Hans-Jurgen Stumpff (15 June 1889 – 9 March 1968) was the Chief of the Luftwaffe General Staff from 1 June 1937 to 31 January 1939, succeeding Albert Kesselring and preceding Hans Jeschonnek, and the commander of several Luftwaffe divisions during World War II.
Biography[]
Hans-Jurgen Stumpff was born on 15 June 1889 in Kolberg, Pommerania, German Empire (present-day Kolobrzeg, Poland). In 1907, he entered the 12th Brandenburger Grenadier Regiment and was promoted to lieutenant a year later, serving in World War I. In 1933, as a Lieutenant-Colonel, he became the head of the Luftwaffe's personnel and became its Chief of the General Staff from 1937 to 1939, being promoted to General in 1938. From 1940 to 1943 he led Luftflotte 1 and Luftflotte 5, and in January 1944 he commanded Luftwaffe forces during the defense of Nazi Germany's skies from the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the US Air Force. In 1945, he served as the Luftwaffe's representative to the talks of unconditional surrender in Berlin, and he was held as a prisoner by the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1947. Stumpff died on 9 March 1968 in Frankfurt-am-Main, West Germany.