Eduard Crasemann
| Eduard Crasemann | |
|---|---|
| Born |
5 March 1891 Hamburg, German Empire |
| Died | 29 April 1950 (aged 59) Werl Prison, West Germany |
| Allegiance |
 German Empire Weimar Republic Nazi Germany
|
| Service/branch | Army |
| Years of service | 1910–19 1936–45 |
| Rank | Generalleutnant |
| Commands held |
15th Panzer Division 26th Panzer Division XII SS Army Corps |
| Battles/wars |
|
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves |
Eduard Crasemann (5 March 1891 – 29 April 1950) was a German general (Generalleutnant) in the Wehrmacht during World War II, who commanded several armoured (Panzer) divisions. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany.
Crasemann fought as an artillery officer during World War I on both the Western and Eastern Fronts but left the military in 1919, returning to civilian life. In 1936, he joined the Heer (Army) branch of the Wehrmacht in 1936. He served in the Battle of France and the Western Desert Campaign as a battalion- and regimental-level commander. He was briefly acting commander of the 15th Panzer Division in mid-1942. In 1944 he was given command of the 26th Panzer Division, which was operating in Italy. He then commanded the XII SS Army Corps from January to April 1945 until it surrendered to United States troops.
Under Crasemann's command, the 26th Panzer Division massacred over 160 Italian civilians. In 1947 he was tried by a war crimes tribunal run by the British authorities in Padua. Convicted and sentenced to a 10-year imprisonment, Crasemann died in prison in 1950.
Born in the city of Hamburg on 5 March 1891, Eduard Crasemann joined the army of Imperial Germany in 1910 as a fahnenjunker (officer cadet). He was commissioned as a leutnant (second lieutenant) in the 46th Field Artillery Regiment the following year.
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