During the Second World War the Deutscher Gruß, also known as the Hitlergruß, consisted of raising the right arm outstretched with the palm facing downward while uttering “Heil Hitler!” or “Sieg Heil!” and served as the obligatory civilian greeting throughout the Third Reich after 1933. Within the Wehrmacht, comprising the Heer, Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine, the traditional military salute of bringing the right hand to the headgear remained the standard form of greeting between ranks for most of the conflict. A Reich Defense Ministry edict of 19 September 1933 required the Deutscher Gruß only when the national anthem or the Horst-Wessel-Lied was played and when greeting civilian officials, while the conventional hand-to-cap salute continued in all other military situations; because regulations forbade the traditional salute when bareheaded, the raised-arm gesture became de facto common indoors or without headgear. In contrast, members of the Waffen-SS and the broader SS organisation employed the Hitlergruß as their standard form of address from an earlier date, using it both among themselves and when encountering higher-ranking officers of the party or the armed SS. After the failed assassination attempt of 20 July 1944, in which officers of the Heer played a central role, the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht issued an order effective 24 July 1944 that made the Deutscher Gruß the sole permitted salute throughout all branches of the Wehrmacht as a demonstrative affirmation of loyalty to the Führer. Many units continued to prefer the older military form whenever possible, yet official compliance was enforced until the final weeks of the war. On 8 May 1945 Großadmiral Karl Dönitz, as last Reichspräsident, formally abolished the Hitlergruß within the remaining Wehrmacht formations. Thus the history of saluting in the German armed forces of the period reflects both the gradual penetration of National Socialist ritual into traditional military custom and the sharp political reaction that followed the July plot, while the Waffen-SS maintained the political greeting as an integral expression of its ideological identity throughout the conflict.
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HEER
Generalfeldmarschall Walther von Brauchitsch (1881-1948) was born on 4 October 1881 in Berlin into a Prussian military family and entered the Kadettenkorps in 1895, receiving his commission as Leutnant in the Garde-Grenadier-Regiment 3 on 22 March 1900. He served as a staff officer during the First World War with the 34. Infanterie-Division, 11. Infanterie-Division and later the Garde-Reserve-Korps, earning the Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse on 13 September 1914, the Eisernes Kreuz I. Klasse on 1 October 1915 and the Ritterkreuz des Königlichen Hausordens von Hohenzollern mit Schwertern. Promoted to Major in 1918, he continued in the Reichswehr and rose steadily, becoming Generalleutnant in 1933, General der Artillerie on 20 April 1936 and Kommandierender General of the I. Armeekorps. On 4 February 1938, following the Blomberg-Fritsch Affair, he was appointed Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres and simultaneously promoted to Generaloberst. As Commander-in-Chief of the Army he directed the military operations of the Heer during the Polenfeldzug of September 1939; for his leadership achievements in the successful and rapid campaign against Poland he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 30 September 1939, the same day receiving the Spangen to both Iron Crosses. He oversaw the subsequent Western campaign of 1940 and was promoted to Generalfeldmarschall on 19 July 1940 after the victory over France. In December 1941, after setbacks on the Eastern Front, Hitler dismissed him as Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres and assumed personal command. Additional awards included the Goldenes Parteiabzeichen der NSDAP, the Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung with Eichenlaub, the Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 1. Oktober 1938 mit Spange Prager Burg and numerous foreign orders. Arrested by the British in May 1945, he died of heart failure on 18 October 1948 in Hamburg while in captivity, before his planned trial.
Oberleutnant Rolf Truxa (1921-1983), born on 6 June 1921 in Berlin-Schöneberg, Germany, served as an officer in the Heer during the Second World War and rose to the rank of Oberleutnant as Führer of the 2. Batterie, Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 190. He was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 17 December 1943 for his leadership during the German attempt to recapture the city of Nevel, where he and his Sturmgeschütze supported the infantry of the 252. Infanterie-Division. After overcoming Soviet minefields, the attacking infantry became pinned down while trying to seize the high ground at Sui Shmotki; at this critical moment, Oberleutnant Truxa rallied the stalled forces and led a sharp, aggressive assault with his assault guns that captured the heights, allowing the German advance to resume and pushing the Soviets back some 6 km by evening, despite the overall operation ultimately failing. Earlier in 1943 he had also received the Ehrenblattspange des Heeres und Waffen-SS while serving with the 1. Batterie of the same unit and the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold. Truxa survived the war and died on 3 February 1983 in Merzig an der Saar, Saarland, Germany.
Source :
https://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2011/09/album-foto-hormat-salam-nazi-heil.html
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