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- Generaloberst of the German Army Hans - Jürgen Bernhard Theodor von Arnim, 1889
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Hans-Jürgen Bernhard Theodor von Arnim (4 April 1889 – 1 September 1962) was a German Generaloberst who served during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.
Arnim was born in Ernsdorf in the Prussian Province of Silesia, the son of General Hans von Arnim (1861 – 1931) and Martha Honrichs (1865 – 1953). He served in the German Army from 1907 until the end of World War II. During the First World War he saw action on both the Eastern and Western fronts. After the war he remained in the Reichswehr and rose to command the elite 68th Infantry Regiment in Berlin.
With the rise of Nazi Germany, Arnim was made a major general in 1938. He commanded the 52. Infanterie - Division in both the Battles for Poland and France. In October 1940, Arnim was given command of the 17. Panzer - Division. With the outbreak of the war against the Soviet Union, he was promoted to lieutenant general under Heinz Guderian, but was seriously wounded a few days after the start of the campaign. He was promoted to General der Panzertruppe on 1 October 1941 and commanded the XXXIX. Panzerkorps until November 1942, when he was placed in command of the 5th Panzer Army under Erwin Rommel in North Africa.
When Adolf Hitler refused to allow Rommel to return to Tunisia, Arnim was promoted to full general (Generaloberst) on 4 December 1942, and made Commander - in - Chief of Army Group Africa and de facto commander of the Afrika Korps from 9 March 1943 until his capture by the British Indian Army's 4th Infantry Division two months later on 12 May 1943. After he was captured, Arnim allegedly expected to be met by his opposite numbers and asked to see Dwight D. Eisenhower. The American general replied to his aides to get as much information out of him as they could, but a personal meeting was out of the question. He would not meet with any German officers until the final surrender.
Arnim served the rest of the war as a British prisoner of war interned along with 24 other German general officers at Camp Clinton, Mississippi, and was released on 1 July 1947. He returned to Germany and died in Bad Wildungen, Hesse.
Arnim's Steyr 1500A Afrika Korps staff car from the north African campaign is exhibited at Eastbourne Redoubt in the United Kingdom.