World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseKurt Schmidt was born in Frankfurt, Germany. He joined the German Army in 1909. He was promoted to the rank of Leutnant on 20 Mar 1911, and reached the rank of Oberleutnant in 1915. He won the Iron Cross First and Second Class medals and was wounded during WW1. In 1930, he became a member of the staff of the German 5th Infantry Division. On 1 Apr 1932, he was promoted to the rank of Major. On 1 Jul 1934, he was promoted to the rank of Oberstleutnant (lieutenant colonel). On 1 Mar 1937, he was promoted to the rank of Oberst (colonel); later in the same year, he and his family moved to the town of Hamelin, Germany. In Sep 1939, he participated in the invasion of Poland as the commanding officer of the 74th Regiment. In Nov 1940, he commanded German occupation troops in Luxembourg. On 1 Feb 1941, he was promoted to the rank of Generalmajor. Between Sep 1941 and Sep 1943, he was the commanding officer of the 702nd Infantry Division in Norway; during this time, on 1 Oct 1942, he was promoted to the rank of Generalleutnant. While he served as the commanding officer of the 526th Reserve Division, he died in Aalsmeer in the Netherlands on 3 Mar 1945. He was initially interred at the Nieuwe Oosterbegraafplaats in Amsterdan, the Netherlands; he was later moved to the Ysselsteyn German war cemetery in Venray, Limburg, the Netherlands.

Photographs

Kurt Schmidt Timeline