NAME: Generalleutnant Johann de Boer

PW NO:          560296

RANK:            Generalleutnant

CAPTURED:   Norway

DATE:             14th August 1945

 

PERSONAL
DATE OF BIRTH:      5 September 1897

PLACE OF BIRTH:    Hamburg-Altona

DATE OF DEATH:    14 March 1986

PLACE OF DEATH:  Hamburg

NATIONALITY:       German

RELIGION:                Evangelist

OCCUPATION:        Regular Soldier

HEIGHT:                    5' 9"

WEIGHT:                   128 lbs
HAIR COLOUR:       Dark Brown
EYE COLOUR:         Green-Blue

NEXT OF KIN:         Nora de Boaer, Hamburg (British Zone)

Promotions:

• War Volunteer: 15 September 1914
• Gefreiter: July 1915
• Unteroffizier: 8 February 1917
• Vizewachtmeister: 16 May 1917
• Leutnant der Reserve: 22 October 1917
• Polizei-Leutnant: 1 July 1920
• Polizei-Oberleutnant: 1 November 1923
• Polizei-Hauptmann: 1 May 1931
• Hauptmann: 15 October 1935 – RDA 1 July 1931 (1a)
• Major: 1 March 1936 (44)
• Oberstleutnant: 1 April 1939 (45)
• Oberst: 17 December 1941 – with effect from 1 October 1941 and RDA of 1 January 1941 (19a)
• Generalmajor: 1 October 1943 (38)
• Generalleutnant: 1 April 1944 (16)

Commands & Assignments:

• 15 September 1914: Entered the Army as a War Volunteer in the Lauenburgisches Feld-Artillerie-Regiment Nr.45.
• 2 August 1917: Unteroffizier in Field Artillery Regiment 223.
• 14 January 1919: Transferred to Border Protection East, Brigade “Grodno.”
• 20 February 1919: Transferred to Volunteer Artillery Regiment 12.
• 1 November 1919: Transferred to Light Reichswehr Artillery Regiment 7 of Reichswehr-Brigade 7.
• 20 December 1919-30 June 1920: Transferred to Military District Command VI.
• 30 June 1920: Separated from the Army.
• 1 July 1920: Accepted into the Mühlheim Police Department.
• 16 February 1921: Transferred to the Hamburg Police Administration.
• 1 April 1933: Transferred to the staff of the Police Chief in Hamburg.
• 1 June 1934: Transferred to the 11th 100-Man Detachment of the Hamburg Police.
• 13 July 1934: Transferred to the 9th (13th) 100-Man Detachment of the Hamburg Police.
• 15 November 1934: Machinegun Officer with the Hamburg Land Police Group.
• 7 January 1935: Transferred to the staff of the Hamburg Land Police Group.
• 30 March 1935: Transferred to the 10th 100-Man Detachment in Bremen.
• 15 October 1935: Returned to the Army with the rank of Hauptmann on the staff of the II. Battalion of Artillery Regiment 56.
• 6 October 1936: Battery Chief in Artillery Regiment 56.
• 12 October 1937: Commander of the I. Battalion of Artillery Regiment 58.
• 30 September 1939: Commander of Artillery Regiment 22 of the 22nd Air Landing Infantry Division. [On 10 May 1940, the Germans unleashed the “Blitzkrieg” on the Low Countries and France. On the first day of the attack, paratroops of the 7th Flieger-Division (Generalleutnant Kurt Student) and air landing troops of the 22nd Air Landing Infantry Division (Generalleutnant Hans Graf von Sponeck) seized strategic bridges and airfields in the vicinity of Rotterdam and The Hague. (Note: For further information on the 22nd Air Landing Infantry Division’s role in the invasion of the Netherlands, see the profile of Generalmajor Georg Friemel.) In June 1941, the division took part in the invasion of the Soviet Union and, from late 1941 until the summer of 1942, participated in the fierce fighting for the Crimea peninsula and, later, the fortress city of Sevastopol. In July 1942, the 22nd Air Landing Infantry Division transferred to Crete where it remained on occupation duty until September 1944.]
• 25 April 1943: Army High Command Leader Reserve.
• 3 May 1943: At the same time, detached to the 4th Division Leader Course.
• 5 August 1943: Delegated with the leadership of the 26th Infantry Division on the Eastern Front.
• 1 October 1943: Commander of the 26th Infantry Division on the Eastern Front.
• 10 November 1944: Commander of the 280th Infantry Division in Norway. [Headquartered at Bergen, the 280th Infantry Division served under General der Artillerie Hermann Tittel’s LXX Army Corps as part of the German garrison in southern Norway. At the time of the German surrender, Generalleutnant de Boer’s division consisted of Fortress Battalions 645, 655, 658, 666, 1015 and Fortress Battalion “A,” Signals Company 280, support units numbered 280, and Panzer Company “Bergen.”]
• 8 May 1945-1947: Prisoner of war in British captivity.
  • 9th January 1946 to Island Farm Special Camp 11 from Camp 1
  • 15th January 1948 transferred to Camp 99 from Island Farm Special Camp 11
  • 15th April 1948 Crack repatriation from Camp 99 via Southampton

Decorations & Awards (included):

• Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross: 14 June 1940, Oberstleutnant, Commander of Artillery Regiment 22.
• German Cross in Gold: 22 January 1942, Oberstleutnant, Commander of Artillery Regiment 22.
• Medal for the Winter Campaign in Russia 1941/1942 (“East Medal”)
• Cross of Honor for Combatants 1914-1918
• Armed Forces Long Service Awards
• Crimea Shield

NOTE: As Generalleutnant de Boer served in the police from 1920-1935, he does not appear in the interwar German Army Rank Lists that included officer decorations. Consequently, it is unknown if he received the Prussian Iron Cross 1st and 2nd Classes or other decorations during World War I. The hosts would welcome any additional information regarding the decorations held by this officer.