Wilhelm Adam General of the German army. Date of Birth: 15.09.1877 Country: Germany

Biography of Wilhelm Adam

Wilhelm Adam was a German Army General, a political and military figure in the German Democratic Republic (GDR), and a Major General in the National People's Army. He was born into a prosperous peasant family. From 1908 to 1913, Adam attended a teacher training seminar in Schlüchterne. After completing his education, he voluntarily joined the 5th Company of the 88th Infantry Regiment (2nd Nassau) on October 1, 1913.

Adam experienced the outbreak of World War I as a non-commissioned officer and participated in the early battles on the Western Front. On September 23, 1914, he found himself in the Düsseldorf Lazarette due to injuries sustained in battle. After recovering, he was assigned to the reserve battalion of his former regiment on October 26. From April 6 to May 20, 1915, Adam attended officer courses at the Lokstedt camp, and on May 22, 1915, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant.

On June 14, 1915, Adam was appointed as the platoon commander in the 1st Training Center of the 16th Army Corps, and from October 5, 1915, he held the same position in the 5th Company of the 30th Infantry Regiment "Graf Verder" (4th Rhine). On July 6, 1916, he fell ill and was placed in the Gemersheim Field Hospital in Pfalz. On July 25, 1916, he was transferred to the 1st Reserve Battalion of the 88th Infantry Regiment. From August 28 to September 27, 1916, Adam was sent to machine gun training courses in Deberitz. After his return, on September 28, 1916, he became the commander of the 31st Field Machine Gun Company, and later, the 2nd Machine Gun Company of the 424th Infantry Regiment. Simultaneously, from November 26 to December 2, 1917, Adam attended courses for junior command staff in Bogdanov.

On October 28, 1918, he was appointed as an officer for assignments in the 70th Infantry Brigade. After the war ended, Adam went on leave and returned to his homeland. He was discharged from the army on January 31, 1919. From 1919 to 1929, Adam worked as a senior lecturer at the Military Trade School in Langenselbold, Hesse, and from 1929 to 1934, in the same position at the Military Trade School in Weimar, Thuringia. These schools provided civilian vocational training to Reichswehr soldiers. Alongside his teaching career, from 1922 to 1924, Adam studied at the University of Frankfurt and in 1927, passed the exam to become a secondary school teacher.

Disillusioned by Germany's defeat in the war, Adam actively participated in revanchist and pro-fascist organizations. Immediately after the war in 1919, he joined the Langenselbold Military Union (Militärvereins Langenselbold), and in 1920, the Young German Order (Jungdeutschen Ordens). In 1923, Adam joined the Nazi Party (NSDAP) and took part in the Munich Beer Hall Putsch. However, by 1926, he left the NSDAP and joined the more moderate German National People's Party (NNP), led by the prominent politician Gustav Stresemann. In 1929, Adam left the NNP as well. After Hitler came to power, he joined the Steel Helmet Frontline Soldiers' Union. In the same year, the Steel Helmet was incorporated into the Storm Detachment, and Adam became an Obersturmführer. In 1934, he was awarded the Blood Order, an informal medal commemorating the events of November 9, 1923, established by Hitler after he came to power. In 1933, Adam was transferred to the SA Reserve, and in the summer of 1934, in the rank of captain, he was called up for military service in the 3rd Company of the 15th Infantry Regiment (Gießen). From July 16 to September 14, 1934, he underwent training at the Infantry Training Center in Döberitz. After this, he commanded companies in various regiments until 1937. On October 12, 1937, Adam was appointed as a tactics and topography instructor at the Dresden Military School. On December 31, 1937, he received the rank of major. For some time, from August 12 to October 25, 1938, he taught tactics and topography at the Infantry School in Döberitz, until he was transferred back to Dresden to his previous position.

In 1939, Friedrich Paulus returned to Germany and settled in Dresden. Until Paulus' death on February 1, 1957, Adam maintained a warm friendship with him. In the 1960s, he actively worked in the Community of Former Officers (Arbeitsgemeinschaft ehemaliger Offiziere). In 1965, Adam's memoir, "The Difficult Decision" (Der schwere Entschluss), was published. In 1968, he was awarded the Order of the Banner of Labor. On October 7, 1977, the 28th anniversary of the establishment of the GDR, he was promoted to the rank of Major General in retirement. Adam died in Dresden at the age of 85.