WThe Fallschirmjäger were the paratroop branch of the German Luftwaffe before and during World War II. They were the first German paratroopers to be committed in large-scale airborne operations. Throughout World War II, the commander of the branch was Kurt Student.
WJoseph Heinrich Beuys was a German artist, teacher, and theorist of art who was highly influential in international contemporary art in the latter half of the 20th century. He is a founder of the art movement known as Fluxus, and a practitioner and exemplar of happenings, and performance art. He adopted media and techniques including paint, sculpture, graphic art, and installation.
WKarl Heinrich Leopold Deschner was a German researcher and writer who achieved public attention in Europe for his trenchant and fiercely critical treatment of Christianity in general and the Catholic Church in particular, as expressed in several articles and books, culminating in his 10 volume Christianity's Criminal History.
WThe Fallschirmjäger memorial is a German war memorial for German parachutists who fell during the ten-day Battle of Crete in World War II. The memorial, known to Cretans as the German bird (Greek: Γερμανικό πουλί, Germaniko pouli) or the Evil bird , was erected in 1941 by the occupation forces and is located about three kilometers west of Chania on the road to Agii Apostoli.
WFerdinand Foltin was an Austrian officer in the paratroop forces (Fallschirmjäger) of Nazi Germany during World War II and a general in the post-war Austrian Armed Forces. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
WJoachim "Blacky" Fuchsberger was a German actor and television host, best known to a wide German-speaking audience as one of the recurring actors in various Edgar Wallace movies. In the English-speaking world, he was sometimes credited as Akim Berg or Berger.
WWalter Gericke, was a German paratroop officer in the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany during World War II and a general in the Bundeswehr of West Germany. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves.
WLudwig Heilmann was a German paratroop general in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords.
WFriedrich August Freiherr von der Heydte was a German paratroop officer during World War II who later served in the armed forces of West Germany, achieving the rank of General. Following the war, Heydte pursued academic, political and military careers, as a Catholic-conservative professor of political science, a member of the Christian Social Union political party, and as a Bundeswehr reservist. In 1962, Heydte was involved in the Spiegel scandal.
WJohannes-Matthias Hönscheid was a member of a propaganda company (Propagandakompanie) and officer in the Fallschirmjäger forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
WKlaus Kinski was a German actor. He appeared in more than 130 films, and was a leading role actor in the films of Werner Herzog, including Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972), Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979), Woyzeck (1979), Fitzcarraldo (1982), and Cobra Verde (1987). He also appeared in many Spaghetti Westerns, such as For a Few Dollars More (1965), A Bullet for the General (1966), The Great Silence (1968), And God Said to Cain (1970), Shoot the Living and Pray for the Dead (1971) and A Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe (1975).
WWalter Koch was a commander of the Fallschirmjäger during World War II who died in mysterious circumstances after openly criticising Adolf Hitler. Koch, who was the recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for his actions during the Battle of Fort Eben-Emael in May 1940, had publicly denounced the Führer's infamous Commando Order, which ordered that all captured enemy commandos were to be executed. Shortly afterwards the Oberstleutnant and commander of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 5 died in Berlin from injuries allegedly resulting from a motor vehicle collision.
WHans Kroh was a German paratroop general in the Wehrmacht and Bundeswehr and a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords of Nazi Germany.
WGünter Luther was a German admiral who became Inspector of the Navy and Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe for NATO. During World War II, he served as a military pilot in the Kriegsmarine and a paratrooper in the Luftwaffe. After the war, he joined the newly founded West German Bundesmarine in 1956.
WKurt Masur was a German conductor. Called "one of the last old-style maestros", he directed many of the principal orchestras of his era. He had a long career as the Kapellmeister of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, and also served as music director of the New York Philharmonic. He left many recordings of classical music played by major orchestras. Masur is also remembered for his actions to support peaceful demonstrations in the 1989 anti-government demonstrations in Leipzig; the protests were part of the events leading up to the fall of the Berlin wall.
WGünter Meisner was a German film and television character actor. He is remembered for his several cinematic portrayals of Adolf Hitler and for his role as Arthur Slugworth in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. He was fluent in four languages and appeared in many English-language, German-language and French-language films.
WWerner Milch was a German lawyer.
WHarald-Otto Mors was a Wehrmacht officer (1934–1945) during the Second World War. In the summer of 1943 he commanded a battalion of Fallschirmjäger and planned and led the Gran Sasso raid to rescue Benito Mussolini following his arrest in September 1943. He received the German Cross in Gold on 26 September 1943. He became a Bundeswehr officer from 1955 until his retirement in 1965.
WHarald Quandt was a German industrialist, the son of industrialist Günther Quandt and Magda Behrend Rietschel. His parents divorced and his mother was later married to Joseph Goebbels. After World War II, Quandt and his older half-brother Herbert Quandt ran the industrial empire that was left to them by their father and that continues today, the family owning a stake in Germany's luxury car manufacturer BMW.
WMaximilian Adolph Otto Siegfried Schmeling was a German boxer who was heavyweight champion of the world between 1930 and 1932. His two fights with Joe Louis in 1936 and 1938 were worldwide cultural events because of their national associations. Schmeling is the only boxer to win the world heavyweight championship on a foul.
WKarl-Lothar Schulz was a German paratroop general of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords.
WAlfred Schwarzmann was a German Olympic gymnast. He won three gold and two bronze medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics and another silver medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics. During World War II, Schwarzmann served in the Wehrmacht and was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany.
WGünther Simon was an East German actor.
WKurt Arthur Benno Student was a German general in the Luftwaffe during World War II. An early pioneer of airborne forces, Student was in overall command of developing a paratrooper force to be known as the Fallschirmjäger, and as the most senior member of the Fallschirmjäger, commanded it throughout the war. Student led the first major airborne attack in history, the Battle for The Hague, in May 1940. He also commanded the Fallschirmjägers in its last major airborne operation, the invasion of Crete in May 1941. The operation was a success despite German losses, and led the Allies to hasten the training and development of their own airborne units.
WAlfred Sturm was a German general during World War II.
WBernhard Carl "Bert" Trautmann EK OBE BVO was a German professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Manchester City from 1949 to 1964.
WHorst Trebes was a Hauptmann in the Fallschirmjäger of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Trebes participated in the Massacre of Kondomari and the Razing of Kandanos, both war crimes directed by Fallschirmjäger commander Kurt Student. He was killed in action on 29 July 1944.
WFriedrich Erich Walther was a German paratroop general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords of Nazi Germany. Walther commanded the Hermann Göring 2nd Parachute Panzer-Grenadier Division in East Prussia. He was promoted to Generalmajor on 30 January 1945. Walther surrendered to the Red Army on 8 May 1945. He died at Soviet Special Camp 2 on 26 December 1948.
WGüenther Wilhelm van Well was a German diplomat, Secretary of State from 1977 to 1981, and West German Ambassador to the United States from 1984 to 1987.