Nickname: No information
Date of Birth: 12.01.1915 - Menden, Westfalen (German Empire)
Date of Death: 02.05.1945 or 03.05.1945 - Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin (Germany)
Battles and Operations: Polish Campaign, Western Campaign, Operation Barbarossa, Siege of Sevastopol, Caucasus Campaign, Kuban Bridgehead, Kerch Peninsula defensive battles, Battle of Berlin
Religion: No information
Parents: Father postman (name unknown), mother unknown
Siblings: No information
Spouse: Unknown name (committed suicide together with him)
Children: No information
Promotions:
01.10.1937 Gefreiter
01.06.1938 Unteroffizier
20.04.1939 Leutnant der Reserve (RDA 01.04.1939)
15.10.1941 Oberleutnant (RDA 01.02.1939)
31.08.1942 Hauptmann (RDA 01.08.1942)
10.06.1943 Major (RDA 01.04.1943)
23.01.1944 Oberstleutnant (RDA 01.02.1944)
25.04.1945 Generalmajor (RDA 20.04.1945, skipping Oberst)
Career:
16.10.1936 entered the Wehrmacht as conscript, Infanterie-Regiment 67
Later transferred to Infanterie-Regiment 123, 50. Infanterie-Division
01.04.1939 Leutnant der Reserve shortly before mobilisation
1939-1940 Polish and Western Campaigns, platoon leader
1941 transferred to active service, Oberleutnant
End of September 1941 Führer 7. Kompanie, Infanterie-Regiment 123
January 1942 Kompaniechef, Infanterie-Regiment 123
1942 Führer III. Bataillon, Infanterie-Regiment 123 / 50. Infanterie-Division
Later Kommandeur III. Bataillon, Grenadier-Regiment 123, 50. Infanterie-Division
1943-1944 heavy defensive fighting on the Kerch Peninsula
Early 1944 transferred to Führerreserve, Regimentskommandeur-Lehrgang Döberitz
Mid-June 1944 Inspector for Wehrertüchtigung with Reichsjugendführer
01.08.1944 Generalinspekteur für den Führernachwuchs
01.11.1944 again Führerreserve, kommandiert to Reichsjugendführung
April 1945 Kommandeur Verteidigungsabschnitt A (later also B) in the Battle of Berlin
25.04.1945 promoted Generalmajor for services in Berlin defence
Awards and Decorations:
Goldenes SA-Sportabzeichen (12.11.1934)
DRL-Sportabzeichen in Gold
Dienstauszeichnung der Wehrmacht 4. Klasse (02.10.1936)
Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse (12.06.1940)
Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse (21.06.1940)
Verwundetenabzeichen 1939 in Schwarz (01.07.1940)
Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen in Silber (23.07.1941)
Verwundetenabzeichen 1939 in Silber (09.08.1941)
Ritterkreuz des Ordens der Krone von Rumänien (13.08.1941)
Deutsches Kreuz in Gold (26.12.1941)
Verwundetenabzeichen 1939 in Gold (10.01.1942)
Bulgarischer Militärorden für Tapferkeit IV. Stufe, I. Klasse (07.02.1942)
Medaille Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/42 (05.08.1942)
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes (07.08.1942. some sources list 27.08.1942 due to administrative processing) as Oberleutnant and Führer III. Bataillon / Infanterie-Regiment 123 / 50. Infanterie-Division. Awarded for a bold night attack launched on his own initiative during the final assault on Sevastopol (Crimea campaign). On the night of 29/30 June 1942, Bärenfänger led his battalion against a heavily fortified Soviet bunker position south of Hill 1658. The surprise attack succeeded with minimal German losses, allowing friendly forces to encircle and destroy Soviet troops in the "Champagne ravine" (Champagner-Schlucht). This breakthrough enabled the regiment to storm another bunker line near Hill 1670 the next morning and permitted the entire 50. Infanterie-Division to advance rapidly to the southeastern edge of Sevastopol on 30 June 1942 without facing unexpectedly heavy resistance. The action was decisive in the division's push during the siege.
Ehrenblattspange des Heeres (14.08.1942)
Krimschild (02.11.1942)
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub #243 (17.05.1943) as Hauptmann and Kommandeur III. Bataillon / Grenadier-Regiment 123 / 50. Infanterie-Division. Awarded for outstanding tactical skill, personal bravery, and leadership during heavy defensive and withdrawal fighting in the Caucasus and Kuban bridgehead. Key deed: In spring 1943 (after Romanian units on his flank collapsed), Bärenfänger personally led a counterattack that repelled two Soviet regiments ("leitete er einen Gegenangriff ein, bei dem zwei sowjetische Regimenter zurückgeschlagen werden konnten"). His battalion distinguished itself in sustained combat along the Terek River and during the subsequent withdrawal to the Kuban bridgehead (evacuated February 1943). These actions helped stabilize the front and prevent a Soviet breakthrough despite intense pressure.
