Hitler's chief adjutant, who brought Rommel the choice of poison or trial
On 14 October 1944 Burgdorf came to Rommel's house with three choices: report to Hitler and plead not guilty, take poison in return for a state funeral and immunity for his family, or face trial for treason.
The son of a Lutheran pastor in Fürstenwalde, Burgdorf volunteered for the Prussian Army in 1914 and stayed in the Reichswehr and the Wehrmacht. He commanded the 529th Infantry Regiment from 1940 to 1942 and then moved to the Army Personnel Office. After his superior Rudolf Schmundt was fatally wounded in the 20 July 1944 attempt on Hitler's life, Burgdorf became head of the office, and from October 1944 he was also the Wehrmacht's chief adjutant to Hitler. On 14 October 1944 he went to Erwin Rommel's house and pressed him into suicide. During the Battle of Berlin he stayed in the Führerbunker, signed Hitler's political testament as a witness on 29 April 1945, and in the early hours of 2 May shot himself together with Hans Krebs.
Also known as: Wilhelm Emanuel Burgdorf
Activities and affiliations
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1914–1945
Germany state institutionsArmy officer
Military command -
1919
Freikorps (Germany, 1918–1923)
Military command -
1940–1942
Germany state institutionsCommander of the 529th Infantry Regiment
Military command -
1944–1945
Germany state institutionsHead of the Army Personnel Office and chief Wehrmacht adjutant to HitlerMain
Military command
Career Timeline
- 1914.08.03–1918War volunteer and officer in Grenadier Regiment 12
- 1940.05–1942.04Commander of the 529th Infantry Regiment
- 1942.05–1944.10Department head and deputy chief in the Army Personnel Office
- 1944.10–1945.05.02Head of the Army Personnel Office and chief adjutant to Hitler