The staff of the 1st Flak Division was created in
Berlin (
Luftgau III) on 1 July 1938 under the name "Air Defense Command Berlin" (). On 1 August 1939, the name was specified into "1st Air Defense Command Berlin" (). The initial head of the Air Defense Command staff was a Major General named Braun, who was in August 1938 replaced by
Gerhard Hoffmann.At the outbreak of war on 1 September 1939, 1st Air Defense Command consisted of elements of Flak Regiment 12, Flak Regiment 22, Flak Regiment 32, Flak Regiment 52 and Flak Regiment General Göring, spread across the various boroughs of Berlin. The overall HQ was in
Berlin-Dahlem, the staffs of Flak Regiment 12, Flak Regiment 22 and Flak Regiment General Göring were positioned at
Berlin-Lankwitz,
Brandenburg an der Havel and
Magdeburg, respectively. On 1 September 1941, the Air Defense Command Berlin was renamed "1st Flak Division" (). On 2 February 1945, in the face of the rapidly approaching
Red Army, the 1st Flak Division was partially repurposed for ground-level combat and, by orders of
Wilhelm Keitel, placed under the direct control of the leadership staff of
Wehrkreis III, tasked with the defense of the region. In April 1945, the 1st Flak Division was placed under the supervision of the
II Flak Corps. The 1st Flak Division was involved in the power struggle that went on behind the scenes during the Battle of Berlin; attempts by
Helmuth Weidling (army commander of Berlin defenders) to subordinate the Luftwaffe's 1st Flak Division as well as Waffen-SS units to his own command were met with resistance in the last days of April 1945.
Joseph Goebbels further complicated matters by the creation of yet another defense council to take command of Berlin's defenses. == References ==