and served as a staff officer in various armored units until being assigned as the Operations Officer for the 116th Panzerdivision ("The Greyhounds") in May 1942, a position he held until the end of the War. He was captured at the conclusion of World War II and held as a prisoner of war until 1947. After the creation of the Bundeswehr, Guderian returned to the army and was given command of Panzerbattalion 3 (later 174) and, later, Panzerbrigade 14. He also served in a variety of staff assignments, culminating in service as Inspector of Panzer Troops — the same job his father held during World War II — for the Bundeswehr. He retired in 1974. It is unclear whether he is aware that his father Heinz Guderian committed any war crimes in World War 2 when he was a young army officer in the Wehrmacht Ground Forces before he joined the army branch of the Bundeswehr in 1955 . It can presumed that Heinz Gunther Guderian would definitely be loyal to his father’s Clean Wehrmacht Myth after World War 2 . He died in 2004 (aged 90) at the birthplace of Klaus Barbie .

Awards and Ranks

• Iron Cross (1939)
  • Second Class
  • First Class
  • Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
• Wehrmacht Long Service Award 4th Class
• Wound Badge in Silver
• Panzer Badge in Silver
• Federal German Grand Cross of the Order of Merit (21 December 1972)
• Swedish order of the Sword, commander 1st class (15 May 1972)
• Lieutenant (1935-1940)
• Captain (1940-1941)
• Lt-colonel (1941-1945)
• Colonel (1960-1962)
• Brigadier (1962-1965)
• Major general (1965-1974)

Works by Guderian

• From Normandy to the Ruhr: With the 116th Panzer Division in WWII (The Aberjona Press, 2001) ISBN 0-9666389-7-2

References

• 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.

External links

• Heinz Günther Guderian in the German National Library catalogue