| Bernd Freytag von Loringhoven | |
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Name |
Bernd Freytag von Loringhoven |
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Born: |
6 February 1914 |
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Died: |
27 February 2007 (aged 93) |
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Portrayed by |
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Bernd "Freiherr" Freytag von Loringhoven (6 February 1914 – 27 February 2007), was an officer in the German Army during World War II and was later appointed to the German Federal Armed Forces, the Bundeswehr.
Loringhoven was a Baltic-German descended from an ancient and illustrious family first ennobled in the 12th century (Baron: Livonia, Courland 1198; Master of the Teutonic Order 1485, Gotha Register 1896, 1934 1942). He was born in Arensburg (Kuressaare), Governorate of Livonia. After one year of law studies at the University of Königsberg, he joined the Reichswehr in 1933.
In 1942 a tank battalion under Loringhoven's command was encircled during the Soviet counter-offensive at the Battle of Stalingrad, however, he was flown out of the pocket in January 1943. He was a decorated tank commander. From July 1944-April 1945, he served as an adjutant to both General Heinz Guderian and General Hans Krebs.
Loringhoven's cousin, Wessel Freytag von Loringhoven, provided the detonator charge and explosives for the July 20 assassination attempt against Adolf Hitler. They knew each other well but Bernd was not involved directly in the plot. After it failed, Bernd managed to escape arrest, due to the support of Guderian. However, Wessel was suspected of complicity in the plot and committed suicide on 26 July rather than risk implicating his family and colleagues.
Loringhoven's last assignment was as a staff officer responsible for the preparation of reports for German leader Adolf Hitler. After 23 April 1945, when Hitler's communications staff began to desert, he had to improvise and he based his intelligence reports on information he was able to gather from the Allied news agencies Reuters and the BBC. Fortunately, Hitler was not aware of this.
During the evening of 29 April, he left the Führerbunker with Gerhardt Boldt and Lieutenant-Colonel Rudolf Weiß. Earlier in the morning, Loringhoven had approached Krebs and asked if he and Boldt could leave Berlin and "return to the fighting troops." Krebs talked to Burgdorf to get his advice. Burgdorf approved but indicated that they should take his assistant, Weiss.
Captured by the British, Loringhoven spent two and a half years as a prisoner of war. He was not charged with war crimes. After being repatriated in January 1948, he lived in Munich, where he became a publisher. He joined the German Federal Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) in 1956 and attained the rank of General. He was later appointed Deputy Inspector General of the Armed Forces and retired from the army in 1973, with full honours. At the time of his death, he was one of the last three known living witnesses (along with bunker telephone operator Rochus Misch and Hitler Youth courier Armin Lehmann) to the events in the Führerbunker at the end of World War II.
In Downfall Universe[]
Bernd Freytag von Loringhoven, appears in every parody that uses the Original Bunker Scene as well as Hitler Planning Scene, where he just usually sits there and looks at Hitler. He also appears in a few other scenes, like the Goebbels Rants Scene. He has no lines.
In Downfall Parodies[]
He appears the same as in the film. He hasn't had any role in the parodies currently.
However, in parodies that used the film Die letze Schlacht (such as The Jodl Rebellion and Der Frozengang), which starred Christian Redl (Jodl's actor) as Krebs, Loringhoven, played by Tim Bergmann, does have his own dialogue. He is usually portrayed as Jodl's right hand man.
Gallery[]
_and_Loringhoven.jpg "DLS Krebs (Redl) and Loringhoven.jpg (50 KB)")