Arno von Lenski
Encyclopedia
Arno Ernst Max von Lenski (20 July 1893 – 4 October 1986) was a German
military officer and general who served in the Imperial German
army, the Wehrmacht
, and after the war in the National People's Army
of the German Democratic Republic
, where he was also a politician.
n village of Czymochen
to a landowning family; his mother was a teacher of Masuria
n descent. Starting in 1903 he was educated at the Cadet School Köslin, Farther Pomerania
and the Hauptkadettenanstalt Lichterfelde (Berlin)
in 1908. In 1912 Lenski joined the German Imperial Army and was promoted to a Fähnrich
in the Grenadierregiment zu Pferde Nr. 3 (Mounted Grenadier Regiment No. 3) in Bromberg on 22 March 1912.
Lenski fought in World War I
, initially as a platoon leader, and joined the staff of the Generalkommando z.b.V. 55 in 1915. After the end of the war Lenski served in the Weimar German Reichswehr
and served in the Kavallerieregiment 6 in Demmin
and Pasewalk
and at the Cavalry School Hanover
, where he was a subordinate of Wilhelm Keitel
in 1921. In 1925 he became a teacher at the cavalry school and in 1929, now a Rittmeister
, commanding officer of the 5. Squadron of the Reiterregiment 14 at Ludwigslust
.
in 1937. Promoted to an Oberst in 1938, Lenski commanded a reconnaissance unit at the Western Front in 1939 and became the commander of the "School for Mobile Troops" in Krampnitz near Potsdam
on 1 December 1939.
On 29 August 1940 Lenski was appointed as an assessor at the Volksgerichtshof in Berlin by Adolf Hitler
. He was involved in at least eight trials, including a death sentence, as an assessor of Roland Freisler
.
In September 1942 Lenski took over the command of the 24 Panzer Division
, which fought near Stalingrad and was promoted to a lieutenant general
on 1 January 1943. After the defeat of the German Wehrmacht
in the Battle of Stalingrad
Lenski became a prisoner of war
in the Soviet Union
.
and transferred to Suzdal
in April 1943. After initial hesitance he joined the National Committee for a Free Germany
and the Bund Deutscher Offiziere led by Walther von Seydlitz-Kurzbach
on 7 May 1944.
Lenski was released on 17 August 1949 and moved to the Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany.
Lenski was formally acknowledged as a "Victim of Fascism" in October 1949 and became a member of the council of the National Democratic Party of East Germany (NDPD) in May 1950. Between March 1951 and July 1952 Lenski worked at the municipal administration of Berlin. Starting on 1 August 1952 he joined the staff of the East German paramilitary Kasernierte Volkspolizei
(Barracked People's Police) and was responsible for the configuration of tank troops. On 28 April 1953 he was promoted to Commander of Tank Troops (Chef der Panzertruppen) at the "Department of National Defence" at Strausberg
and became a major general of the National People's Army
after its foundation.
Beginning in 1954 Lenski was observed by the East German Secret Police (Stasi
). In December 1957 the Socialist Unity Party of Germany
decided to release Lenski from duty in the National People's Army and Lenski retired on 31 July 1958.
In 1952 Lenski became a member of the East German Parliament
for the NDPD. After his retirement he joined several equestrian associations and was a member of the East German Olympic Committee
and the executive board of the Society for German-Soviet Friendship
and the East German Gymnastics and Sports Association. Lenski was the President of the equestrian sports society, the equestrian board of the paramilitary Gesellschaft für Sport und Technik and the Consortium of former officers.
Lenski died on 4 October 1986 and was buried at Strausberg
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
military officer and general who served in the Imperial German
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
army, the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
, and after the war in the National People's Army
National People's Army
The National People’s Army were the armed forces of the German Democratic Republic .The NVA was established in 1956 and disestablished in 1990. There were frequent reports of East German advisors with Communist African countries during the Cold War...
of the German Democratic Republic
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
, where he was also a politician.
Early career
Lenski was born in the East PrussiaEast Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
n village of Czymochen
Cimochy, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship
Cimochy is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Wieliczki, within Olecko County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It lies approximately east of Wieliczki, south-east of Olecko, and east of the regional capital Olsztyn....
to a landowning family; his mother was a teacher of Masuria
Masuria
Masuria is an area in northeastern Poland famous for its 2,000 lakes. Geographically, Masuria is part of two adjacent lakeland districts, the Masurian Lake District and the Iława Lake District...
n descent. Starting in 1903 he was educated at the Cadet School Köslin, Farther Pomerania
Farther Pomerania
Farther Pomerania, Further Pomerania, Transpomerania or Eastern Pomerania , which before the German-Polish border shift of 1945 comprised the eastern part of the Duchy, later Province of Pomerania, roughly stretching from the Oder River in the West to Pomerelia in the East...
and the Hauptkadettenanstalt Lichterfelde (Berlin)
Lichterfelde (Berlin)
Lichterfelde is a locality in the borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf in Berlin, Germany. Until 2001 it was part, with Steglitz and Lankwitz of the former Steglitz borough.-History:...
in 1908. In 1912 Lenski joined the German Imperial Army and was promoted to a Fähnrich
Fähnrich
Fähnrich is a German and Austrian military rank in armed forces which translates as "Ensign" in English. The rank also exists in a few other European military organizations, often with historical ties to the German system. Examples are Sweden, Norway and Finland . The French Army has a similar...
in the Grenadierregiment zu Pferde Nr. 3 (Mounted Grenadier Regiment No. 3) in Bromberg on 22 March 1912.