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern #45 (23.01.1944) as Major and Kommandeur III. Bataillon / Grenadier-Regiment 123 / 50. Infanterie-Division (simultaneously promoted Oberstleutnant). Awarded for exceptional defensive leadership and counterattacks on the Kerch Peninsula (Crimea) against repeated Soviet offensives. Specific actions included: From 13–17 November 1943 and 4–6 December 1943: His battalion repulsed numerous Soviet storm attacks; Bärenfänger stayed in the line with his men despite suffering his 6th and 7th wounds; On 10 January 1944: He personally led an assault that recaptured the important Hill 125.6; Sustained bitter close-quarters fighting to hold and defend Hill 133.3 (north of Kerch, northeast of Bulganak), a key height that was critical to the peninsula's defense. These stands prevented Soviet breakthroughs on the Kerch front and demonstrated extraordinary determination. The division commander (Generalmajor Sixt) recommended the Schwerter specifically for these Crimea/Kerch actions.
Mentioned in Wehrmachtbericht
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Erich Bärenfänger was born on January 12, 1915, in Menden, a town in the Province of Westphalia within the German Empire. He grew up during a period of political and economic turmoil in Germany following the First World War. In 1933, he joined the Sturmabteilung, the Nazi Party's paramilitary wing commonly known as the brownshirts or SA. This early affiliation reflected his alignment with the rising National Socialist movement.
Bärenfänger entered military service in the reserves on October 16, 1936, with the 67th Infantry Regiment. He progressed through the enlisted ranks before being commissioned as a Leutnant der Reserve in 1939. His active officer career accelerated after the outbreak of the Second World War. He participated in the invasions of Poland in 1939 and France in 1940, gaining combat experience as an infantry platoon leader.
During Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, Bärenfänger served on the Eastern Front. He rose steadily through the ranks: Leutnant in September 1941, Oberleutnant shortly thereafter, Hauptmann in 1942, Major in June 1943, and Oberstleutnant in February 1944. He commanded the III. Battalion of Infanterie-Regiment 123 (later redesignated Grenadier-Regiment 123) within the 50th Infantry Division.
His battlefield performance earned him significant decorations. On August 7, 1942, as an Oberleutnant and battalion leader, he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for actions on the Eastern Front. On May 17, 1943, as a Hauptmann commanding the same battalion, he was awarded the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross. On January 23, 1944, as a Major still leading the battalion, he received the Swords to the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, one of the highest distinctions bestowed by Nazi Germany for military valor. These awards placed him among the most highly decorated officers of the Wehrmacht.
In the later stages of the war, Bärenfänger was involved in defensive operations, including on the Crimean Peninsula in early 1944. By April 1945, as the Red Army advanced toward Berlin, he found himself in the capital. Adolf Hitler personally promoted the 30-year-old Oberstleutnant to Generalmajor on April 20 or 22, 1945, skipping the rank of Oberst entirely. This made Bärenfänger one of the youngest generals in the Heer and the second-youngest in the entire Wehrmacht after Dietrich Peltz.
During the Battle of Berlin, Bärenfänger commanded defense sectors in the eastern part of the city, particularly Sector A, where he organized resistance against the advancing Soviet forces. His wife reportedly remained by his side during the fighting. He directed troops in desperate counterattacks and attempts to hold key positions amid the collapsing German defenses. One notable incident involved him allegedly directing from the turret of a Tiger tank in a makeshift armored formation.
As the situation became hopeless in the final days of April and early May 1945, Bärenfänger attempted a breakout toward Oranienburg with small combat groups on the night of May 1 to 2. The effort failed. On May 2, 1945, in a side street near the Prenzlauer Berg underground station in Berlin, he committed suicide alongside his young wife and her brother. A devoted Nazi to the end, he chose death over capture as Soviet troops overran the city. He was 30 years old.
Erich Bärenfänger's rapid rise from a junior officer to general exemplified the combination of aggressive leadership and ideological commitment that the Nazi regime rewarded during the war. His career ended in the ruins of Berlin, symbolizing the final collapse of the Third Reich.
Source :
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/
https://en.wikipedia.org/
https://www.tracesofwar.com/
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich_B%C3%A4renf%C3%A4nger
https://rk.balsi.de/index.php?action=list&cat=300
https://www.unithistories.com/units_index/index.php?file=/officers/personsx.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20091027052912fw_/http://geocities.com/orion47.geo/index2.html
https://forum.axishistory.com/
https://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/
https://www.bundesarchiv.de/en/
https://www.geni.com/
https://books.google.com/
Generalmajor Erich Bärenfänger. Vom Leutnant zum General. Flechsig Verlag, Würzburg.
Scherzer, Veit: Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939-1945. Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, Ranis/Jena 2007.
Additional biographical references from unit histories of the 50. Infanterie-Division and Wehrmacht award documentation.
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