
Albert Kesselring
* 30 November 1885 –
Marktsteft (Lower Franconia)
† 16 July 1960 –
Bad Nauheim
As a German field marshal, Albert Konrad Kesselring was particularly noted for his role as Commander-in-Chief in Italy. Kesselring embarked on a military career that began in the early years of the German Army, progressed through the Reichswehr, and culminated in a prominent position within the Wehrmacht. In 1935, with the establishment of the Luftwaffe as part of the Nazi regime's military expansion, Kesselring transitioned to this newly created air force, where he played a pivotal role in orchestrating the Luftwaffe's devastating air campaigns in Poland, the Netherlands, France, and Italy.
Later, as Commander-in-Chief Southwest, Kesselring oversaw the strategic withdrawal of German forces from Italy. In mid-June 1944, Kesselring issued orders that effectively granted German soldiers immunity for using excessive force against partisans, leading to widespread brutality. As the highest-ranking officer responsible for the brutal anti-partisan campaign, Kesselring bore significant responsibility for the numerous massacres of civilians.
After the war, Kesselring was tried for war crimes in 1947, later being pardoned and released from prison in 1952. Following his pardon, Kesselring became active in the ‘Stahlhelm’, an organisation for former frontline soldiers. His exoneration and subsequent portrayal of the Wehrmacht's role in the Second World War played a significant part in propagating the myth of a 'clean Wehrmacht' in postwar Germany.
- Nationality
- German
- Religion
- Protestant
- Formation
- German Army, Reichswehr, Wehrmacht
- Army branch
- Luftwaffe
- Joined the NSDAP
- none
- Armed force
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Wehrmacht
- Unit
- High Command Southwest
- Years of service
- 1904-1945
- Rank
- Field Marshal
- Offensive
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Poland 1939
Western Front 1940
Mediterranean region 1941-43
Italy 1943-1945
Western Front 1945 - Post war period
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Trial in Venice 1947; commutation of death sentence to life in prison 1948; pardon and release 1952; federal leader of the ‘Stahlhelm’ league and writer on military themes.

Training and wartime experience
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Origins and training
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First World War
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Service in the Reichswehr and the secret development of the Luftwaffe
Kesselring drew encouragement from his military and social ascent in the Luftwaffe—but also from the emphasis within Nazi ideology on military merits and the ‘struggle of the Volk’. Increasingly, he put aside earlier critical feelings about Nazi rule in favour of support for the regime.
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From the Nazi rise to power to the Second World War
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Kesselring as commander of a Luftflotte: Strategic deployment from Poland to North Africa
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Commander-in-chief of Army Group C in Italy
Combatting partisans and withdrawal from Italy
Many officers criticised his tactics as senseless and costly, accusing Kesselring of being unduly influenced by Hitler’s charisma and appeals to perseverance, and of lacking the ability to stand up to the Führer. Hitler himself, on 31 August 1944, described Kesselring as an ‘incredible political idealist’ and a ‘military optimist’.
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Top German officer in Italy; military leader in the Italian war-zone
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Albert Kesselring and the anti-partisan campaign
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Kesselring’s effort to limit violence against civilians
Although he recognised the futility of further fighting, he initially remained loyal to his oath to Hitler. It was only after the Führer’s suicide that he agreed to the capitulation, which came into effect on 2 May 1945.
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The surrender negotiations with the Allies in the spring of 1945
The postwar period
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Kesselring’s war crimes trial in Venice, 1947: charges, trial, sentencing
The central accusation was that, despite being aware of the illegal repressive measures, Kesselring neither investigated them nor issued orders to prevent them. The trial, which lasted 57 days, concluded on 6 May 1947 with a sentence of death by firing squad.
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Kesselring’s war crimes trial in Venice, 1947: charges, trial, sentencing
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Kesselring’s pardoning: the war-crimes judgment controversy in Britain
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The ‘war criminals’ lobby’
Following his release from prison in 1952, Kesselring took on leading roles in support of his former comrades' interests, including chairmanship of the ‘Stahlhelm’ league of former frontline soldiers.
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Release from prison and leadership in ‘comrades’’ organizations
Sources
Kesselring’s personnel documents from his time in the Bavarian army and Wehrmacht are incomplete. His personnel files from the Kaiserzeit are preserved in the Bavarian State Archives (OP 61536). The German Federal Military Archives in Freiburg holds a tabular vita outlining his career milestones (PERS 6/6 9), as well as a collection of personal estate material, including documents, letters, and diary entries from the period of his arrest and imprisonment (N 750). In addition to the few surviving fragments from his command area in Italy (German Federal Archives Freiburg, RH 19-X), further information about his military service and activities can be found in his memoirs: Soldat bis zum letzten Tag (‘A Soldier until the End’; Bonn, Athenäum Verlag, 1953), and Gedanken zum Zweiten Weltkrieg (‘Thoughts on the Second World War’; Bonn, Athenäum Verlag, 1955).
Literature
Peter Herde, Albert Kesselring (1885-1960), in: Erich Schneider (ed.), Fränkische Lebensbilder, vol. 18, Neustadt an der Aisch, Verlag Ph.C.W. Schmidt, 2000.
Elmar Krautkrämer, Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring, in: Gerd R. Ueberschär (ed.), Hitlers militärische Elite, vol. 1, Von den Anfängen des Regimes bis Kriegsbeginn, Darmstadt, WBG, 1998, pp. 121-129.
Kerstin von Lingen, Kesselring’s last battle: war crimes trials and Cold War politics, 1945–1960. Translated by Alexandra Klemm, Lawrence, KS, University Press of Kansas, 2009.
Kerstin von Lingen, Hitler's Military Elite in Italy and the Question of ‘Decent War’, in, David A. Messenger / Katrin Paehler (eds.), A Nazi Past: Recasting German Identity in Postwar Europe, Lexington, KY, University Press of Kentucky, 2015, pp. 169-200.
Authorship and translation
Author: Carlo Gentile
Translated from German by: Joel Golb
© Project ‘The Massacres in Occupied Italy (1943-1945): Integrating the Perpetrators’ Memories’
2024