Albert Kesselring can be seen sitting on a chair and smiling.
Albert Kesselring in Italia, estate 1944 © BArch, Bild_101I-316-1151-13 / Fot. Wittke

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
Wehrmacht
Unit
High Command Southwest
Years of service
1904-1945
Rank
Field Marshal
Offensive
Poland 1939
Western Front 1940
Mediterranean region 1941-43
Italy 1943-1945
Western Front 1945
Post war period

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.

Kesselring ist zu sehen, wie er sich über einen Tisch beugt und eine Karte vor sich ausbreitet. Viele Militärangehörige stehen um ihn herum.
Briefing in headquarters of Generalfeldmarschall Kesselring © © BArch, Bild 183-J27330 / Fot. Kurtmann

Training and wartime experience

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. 
  • Albert Kesselring meets Marschall Rodolfo Graziani, War Minister of the Italian Social Republic (RSI), in a country villa outside Rome, in the autumn of 1943. © BArch, Bild 101I-305-0662-19 / Fot. Engel
  • During the subsequent meal, Albert Kesselring lights a match for Guido Buffarini Guidi, interior minister of the RSI. Sitting to the right, SS-Obersturmbannführer Herbert Kappler, leader of the Einsatzkommando of the Security Police and SD in Rome. © BArch, Bild 101I-305-0677-21 / Fot. Engel
  • Summer 1943 in Southern Italy: Field Marshal Albert Kesselring and General Heinrich von Vietinghoff-Scheel, commander-in-chief of the 10th Army, in his Commander-in-Chief official car during an inspection trip. © BArch, Bild 101I-304-0624-05A / Fot. Lüthge

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’.
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.
  • Albert Kesselring with officers of the 4th Parachute Division on the Ponte Vecchio, Florence, summer 1944. © BArch, Bild 101I-316-1170-12A / Fot. Wittke
  • With his adjutants and ordinance officers, Albert Kesselring inspects the command post of the 14th Army at the Abetone Pass, in the summer of 1944. © BArch, Bild 101I-316-1170-22A / Fot. Wittke
  • Abetone Pass, summer 1944: Generalmajor Wolf-Rüdiger Hauser (chief of staff of the 14th Army) accompanies Albert Kesselring to his automobile following a meeting. © BArch, Bild 101I-316-1170-25 / Fot. Wittke

The postwar period

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.
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.

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

Text: CC BY NC SA 4.0

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