English source-aligned edition
Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb
Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb served as field marshal and commander of Army Group North. The profile reconstructs the person’s function in northern sector of the war against the Soviet Union through documented office, decisions, supervision or operational conduct. It does not assign every crime committed by an institution or region to one individual.
Confirmed findings
- Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb was born in Landsberg am Lech on 5 September 1876 and died in Füssen on 29 April 1956. (Source: cited institutional or judicial record; Source: cited institutional or judicial record; Source: cited institutional or judicial record)
- As commander of Army Group North, he passed the Barbarossa Jurisdiction Order into the chain of command; the tribunal found that subordinate units applied it criminally and that he bore a measure of responsibility for that illegal application. (Source: cited institutional or judicial record; Source: cited institutional or judicial record; Source: cited institutional or judicial record)
- In the High Command Case he was found guilty under Count III, acquitted under Count II and sentenced to 3 years, credited by his detention. (Source: cited institutional or judicial record; Source: cited institutional or judicial record; Source: cited institutional or judicial record)
Place in the chain of responsibility
The profile attributes only the responsibility fixed by the judgment: passing the Barbarossa Jurisdiction Order down the chain of command and bearing a measure of responsibility for its illegal application by subordinate units; it does not claim that he personally carried out the order. (Source: cited institutional or judicial record; Source: cited institutional or judicial record; Source: cited institutional or judicial record)
Key events and mechanisms
- In 1941–1942 he commanded Army Group North in the war against the Soviet Union. (Source: cited institutional or judicial record; Source: cited institutional or judicial record; Source: cited institutional or judicial record)
- On 28 October 1948 the tribunal sentenced him to 3 years' imprisonment. (Source: cited institutional or judicial record; Source: cited institutional or judicial record; Source: cited institutional or judicial record)
The circle records authority, function and agency. Several profiles may describe different parts of the same persecution chain, so profile-level totals must not be added together.
Postwar accountability
After credit for detention, the sentence was deemed served; von Leeb was released on 29 October 1948 and died in 1956. (Source: cited institutional or judicial record; Source: cited institutional or judicial record; Source: cited institutional or judicial record)
Limits of the evidence
The profile does not attribute Einsatzgruppen crimes or charges on which he was acquitted. No portrait with clearly documented publication rights was found. (Source: cited institutional or judicial record; Source: cited institutional or judicial record; Source: cited institutional or judicial record)
Sources
The source set combines institutional, archival, trial or scholarly material from at least two independent publishers.