Waldemar Erfurth

Waldemar Erfurth (4 August 1879 – 2 May 1971) was a German general of infantry, a writer and liaison officer to Finland during World War II

Waldemar Erfurth
Erfurth with C. G. E. Mannerheim.
Born	4 August 1879 Berlin, German Empire
Died	2 May 1971(1971-05-02) (aged 91) Tübingen, West Germany
Allegiance	German Empire Weimar Republic Nazi Germany
Branch	Heer (Wehrmacht)
Rank	General der Infanterie
Battles / wars	World War I World War II Continuation War
Awards	Iron Cross of 1914, 1st class Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords Finnish Order of the Cross of Liberty, First Class with Breast Star and Swords
Other work	Writer

Erfurth was born in Berlin. He served in World War I, winning the Iron Cross 1st Class and the Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern. After the war, he continued in the Reichswehr of the Weimar Republic. During the Second World War, he was a liaison officer in the Finnish headquarters 1941–44. He wrote a book about the Murmansk railroad and a war journal from 1944. He died in Tübingen.

Awards and decorations

• German Empire:
  • Kingdom of Prussia:
    • Iron Cross of 1914, 1st and 2nd Class^[1]
    • Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Knight's Cross with Swords (7 November 1916)^[1]
    • Officer's Service Decoration Cross^[1]
  • Kingdom of Bavaria: Military Merit Order, 3rd Class with Swords^[1]
  • Kingdom of Saxony: Albert Order, Knight's Cross 1st Class with Swords^[1]
  • Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin: Military Merit Cross, 2nd Class^[1]
  • Duchy of Brunswick: War Merit Cross, 2nd Class^[1]
  • Free and Hanseatic City of Lübeck: Hanseatic Cross^[1]
• Nazi Germany:
  • Wehrmacht Long Service Award, 4th to 1st Class (2 October 1936)^[2]
  • War Merit Cross 2nd Class with Swords (30 January 1941)^[2]
  • War Merit Cross 1st Class with Swords (25 October 1941)^[2]
  • German Cross in Silver (20 April 1943)^[2]
  • Knight's Cross of the War Merit Cross with Swords (8 November 1944)^[2]
• Austro-Hungarian Empire:
  • Order of the Iron Crown, 3rd Class with War Decoration^[1]
  • Austrian Military Merit Cross, 3rd Class with War Decoration^[1]
• Kingdom of Bulgaria: Order of Bravery, 4th Class, 1st Grade^[1]
• Republic of Finland:
  • Order of the Cross of Liberty, First Class with Breast Star and Swords (16 September 1941)^[3]
  • Medal of Merit in gold of the Order of the Cross of Liberty (13th June 1944)^[4]
• Ottoman Empire: War Medal (Harp Madalyası or "Iron Crescent")^[1]

Bibliography

• Der finnische Krieg (1950)
• Die Geschichte des deutschen Generalstabs von 1918 bis 1945 (1957)