Adolf Heusinger
(1897 - 1982)
Adolf Heusinger was born in Holzminden, Germany,
on August 4, 1897. He joined the German Army and served throughout the
First World War. Heusinger remained in the army and soon after the outbreak
of the Second World War was promoted to colonel and appointed chief of operations at the OKH.
When General Kurt Zeitzler became sick in June 1944, Heusinger became temporary army chief of staff
and was standing next to Adolf
Hitler when the bomb planted by Claus
von Stauffenberg exploded on July
20, 1944.
Heusinger, who was slightly injured in the blast, was
arrested by the Gestapo and accused of being involved in the July Plot. He appeared before Roland
Freisler and his People's Court on August 7, 1944. Although there
was evidence that Heusinger had contact with many of the conspirators,
he was exonerated, but he was not allowed to return to his senior post
in the German Army.
After the war, he played an important role in NATO
and was chairman of its military committee (1961-64). Adolf Heusinger
died in 1982.
Sources: Spartacus |