Adolf Heusinger

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One of the few officers to have held senior rank both in the Nazi and postwar German military forces, Adolf Heusinger (1897-1982) was a Generalleutnant in the wartime military, and later General of the Bundeswehr.

Wartime

Following World War I service, in which he was commissioned from the ranks, he joined the Truppenamt staff in 1931, and then progressed through a variety of divisional and geneal staff positions. He was a key planner of the invasion of the West.

Heusinger was briefly Army (OKH) Chief of Staff (10 Jun 42 - 21 Jul 42) as a temporary replacement for the ailing Kurt Zeitzler, until he was injured in the July 1944 assassination attempt against Hitler. In spite of his injuries, the Gestapo arrested him in October 1944 for suspicion of being connected to conspirators. He was later released, but kept on reserve or noncritical duties for the rest of the war.

West Germany and NATO

He was Bundeswehr Inspector General (1957-1961), then Chairman,NATO Military Committee (1961-1964).