# Hugo Gutmann > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Hugo_Gutmann > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Hugo_Gutmann.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Gutmann > Source revision: 1352107433 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) German Jewish army officer (1880–1962) This article needs more citations. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Hugo Gutmann" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Hugo Gutmann Gutmann, c. 1918 Born (1880-11-19)19 November 1880 Nuremberg, Kingdom of Bavaria, German Empire Died 22 June 1962(1962-06-22) (aged 81) San Diego, California, U.S. Allegiance German Empire Branch Artillery branch, Bavarian Army Service years 1902–1919 Rank Leutnant Unit Regiment "List" Commands 16th Bavarian Reserve Regiment Awards Iron Cross, First Class **Hugo Gutmann**, later known as **Henry G. Grant** (19 November 1880 – 22 June 1962), was a [German Jewish](/source/German_Jews) army officer, notable for being one of [Adolf Hitler](/source/Adolf_Hitler)'s superior officers in [World War I](/source/World_War_I). During the war, he recommended Hitler for the award of the [Iron Cross](/source/Iron_Cross). ## Early life and army career Gutmann was born on 19 November 1880 in [Nuremberg](/source/Nuremberg). In 1902, Gutmann joined the [Bavarian Army](/source/Bavarian_Army) and had risen to the rank of highest ranking NCO (*[Feldwebel](/source/Feldwebel)*) by 1904, when he was transferred to the reserves. When [World War I](/source/World_War_I) began in 1914, Gutmann was recalled and he joined a unit known (after its first commander) as the "[List](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_List)" Regiment. On 15 April 1915, he was promoted to [Lieutenant](/source/Lieutenant) (*Leutnant*) and appointed as a company commander and acting adjutant for the Regiment's artillery battalion. Throughout most of 1918, from 29 January to 31 August, Lt. Gutmann served as Adolf Hitler's direct superior. Gutmann later recommended Hitler's award of the Iron Cross First Class (a decoration rarely awarded to one of Hitler's *[Gefreiter](/source/Gefreiter)* rank).[1] The decoration was presented to Hitler on 4 August 1918, near [Soissons](/source/Soissons), by the regimental commander, Major [von Tubeuf](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_von_Tubeuf).[1] Hitler wore this medal throughout the remainder of his [career](/source/Military_career_of_Adolf_Hitler), including while serving as [Führer](/source/F%C3%BChrer) of [Nazi Germany](/source/Nazi_Germany). Gutmann himself was an Iron Cross recipient, having been awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class on 2 December 1914 (incidentally the same day as Hitler), as well as the Iron Cross 1st Class on 4 December 1915. ## Post-World War I and Nazi years On 8 February 1919, Gutmann was demobilized from the German Army, but was still maintained on the army rolls as a reserve lieutenant. He married later that year and went on to father two children. During the 1920s, Gutmann owned and operated an office-furniture shop in *Vordere Sterngasse 3* in Nuremberg. In the autumn of 1933, Gutmann applied for a veteran's war pension, which was granted ([President](/source/President_of_Germany) [Hindenburg](/source/Paul_von_Hindenberg) had passed several decrees protecting Jewish war veterans from the rising tide of [anti-Jewish sentiment](/source/Anti-Jewish_sentiment)). In 1935, after the passing of the [Nuremberg Laws](/source/Nuremberg_Laws), Gutmann lost his German citizenship and was formally discharged from the veteran rolls of the army, but still continued to receive a pension, possibly due to Hitler's influence.[2] In 1938, Gutmann was arrested by the [Gestapo](/source/Gestapo), but released as a result of the influence of [SS](/source/SS) personnel who knew his history.[3] In 1939, Gutmann and his family left for Belgium as [World War II](/source/World_War_II) was beginning in Europe. In 1940, he emigrated to the United States, just prior to the German invasion of the [Low Countries](/source/Low_Countries). ## Post-World War II Gutmann lived in [St. Louis](/source/St._Louis), [Missouri](/source/Missouri), and worked as a typewriter salesman. He was married and had two children. Gutmann died in San Diego, California, on 22 June 1962. He was buried at Home of Peace Cemetery in San Diego. ## Portrayal in media In the 2003 [television](/source/Television) mini-series *[Hitler: The Rise of Evil](/source/Hitler%3A_The_Rise_of_Evil)*, Hugo Gutmann was portrayed by actor Brendan Hughes. ## Notes 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKershaw200859_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKershaw200859_1-1) [Kershaw 2008](#CITEREFKershaw2008), p. 59. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** According to the historian Werner Maser, Gutmann received, by Hitler's intervention, a pension from Nazi Germany until the end of the Second World War in Europe. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Weber, Thomas (16 September 2010). [*Hitler's First War*](https://books.google.com/books?id=t8_mjeZjmbQC). Oxford University Press. p. 344 ff. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780199233205](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780199233205). ## References - Kershaw, Ian (2008). [*Hitler: A Biography*](https://books.google.com/books?id=Clu5vSF3IIYC&pg=PR10-IA15). New York: W. W. Norton & Company. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-393-06757-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-393-06757-6). ## External links - [Hugo Gutmann (Escape from Germany)](http://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/nuremberg2/nur009.html) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Hugo Gutmann](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Gutmann) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Gutmann?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.