The field marshal Hitler expected to commit suicide

Wars & Conflicts · Published 16 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In the frozen ruins of Stalingrad, Friedrich Paulus faced a choice between a forced suicide and a historic surrender. Hitler promoted him to field marshal specifically to ensure he wouldn't live to face judgment, yet Paulus chose to survive, becoming a vocal critic of the regime from a Soviet prison.

Friedrich Paulus was a career officer whose path to high command was marked by a lack of field experience. While he was a talented staff officer who helped plan the invasion of the Soviet Union as deputy chief of the German General Staff, his superiors initially doubted his ability to lead troops in person. Despite this, he was promoted to command the Sixth Army in January 1942, leading approximately 300,000 men into the drive on Stalingrad.

The siege became a catastrophic turning point for Nazi Germany. By October 1942, the Sixth Army had pushed the Soviets back to the Volga River, but the victory was pyrrhic. The force was drained by heavy casualties and dwindling supplies. When a massive Soviet counteroffensive launched on November 19, 1942, the German forces were encircled. Despite pleas from the German high command to allow a breakout, Adolf Hitler refused to concede any ground, effectively trapping Paulus and his men.

In a move of psychological pressure, Hitler promoted Paulus to field marshal in late December 1942. Rather than a prize, the promotion functioned as a mandate for self-sacrifice; Hitler pointed out that no German officer at that level had ever been taken alive, indicating he wanted Paulus to commit suicide. Paulus refused, eventually surrendering on January 31, 1943. Of the 91,000 men who surrendered in the final days, fewer than 6,000 survived captivity. After his release in 1953, Paulus lived in East Germany and testified against the Nazi regime at the Nuremberg trials.

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