Military Figure - Heinrich Aschenbrenner was born in Eisenack, Germany. When he turned 19 years old, he was accepted into the Army Reserves as a recruit in the 164th Infantry Regiment. He fought in World war I and within a 23 day span in 1915 was promoted to corporal, sergeant and then second lieutenant and soon a company commander. He fought on all fronts during the war (France, Galatia, Russia). In late 1916 he was selected for flight training. He was assigned to the 2nd flight Wing on the Western Front in 1918 and was given a permanent promotion in the Army as a second lieutenant. He was an active officer but not in a fling capacity, and remained in the new Reichswehr Army after World War I ended. He "retired" from the Army in 1926 but in actuality went to a secret Luftwaffe base in Russia as an instructor in radio communications, night instrument flying and bombing. He returned to Germany in 1929 and once again was on active duty in Army. He was promoted to captain in 1930 and on 9/30/1931 he retired again (this time for real) but was recalled in 1933 into the fledgling (and still secret) German Luftwaffe, becoming an instructor at Braunschweig. Aschenbrenner rose in rank as he performed various positions in the Luftwaffe. His most significant assignment was as Air Attache with the German Embassy in Moscow, Russia. In this capacity, he was able to convince the Russians into showing him several of their aircraft manufacturing plants in the Urals (central Russia) that were considered to be secret operations. He and other Luftwaffe officers who accompanied him were astonished to see the amount of planes being built and the number of workers, estimated to be approximately 30,000. After inspecting the factories, one of the Russians told Aschenbrenner, "We have now shown you all we have and all we can do. We shall destroy anyone who attacks us." Aschenbrenner and his colleagues reported this information back to Luftwaffe intelligence but it was ignored. When Operation Barborossa began, the German invasion of Russia commenced later that year, the Germans were out numbered at least seven to one. Had his report been taken seriously, the history of World War II and the world would have been significantly different. Aschenbrenner was promoted to the rank of Major General on 6/1/1939 and Lieutenant General on 8/1/1944. He held several commands with his final being the Inspector for Foreign Personnel East, from 6/28/1944 until 5/8/1945 when Germany surrendered. Due to his rank and familiarity with other top generals and Nazi leaders, he was held in Allied captivity until he was released in March 1948. He lived in the little village of Hausberge in the state of Nordrhein-Westphalia until his death at the age of 65, in 1960. Aschenbrenner is buried with his wife Frieda, who was also born in Eisenack. He and his wife are buried in the Hausberge Cemetery. Generalleutnant Heinrich Aschenbrenner earned the following badges/decorations for his service to Germany during two World Wars:
- German Cross Badge in Silver (awarded 9/21/1942)
- 1914 Iron Cross Second Class
- 1914 Iron Cross First Class
- Prussian Pilot/Observers badge
- 1918 Wound Badge in Black
- Combatants Cross of Honor
- Army Long Service Award Second Class
- 1939 Iron Cross Second Class
- 1939 Iron Cross First Class
- War Merit Cross, Second Class with Swords
- War Merit Cross, First Class with Swords