21 Facts About Wilm Hosenfeld

Wilm Hosenfeld was taken prisoner by the Red Army and died in Soviet captivity in 1952.

In October 2007, Hosenfeld was posthumously honoured by Lech Kaczynski, the President of Poland, with a Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta.

In June 2009, Wilm Hosenfeld was posthumously recognized by Yad Vashem as one of the Righteous Among the Nations.

Wilm Hosenfeld was born into the family of a Roman Catholic schoolmaster living near Fulda.

Wilm Hosenfeld was influenced by the Catholic Action and Church-inspired social work, and by Prussian obedience, by German patriotism, and, during his marriage, by the increasing pacifism of his wife, Annemarie.

Wilm Hosenfeld was influenced by the Wandervogel movement and its adherents.

From 1914, he saw active service in the First World War, and after being severely wounded in 1917, Wilm Hosenfeld received the Iron Cross Second Class.

Wilm Hosenfeld was drafted into the Wehrmacht in August 1939 and was stationed in Poland from mid-September 1939 until his capture by the Soviet Army on 17 January 1945.

Wilm Hosenfeld was finally transferred to Warsaw in July 1940, where he spent the rest of the war, for the most part, attached to Wachbataillon 660, part of the Wach-Regiment Warschau in which he served as a staff officer and as the battalion sports officer.

Wilm Hosenfeld was responsible for sports events at the Army Stadium in Warsaw.

Wilm Hosenfeld befriended numerous Poles and even made an effort to learn their language.

Wilm Hosenfeld attended Mass, received Holy Communion, and went to confession in Polish churches, even though this was forbidden.

Wilm Hosenfeld offered Szpilman one of his coats to keep warm in the freezing temperatures.

Wilm Hosenfeld was transported to Minsk, and later to Bobrujsk on 22 July 1947, and later to Minsk again.

Wilm Hosenfeld suffered a series of strokes during this time, and was placed in an infirmary.

In March 1950, Wilm Hosenfeld was sentenced to 25 years in prison, and perform hard labour, for alleged war crimes, solely on the account of being a German officer.

Wilm Hosenfeld repeatedly failed to be extradited back to Poland, and he stayed as German prisoner-of-war in the Soviet Union for 7 years.

Wilm Hosenfeld was transported, along with 250 other "convicts", from Byelorussian SSR to Stalingrad in August 1950.

Soviet authorities believed Wilm Hosenfeld to be a SD unit member or involved in a detachment involved in spying, and ignored his statements that he gave aid to Poles and Jews, during WWII, and Wilm Hosenfeld probably suffered extensive physical torture during this time.

Wilm Hosenfeld's health was rapidly deteriorating in 1952, and Hosenfeld died that year in hospital, and his cadaver was buried in a nearby cemetery, probably specifically for Axis prisoners-of-war.

In October 2007, Wilm Hosenfeld was posthumously honoured by the president of Poland Lech Kaczynski with a Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta.