Years of service 1925–45 Service/branch German Army | Name Gerhard Engel Rank Generalleutnant | |
 | ||
Allegiance Weimar Republic (to 1933)
Nazi Germany Battles/wars World War II
Annexation of Austria
Siege of Leningrad
Operation Bagration
Minsk Offensive
Battle of Aachen
Battle of Hurtgen Forest
Battle of the Bulge
Battle of Halbe Died December 9, 1976, Munich, Germany Awards Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Books At the Heart of the Reich: The Secret Diary of Hitler's Army Adjutant, Zur Logik der Musiksoziologie, Musik und Wissenschaft Battles and wars Anschluss, Siege of Leningrad | ||
Commands held 12th Infantry Division | ||
Gerhard Engel (13 April 1906 – 9 December 1976) was a German general during World War II who commanded several divisions after serving as an adjutant to Adolf Hitler. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves.
Gerhard Engel joined the army in 1925, and served in the armed forces of the Weimar Republic and then of Nazi Germany. In 1938, he was appointed adjutant to the Commander-in-Chief of the Army. In 1941, he was promoted to major, and appointed an army adjutant to Hitler. He wrote a secret diary which was published after the war as "At the Heart of the Reich". In 1943, Engel was transferred to the Western Front. He fought in the Battle of Aachen, the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, the Battle of the Bulge, and the Battle of Halbe.
After his release, Engel was manager of a sugar factory in Nörvenich, and then of a machine factory in Düsseldorf. From April 1958 to December 1976, he worked as State Commissioner of the Society for Military Customer in North Rhine-Westphalia. Engel died in 1976.