Major Gerhard Joachim - KG 53

[Larry deZeng]

Rittmeister wrote in part:

1) in Larry de Zeng's bio, one reads: "11.09.42 removed from list of Lw.-Generalstabcandidates" - what could have been the reason for this?

There are number of reasons why this might have happened: (1) he may have removed his name himself for personal or family reasons; (2) not all of his officer efficiency reports (Offz.Beurteilungen) were perfect; (3) he may have had a personal conflict with someone higher in rank who was connected to the selection process; (4) a higher authority may have interceded and squashed his application believing him to be of more value in the field; etc., etc., etc.

His Offiziere Personalakte (personnel file) may be available at BA-MA Freiburg. If so, and with their permission, you might be able to order a copy of it. Some of these files are only a few pages while others run over 100 pages. The average copying cost for a typical file is Eur. 65,00.

L.

[Rittmeister]

Originally Posted by Larry deZeng

Rittmeister wrote in part:


There are number of reasons why this might have happened: (1) he may have removed his name himself for personal or family reasons; (2) not all of his officer efficiency reports (Offz.Beurteilungen) were perfect; (3) he may have had a personal conflict with someone higher in rank who was connected to the selection process; (4) a higher authority may have interceded and squashed his application believing him to be of more value in the field; etc., etc., etc.

His Offiziere Personalakte (personnel file) may be available at BA-MA Freiburg. If so, and with their permission, you might be able to order a copy of it. Some of these files are only a few pages while others run over 100 pages. The average copying cost for a typical file is Eur. 65,00.

L.

Thanks, Larry. I never ventured much into Luftwaffe-fields but here I am anyway, I was hoping you would still be around to shed some light onto this career. He did many different things, Herrn Major Joachim is tough to analyse at first glimpse. It will indeed become needed to get his BA-MA Akte.

My questions here were raised because I got the war time photos of Joachim plus a photo album.

One last question: on one photo, he is pictured next to Oberst Hagen (as written on the back). Who could this have been?