26 Facts About Kurt Student

Kurt Arthur Benno Student was a German general in the Luftwaffe during World War II.

An early pioneer of airborne forces, Student was in overall command of developing a paratrooper force to be known as the Fallschirmjager, and as the most senior member of the Fallschirmjager, commanded it throughout the war.

Kurt Student led the first major airborne attack in history, the Battle for The Hague, in May 1940.

Kurt Student commanded the Fallschirmjager in its last major airborne operation, the invasion of Crete in May 1941.

In 1947, Kurt Student was tried and convicted of war crimes for the mistreatment and murder of prisoners of war by his men in Crete.

Kurt Student was responsible for a wave of reprisal massacres committed against Cretan civilians in 1941 but avoided harsh punishment.

Kurt Student entered the Prussian Army as a Fahnrich in 1910 and was commissioned a lieutenant in March 1911.

Kurt Student then served in aerial units of the Third Army on the Western Front, including Jagdstaffel 9, which he commanded from 5 October 1916 to 2 May 1917, when he was wounded.

Kurt Student achieved flying ace status and scored six air-to-air victories over French aircraft between 1916 and 1917, with two coming after his wound.

Kurt Student became involved in military gliders since gliding was not forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles.

Kurt Student attended the Red Army Air Force's maneuvers in Lipetsk fighter-pilot school and first came in contact with the idea of airborne operations.

Kurt Student transferred from the Army to the Air Force and was appointed by Hermann Goring to be the head of its training schools.

The fall of Eben-Emael opened up Belgium for invasion by Army Group B For his role in the raid, Student was decorated with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

In January 1941, Kurt Student was named commanding general of the XI.

Kurt Student was ordered to prepare a plan to use airborne forces for the capture of Gibraltar.

In May 1941, Kurt Student directed Operation Mercury, the airborne invasion of Crete, which was defended by British, Greek and Commonwealth forces.

Kurt Student was made the temporary commander of Crete immediately after the island's surrender on 31 May 1941.

On Hermann Goring's orders, Kurt Student launched a wave of brutal reprisals against the local population with the massacre of Kondomari, the Alikianos executions, and the razing of Kandanos being well-known examples.

In 1943, Kurt Student ordered Major Harald Mors to plan Operation Oak, the successful raid conducted by a special Fallschirmjager unit to free Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.

Kurt Student received the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for his role in this operation.

Kurt Student was transferred to Italy and later to France, where he was involved in the battles of Normandy in 1944.

Kurt Student was put in charge of the First Paratroop Army and took part in countering the Allied Operation Market Garden, near Arnhem.

In May 1947, Kurt Student was put on trial on eight charges of mistreatment and murder of prisoners of war by his men in Crete, and crimes against the civilian population of Crete, like those at Kondomari, Alikianos and Kandanos.

Kurt Student was found guilty of three charges relating to prisoners of war, but acquitted of crimes against civilians owing to the testimony of Brigadier Lindsay Inglis, commander of the 4th New Zealand Brigade.

Kurt Student was sentenced to five years of imprisonment but was given an early discharge in 1948 for medical reasons.

Kurt Student died in 1978, the last surviving Luftwaffe Generaloberst.