German Army General. He served on the German General Staff in World War I, and from 1935 as commander-in-chief of the German Army. He was the epitome of the honorable, unpolitical, professional Prussian soldier. Seen by Hitler as a threat to his own rise to power, von Fritsch and Gen. von Blomberg were forced out of the Army in disgrace, von Fritsch being accused of homosexuality. This obstacle out of the way, Hitler then declared himself commander-in-chief. Von Fritsch demanded a trial, and was completely acquitted and reinstated to the Army, in command of his old Artillery Regiment 12. He was killed in action near Warsaw, Poland, only three weeks after the beginning of World War II. There was some speculation that he had sought an honorable death in battle, as he apparently walked into the field of fire of enemy machine guns.
German Army General. He served on the German General Staff in World War I, and from 1935 as commander-in-chief of the German Army. He was the epitome of the honorable, unpolitical, professional Prussian soldier. Seen by Hitler as a threat to his own rise to power, von Fritsch and Gen. von Blomberg were forced out of the Army in disgrace, von Fritsch being accused of homosexuality. This obstacle out of the way, Hitler then declared himself commander-in-chief. Von Fritsch demanded a trial, and was completely acquitted and reinstated to the Army, in command of his old Artillery Regiment 12. He was killed in action near Warsaw, Poland, only three weeks after the beginning of World War II. There was some speculation that he had sought an honorable death in battle, as he apparently walked into the field of fire of enemy machine guns.
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