Gerd Schmückle
non-fiction writer · military personnel · military officer · journalist
- December 1, 1917
- May 28, 2013
- 95 years
About Gerd Schmückle
Gerd Schmückle, 95, German general.
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60 Seconds Life Story
Gerd Schmückle lived a long life that spanned from the battlefields of World War II to the highest echelons of
Gerd Schmückle
1917 – 2013
60 Seconds: Gerd Schmückle's Life Story
A documentary overview of the life and military career of the German four-star general Gerd Schmückle.
Transcript
Gerd Schmückle lived a long life that spanned from the battlefields of World War II to the highest echelons of NATO leadership. Born in 1917, he began his career as a military officer in the 7th Panzer Division, serving under Erwin Rommel during the Fall of France. His service in the Soviet Union proved brutal, resulting in him being wounded six times. Following the 1945 surrender, Schmückle transitioned to civilian life, working as a journalist and operating a farm in Bavaria. In 1956, he returned to military service by joining the newly formed Bundeswehr. His ascent continued until he was promoted to general in 1978. That same year, he became the first German to serve as Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe. This four-star general died in 2013 at age ninety-five.
Play the illustrated life story above, or read the full biography on this page.
Visual credits: Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0 de) · This image was provided to Wikimedia Commons by the German Federal Archive (Deutsches Bundesarchiv) as part of a cooperation project. The German Federal Archive guarantees an authentic representation only using the originals (negative and/or positive), resp. the digitalization of the originals as provided by the Digital Image Archive. (CC BY-SA 3.0 de) · Own work (CC0) · Own work (Public domain) · web.archive.org (Public domain) · NATO, USACE officials break ground on new headquarters building (Public domain)
An illustrated presentation assembled inside the archive from the approved script and the credited images: narration, scene transitions and captions. Caption timing is estimated from the narration.
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Full Biography
|Gerd Schmückle (1 December 1917 – 28 May 2013) was a German four-star general. Schmückle served in the 7th Panzer Division under Erwin Rommel during the Fall of France. With this division he later fought in the Soviet Union where he was wounded six times. In early 1944, he was promoted to the German General Staff, major and artillery battalion commander. After the surrender of the Wehrmacht in 1945 he operated a farm in Bavaria and worked as a journalist. In 1956, he joined the Bundeswehr where he was promoted to general in 1978.
From 1978 to 1980 he was Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe, the first German to hold the post.
Journalistic works
- Kommiß a. D. Kritische Gänge durch die Kasernen. Seewald, Stuttgart 1971 (2., überarbeitete Auflage. ebenda 1972, ISBN 3-512-00232-3).
- Ohne Pauken und Trompeten. Erinnerungen an Krieg und Frieden. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1982, ISBN 3-421-06109-2.
- Das Schwert am seidenen Faden. Krisenmanagement in Europa. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1984, ISBN 3-421-06185-8.
Content from Wikipedia — licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
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Sources
- Wikipedia
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerd_Schm%C3%BCckle
- CC BY-SA 4.0
- Sep 26, 2026
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- September 30, 2026
- Sep 26, 2026
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