Lenski fought in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, initially as a platoon leader, and joined the staff of the Generalkommando z.b.V. 55 in 1915. After the end of the war Lenski served in the Weimar German Reichswehr
Reichswehr
The Reichswehr formed the military organisation of Germany from 1919 until 1935, when it was renamed the Wehrmacht ....
and served in the Kavallerieregiment 6 in Demmin
Demmin
Demmin is a town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It was the capital of the former district Demmin.- Name :...
and Pasewalk
Pasewalk
Pasewalk is a town in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Germany. Located on the Uecker river, it is the capital of the former Uecker-Randow district, and the seat of the Uecker-Randow-Tal Amt of which it is not part.Pasewalk became a town during the 12th...
and at the Cavalry School Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
, where he was a subordinate of Wilhelm Keitel
Wilhelm Keitel
Wilhelm Bodewin Gustav Keitel was a German field marshal . As head of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht and de facto war minister, he was one of Germany's most senior military leaders during World War II...
in 1921. In 1925 he became a teacher at the cavalry school and in 1929, now a Rittmeister
Rittmeister
Rotamaster was the military rank of a commissioned cavalry officer in charge of a squadron , the equivalent of O3 or Captain, in the German-speaking armies, Austro-Hungarian, Polish-Lithuanian, Russian and some other states.The exact name of this rank maintains a variety of spellings in different...
, commanding officer of the 5. Squadron of the Reiterregiment 14 at Ludwigslust
Ludwigslust
Ludwigslust is a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, 40 km south of Schwerin. It was the capital of the former district of Ludwigslust, and is part of the district Ludwigslust-Parchim since September 2011.-History:...
.
Nazi Germany
In 1933 he was promoted to a Major and became the commander of the NCO riding school and adjutant of the Cavalry School commander at Hanover. In 1935 Lenski became the commander of the Kavallerieregiment 6 in Schwedt/Oder, which was transferred to DarmstadtDarmstadt
Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...
in 1937. Promoted to an Oberst in 1938, Lenski commanded a reconnaissance unit at the Western Front in 1939 and became the commander of the "School for Mobile Troops" in Krampnitz near Potsdam
Potsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
on 1 December 1939.
On 29 August 1940 Lenski was appointed as an assessor at the Volksgerichtshof in Berlin by Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
. He was involved in at least eight trials, including a death sentence, as an assessor of Roland Freisler
Roland Freisler
Roland Freisler was a prominent and notorious Nazi lawyer and judge. He was State Secretary of the Reich Ministry of Justice and President of the People's Court , which was set up outside constitutional authority...
.
In September 1942 Lenski took over the command of the 24 Panzer Division
24th Panzer Division (Germany)
The 24th Panzer Division was formed in 1942 from the 1st Cavalry Division based at Königsberg.-Service:It served under the Fourth Panzer Army in Army Group South of the Eastern Front. In late December 1942 it was encircled in the Battle of Stalingrad and destroyed...
, which fought near Stalingrad and was promoted to a lieutenant general
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
on 1 January 1943. After the defeat of the German Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
in the Battle of Stalingrad
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in southwestern Russia. The battle took place between 23 August 1942 and 2 February 1943...
Lenski became a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
Soviet captivity
Lenski was first imprisoned at KrasnogorskKrasnogorsk, Moscow Oblast
Krasnogorsk is a city and the administrative center of Krasnogorsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, adjacent to the northwestern boundary of Moscow, on the Moskva River...
and transferred to Suzdal
Suzdal
Suzdal is a town in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, situated northeast of Moscow, from the city of Vladimir, on the Kamenka River. Population: -History:...
in April 1943. After initial hesitance he joined the National Committee for a Free Germany
National Committee for a Free Germany
The National Committee for a Free Germany was a German anti-Nazi organization that operated in the Soviet Union during World War II.- History :...
and the Bund Deutscher Offiziere led by Walther von Seydlitz-Kurzbach
Walther von Seydlitz-Kurzbach
Walther Kurt von Seydlitz-Kurzbach was a German general. He was born in Hamburg, Germany, into the noble Prussian Seydlitz family. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves...
on 7 May 1944.
Lenski was released on 17 August 1949 and moved to the Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany.
