1607701
Adolf Hitler
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Hitler recognizes the retirement of a versatile general
whom he later recalled to active service as Germany invaded Poland
and later the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa
Adolf Hitler, 1889–1945. Führer and Reich Chancellor of Nazi Germany, 1933–1945. Partially printed Document Signed, Adolf Hitler, one page, 8¼" x 11¾", Berlin, [Germany], October 28, 1936. Countersigned by Field Marshal Werner Eduard Fritz von Blomberg, 1878–1946.
In this document, given “In the Name of the Reich,” Hitler recognizes the retirement of Major General Walter Büchs, whom he later recalled to active service as Germany prepared to invade Poland, launching World War II. Büchs also commanded artillery units against the Soviet Union during Operation Barbarossa.
Here, Büchs retires for the first time. He was a corps commander in charge of Artilleriekommandeur 16, or Arko 16, the Headquarters, Artillery Command 16. (Both the command and the commander were known as the "Arko.") The Führer also grants Büchs the right to continue to wear his uniform. The document reads, in full: “Major General Büchs, artillery commander 16, retires under statutory authorization as of October 31, 1936, and is awarded the right to wear his uniform from his active military service. For the three-month period from November 1, 1936, to January 31, 1937, he shall receive his last salary as appears in Chapter VIII A-2, title 1 a, of the Army budget.”
Büchs was a versatile commander, so this was not the end of his military service. As Germany mobilized for war during the summer of 1939, he was again commissioned an artillery corps commander. He led Arko 22 in battle during the invasion of Poland, which began September 1, 1939. In November 1940, he temporarily succeeded infantry General Kurt von Briesen as commander of the 30th Infantry but returned to command Arko 22 on January 1, 1941.
Büchs took part in Operation Barbarossa, the German attack on the Soviet Union, leading his command in the central Soviet Union during the invasion that began in June 1941. On August 1, 1942, he was promoted to lieutenant general z.V. ("zur Verfügung,” or with availability). In 1942, he commanded two artillery armies: He was appointed Höherer Artillerie-Kommandeur 307 (HArko 307), an army-level position over several artillery corps, in January 1942, and then to command HArko 313 in mid-April 1942, around which he served two stints in the Führereserve. His mobilization call was lifted at the end of 1942, and he finally separated from active service again on January 31, 1943.
Büchs (1881–1970) was a career soldier. He joined the German Imperial Army in 1901. He served successive positions in artillery batteries, with promotions from lieutenant to captain, until he joined the general staff in 1916. He received two iron crosses and, for being wounded, the Verwundetenabzeichen in black (analogous to the American purple heart). After World War I, he received regular promotions through the Reichswehr and, ultimately, the Wehrmacht. He was promoted to major general on September 1, 1935. He was soon appointed to command Arko 16 before resigning his command and retiring the first time, as this certificate shows, on October 31, 1936.
Hitler has signed this document in gray fountain pen as Führer and Reich Chancellor. Blomberg has signed it in darker brownish black as the German Minister of War (Reichskriegsminister) and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces (Oberbefehlshaber der Wehrmacht). Both signatures are clear and bold. The document has also been secretarially signed for General Werner Freiherr von Fritsch as Commander-in-Chief of the German Army (Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres). The document has a crisp seal, displaying the Nazi eagle and swastika, which barely touches the “A" in Hitlerʼs signature and two letters in Blombergʼs signature.
This document is in fine condition, but only the two file holes in the blank left margin keep us from grading it very fine.
We reject Nazism and all that it represented. We nevertheless offer this item because Nazism, although despised, played a large role in the history of the 20th Century, and to ignore it would be to create conditions under which its atrocities could reoccur.
Unframed.
This item has been sold.
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