Albert Praun

Albert Praun (11 December 1894 – 3 March 1975) was a German general who became the Chief Signals Officer of the Wehrmacht during World War II.[1]

Albert Praun
Born(1894-12-11)11 December 1894
Bad Staffelstein, Kingdom of Bavaria, German Empire
Died3 March 1975(1975-03-03) (aged 80)
Munich, West Germany
Allegiance German Empire
 Weimar Republic
 Nazi Germany
Service/branchArmy
Years of service1913–45
RankGeneral der Nachrichtentruppe
Commands held18th Panzer Division
129th Infantry Division
277th Infantry Division
Chief Signals Officer of the OKW and OKH
Battles/warsWorld War I
World War II
AwardsKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Biography

Praun served during World War I. He was retained in the Reichswehr and then served in the Wehrmacht; between 1935 and 1940 he commanded signals units. In 1940 he was then appointed Chief Signals Officer of Panzer Group Hoth and Panzer Group Guderian in France. He was then posted to the Eastern Front where he served as Chief Signals Officer of the 2nd Panzer Group. He later was the commanding officer of the 4th Panzer Grenadier Brigade and then of the 18th Panzer Division, and the 129th and the 277th Divisions. [2][3]

When General Erich Fellgiebel and then his deputy Fritz Thiele were arrested and subsequently executed for their roles in the 20 July plot, Praun was appointed to succeed them on 1 November 1944 as Chief Signals Officer at the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht and Oberkommando des Heeres and was promoted to General der Nachrichtentruppe.[3]

At the end of the war in May 1945 Praun was taken into captivity by the western allies and interrogated in France about his activities when serving there. At the end of August 1945 he was moved to prison camps at Neustadt, Hesse and Bad Hersfeld and he was released from captivity in June 1947. In 1950 France requested Praun's extradition for war crimes committed when he served there, but the request was refused by the Americans on grounds of lack of evidence. He lived in Munich until his death aged 80.[3] Praun was the author of a lengthy report on German SIGINT in WW2, prepared for the USA, which was only released to the public in 2014. [4]

Awards

References

Citations
  1. Samuel W. Mitcham (November 2006). The Panzer Legions: A Guide to the German Army Tank Divisions of World War II and Their Commanders. Stackpole Books. p. 147. ISBN 978-0-8117-3353-3.
  2. Praun, Albert. (1960) Soldat in der Telegruphen- und Nachrichtentruppe.
  3. 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.
  4. One British researcher claims it was in 1987 though an archive copy gives the release date as 2014"German Radio Intelligence (BY Albert Praun, Former Lt. Gen.); Dept. Of the Army Office of the Chief of Military History. Includes Nsa Memo and Comments on Report". An easier to read version is available on:"German Radio Intelligence by Lieutenant-General Albert Praun".
  5. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 344.
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