German Democratic Republic
After the foundation of the German Democratic RepublicGerman Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
Lenski was formally acknowledged as a "Victim of Fascism" in October 1949 and became a member of the council of the National Democratic Party of East Germany (NDPD) in May 1950. Between March 1951 and July 1952 Lenski worked at the municipal administration of Berlin. Starting on 1 August 1952 he joined the staff of the East German paramilitary Kasernierte Volkspolizei
Kasernierte Volkspolizei
Kasernierte Volkspolizei were the military units of the Volkspolizei in the German Democratic Republic...
(Barracked People's Police) and was responsible for the configuration of tank troops. On 28 April 1953 he was promoted to Commander of Tank Troops (Chef der Panzertruppen) at the "Department of National Defence" at Strausberg
Strausberg
Strausberg is a city in Brandenburg, Germany, located 30 km east of Berlin. With a population of 26,206 in 2010 it is the largest town in the district of Märkisch-Oderland.-History:...
and became a major general of the National People's Army
National People's Army
The National People’s Army were the armed forces of the German Democratic Republic .The NVA was established in 1956 and disestablished in 1990. There were frequent reports of East German advisors with Communist African countries during the Cold War...
after its foundation.
Beginning in 1954 Lenski was observed by the East German Secret Police (Stasi
Stasi
The Ministry for State Security The Ministry for State Security The Ministry for State Security (German: Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS), commonly known as the Stasi (abbreviation , literally State Security), was the official state security service of East Germany. The MfS was headquartered...
). In December 1957 the Socialist Unity Party of Germany
Socialist Unity Party of Germany
The Socialist Unity Party of Germany was the governing party of the German Democratic Republic from its formation on 7 October 1949 until the elections of March 1990. The SED was a communist political party with a Marxist-Leninist ideology...
decided to release Lenski from duty in the National People's Army and Lenski retired on 31 July 1958.
Private life
Lenski first married in 1930, but his first wife died in 1932. He married again in 1935, and had two sons and a daughter with his second wife.In 1952 Lenski became a member of the East German Parliament
Volkskammer
The People's Chamber was the unicameral legislature of the German Democratic Republic . From its founding in 1949 until the first free elections on 18 March 1990, all members of the Volkskammer were elected on a slate controlled by the Socialist Unity Party of Germany , called the National Front...
for the NDPD. After his retirement he joined several equestrian associations and was a member of the East German Olympic Committee
East Germany at the Olympics
The German Democratic Republic , often called East Germany, had founded a separate National Olympic Committee for socialist East Germany on 22 April 1951 in the Rotes Rathaus of East Berlin, as the last of three German Olympic committees of the time...
and the executive board of the Society for German-Soviet Friendship
Society for German-Soviet Friendship
The Society for German-Soviet Friendship was an East German organisation set up to encourage closer co-operation between the German Democratic Republic and the Soviet Union....
and the East German Gymnastics and Sports Association. Lenski was the President of the equestrian sports society, the equestrian board of the paramilitary Gesellschaft für Sport und Technik and the Consortium of former officers.
Lenski died on 4 October 1986 and was buried at Strausberg
Strausberg
Strausberg is a city in Brandenburg, Germany, located 30 km east of Berlin. With a population of 26,206 in 2010 it is the largest town in the district of Märkisch-Oderland.-History:...
.
Awards
- Iron CrossIron CrossThe Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
(1914) II. and I. class - Militärverdienstkreuz IV. class with swords
- Albrechtsorden Ritterkreuz II. Klasse
- Military Merit Cross (Austria–Hungary) III. class
- Wound BadgeWound BadgeWound Badge was a German military award for wounded or frost-bitten soldiers of Imperial German Army in World War I, the Reichswehr between the wars, and the Wehrmacht, SS and the auxiliary service organizations during the Second World War. After March 1943, due to the increasing number of Allied...
(1918) in black - Cross of HonorCross of HonorThe Cross of Honor, also known as the Honor Cross or, popularly, the Hindenburg Cross, was a commemorative medal inaugurated on July 13, 1934 by Reichspräsident Paul von Hindenburg for those soldiers of Imperial Germany who fought in World War I...
- Service awardService awardA Service award was awarded by a country to a soldier or civilian for long service. It is comparable to a service medal but can be awarded to civilians as well as soldiers.-Kingdom of Bavaria:*Königliches Ludwigsorden for 50 years' service...
IV. – I. class - Iron CrossIron CrossThe Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
(1939) II. and I. class - German CrossGerman CrossThe German Cross was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 17 November 1941 as an award ranking higher than the Iron Cross First Class but below the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross respectively ranking higher than the War Merit Cross First Class with Swords but below the Knight's Cross of the War Merit...
in Gold
- 1952–1958 Ehrendolch der NVA
- 1954 Vaterländischer Verdienstorden der DDR in Bronze
- 1952–1958 Vaterländischer Verdienstorden in Gold
- 1958 Medaille der Kämpfer gegen den Faschismus
- 1963 Verdienstmedaille der DDR
- 1968 Kampforden "Für Verdienste um Volk und Vaterland" in Gold
- 1978 Ehrenspange zum Vaterländischen Verdienstorden in Gold