Erik Hansen (general)

Erik Oskar Hansen (27 May 1889 – 18 March 1967) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany.

Biography

Born in Hamburg, Hansen entered the army of Imperial Germany in 1907 as a Fahnenjunker (officer cadet) in the 9th Dragoons. He was given command of the 4th Infantry Division in 1938. Promoted to generalleutnant in August 1939, he led the division through the invasion of Poland and the French Campaign before it was withdrawn from the front in August 1940 for conversion to armour. Now designated the 14th Panzer Division, Hansen oversaw its initial training in armoured warfare.

Hansen was promoted to General der Kavallerie (General of the Cavalry) before taking command of LIV Army Corps in 1941, operating on the Eastern Front. Soon afterwards, on 4 September 1941, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. In 1943, he commanded the German Military Mission in Romania in addition to being Military Commander, Romania.

On 25 August 1944, after King Michael's Coup, he was arrested by Romanian troops and held at the German Legation[ro] in Bucharest. He was taken by Soviet troops on 2 September 1944 together with the other captured German generals. He was held in the Soviet Union until 1955. On his return to Germany, he lived in Hamburg.

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Citations

• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
• Mitcham, Samuel W. (2007). Panzer Legions: A Guide to the German Army Tank Divisions of WWII and Their Commanders. Mechanicsburg, PA, United States: Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-3353-3.