Erich Hoepner was a talented officer during World War One and a leading panzer commander during World War Two. Rising through the traditional Prussian roots of the Imperial Army and indoctrinated by loyalty, he became a committed supporter of Guderian’s new tank strategy of the 1920s and 30’s. By 1939 he was a corps commander, spearheaded the invasion of Czechoslovakia and played leading roles in the battles of Poland and France. At Dunkirk he protested against atrocities by the SS-Division Totenkopf, calling their commander, Theodor Eicke, ‘a butcher’.In February 1941, Hoepner commanded 4th Panzer Group in Barbarossa and played a leading role in the early victories of 1941. An advocate of the war against Jewish Bolshevism, Hoepner supported the Commissar Order issued by OKW. Fighting throughout the Leningrad campaign, Hoepner became conflicted by the military decisions taken by Adolf Hitler which robbed the High Command of its ability to act independently. Kay-Bujak continues his search to examine how these conflicts of conscience affected senior officers of the Wehrmacht.In the crucial Battle of Moscow, Hoepner clashed with both von Kluge and Hitler and was dismissed from his post. Despite his personal battle with loyalty and conscience, between 1942 and 1944, Hoepner became part of the military resistance against Hitler. He was arrested after Stauffenberg’s failed assassination attempt and was given a public trial. Brutally hanged on 8 August 1944, and his family sent to concentration camps, Hoepner stands out both as one of the most talented and loyal servants of the German military and one of the most ruthlessly treated by Adolf Hitler.
