World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseErich Abraham was born in Marienburg, West Prussia, German Empire to a local official. He joined the army on 4 Aug 1914. On 11 Jul 1915, he was given the rank of lieutenant in the military reserves and given command of an infantry regiment. On 20 May 1920, he left military service at the rank of senior lieutenant. On 21 May 1920, he joined the police department at Stettin, Germany; his career with the police ended in 1935, by which time he was a major in the police organization. On 15 Oct 1935, he returned to military service; given the rank of an army major, he was given command of a company in the following year, followed by a battalion in Feb 1937. In Mar 1940, he was made a lieutenant colonel. After a successful campaign in France, he was promoted to the rank of major general. On 7 Mar 1942, he was awarded the German Cross in Gold for his service on the Eastern Front. On 13 Nov 1942, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross; on 26 Jun 1944, he was awarded Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross. On 1 Apr 1943, he was given command of the 76th Infantry Division. In Aug 1944, he began commanding on the corps level. On the Western Front, he fought in the Ruhr region; exercising his influence, he prevented many unnecessary sabotage of infrastructure and industrial equipment. He was captured by the Allies on 8 May 1945 and remained imprisoned until Aug 1947. He passed away in Wiesbaden, Hesse, Germany at the age of 75.

Erich Abraham Timeline