Ferdinand Schörner

Born June 12, 1892, in Munich; died July 2,1973. Fascist German field marshal (1945).

A veteran of World War I, Schörner also fought in World War II, commanding the XIX Mountain Corps above the arctic circle in 1942 and 1943 and the 40th Tank Corps in the Ukraine in 1943 and early 1944. In February 1944 he was appointed chief of staff of the Nazi command of the army. Schörner commanded Army Group South Ukraine from April to July 1944 and Army Group North from July 1944 to January 1945, when he assumed command of Army Group Center. Appointed commander in chief of the army on Apr. 30, 1945, he attempted to continue resistance against Soviet forces in Czechoslovakia after fascist Germany capitulated. After surrendering to the American forces, he was turned over to Soviet authorities and convicted as a war criminal by a military tribunal. Schörner was released from prison in 1955.