Paulus Friedrich is one of the field marshals of Nazi Germany. The commander conducted a huge number of operations against various countries of the anti-Hitler coalition. He commanded troops in the fateful battle for the Reich near Stalingrad.
His life began in the battle theaters of the First World War and ended in socialist Germany, where he preached the ideas of anti-fascism.
Youth
Paulus Friedrich was born on September 23, 1890 in a family of accountants. Studied diligently in the gymnasium. From childhood, his father instilled in him scrupulousness and protectionism. Friedrich showed good academic achievements. He was very concerned about his position in society and the opinion of other people about him. After graduating from high school, he begins to listen to lectures on jurisprudence. But Paulus Friedrich did not become a lawyer: he enlisted in the army. There he served as a fan cadet. In military service, he established himself as an executive officer. He fit perfectly into the position of a staff worker, implicitly carried out all the instructions of his superiors and was quick-witted.
His friends introduced Elena Rosetti, she was an aristocrat with Romanian roots. Paulus Friedrich married her in 1912. It was the wife who began to teach the future field marshal the behavior necessary in high society. Thanks to attending various events, Friedrich made the necessary acquaintances.
Friedrich Paulus: biography. Participation in the First World War
Paulus began World War I in France. He was not a combat commander and practically did not visit the front line; he spent most of his time at headquarters. Paulus regiment also visited the Balkans. He was not particularly zealous, but he was conscientiously carrying out all the work assigned to him, so he rose to the rank of captain by 1918.
After the war, he continued his military career. He held leadership positions in various units of the armed forces of the Weimar Republic. With the advent of Hitler to power, Paulus Friedrich became part of the circle of contacts of the highest figures of the National Socialist Party. He was not an ideological Nazi, but the obsession with career advancement made him make the necessary acquaintances. The wife was included in the elite society of the Nazi party due to her noble birth. Some sources report that Paulus Friedrich was very complex due to the lack of the prefix "background" (designation of the nobility in Germany) to his last name.
In political terms, Paulus did not distinguish himself.
He was not an ideological Nazi, but his knowledge of military affairs allowed him to occupy the post of major general by the beginning of the war.
The beginning of World War II
Paulus started a new big war in Poland. In 1939, the Wehrmacht invaded Polish territories, it was there that they met the first serious resistance, so the victory over Poland many times inferior to Poland was regarded as grand in Germany.
Paulus also participated in the Belgian and Dutch campaigns. The occupation of these countries did not require significant efforts.
Since the summer of 1940, he has been directly involved in the development of a plan of war against the USSR. However, he mainly works in the General Staff and does not go to the front line. But everything changed in 1942: in the winter, Walter Reichenau dies, being an ideological Nazi and an ardent admirer of Hitler, he had great respect among the NSDAP. Until his death, Reichenau commanded the 6th Army. It was his place that Paulus Friedrich took.
With a new connection, the German lieutenant general advanced on Oboyan.
There he reflected the counterattacks of the Red Army, was presented to several awards. While the teacher of Paulus Guderian, on a personal initiative, launched an attack on Moscow, Friedrich unquestioningly carried out Hitler's instructions.
Battle of stalingrad
In the fall, the 6th Army reached the Volga, where one of the most significant battles in history was to unfold. Paulus personally designed the operations to capture Stalingrad. Hitler quickly paid particular attention to this section of the front. The significance was not only of the oil that the Reich would receive after the fall of Stalingrad, but also of the propaganda fact of the capture of the city, which bore the name of Stalin himself.
Several times Paulus personally approached Hitler with a demand to withdraw his troops. But the Fuhrer assured that he would transfer reinforcements in the near future. In late January, the entire 6th Nazi army was surrounded. The commander of the 6th Army, Paulus wavered and handed over to the Soviet leadership a request for surrender. After his capture, the NKVD forced Frederick to join the Union of German soldiers and officers. This organization recorded an appeal to the German people with an appeal to seize power from Hitler. After the war, the former Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus remained on the territory of the USSR until the mid-50s.
After that, he was allowed to return to Germany, where he worked closely with the socialist leadership of the GDR.