Winter joined the
Imperial German Army as an officer cadet in 1916 and was commissioned as a
leutnant in 1917. He was awarded the
Iron Cross second class in
World War I. After 1918, he was retained in the
Reichswehr. He was transferred to
Munich, where he was promoted to
Hauptmann in 1933 and
Major in 1936. On 1 April 1939, he was promoted to
Oberstleutnant and upon mobilization for World War II in the summer of 1939, he was appointed to the general staff of the army. In 1940, he was a staff officer of the
Army Group South. In 1943 he became the Chief of staff of the
2nd Panzer Army and was appointed
Generalmajor. In September 1943, he was stationed in
Salonika as part of
Army Group E. On 1 May 1945 was promoted to
General der Gebirgstruppe. In June 1946 Winter was questioned as a witness during the
Nuremberg trials and then until his retirement was a researcher with the
Gehlen Organization and
German Federal Intelligence Service. ==Awards==