First World War With the outbreak of the
First World War, Eberhard returned to Field Artillery Regiment 65, again assuming the role of battery commander, and was deployed on the
eastern front. After promotion to
Major on 27 January 1915, he was given command of the regiment's
Abteilung (department) II. Effective 10 April 1918, he was appointed commander of the 501st Field Artillery Regiment, with which he served on the
western front. During the course of the war, he was awarded the
Iron Cross, 1st and 2nd class. After the end of the war, he led his regiment back home, where it was demobilized in
Minden in December 1918 and disbanded in June 1919.
Reichswehr Eberhard was accepted into the provisional
Reichswehr of the
Weimar Republic and initially was deployed as the commander of the 5th Artillery Regiment from 1 July 1919 to 1 October 1920. After the downsizing and formation of the 100,000 man army mandated by the
Treaty of Versailles, he was reassigned as commander of the regiment's
Abteilung II (
Baden) in Ulm, and was promoted to
Oberstleutnant on 18 October 1920. On 1 October 1922, Eberhard joined the staff of the artillery commander of
Wehrkreis V, headquartered in
Stuttgart. He was appointed
commandant of Ulm on 1 April 1923, and promoted to
Oberst on 1 November 1923. Eberhard retired from active service on 31 March 1925 with the rank of
brevet Generalmajor.
Nazi Party and SS , issued by city commandant Eberhard on 2 November 1941 On 1 May 1937, Eberhard joined the
Nazi Party (membership number 5,645,459). In addition, he became a member of the
Schutzstaffel (SS) on 20 April 1939 (membership number 323,045) with the rank of SS-
Standartenführer and, on 9 November 1940, he was promoted to SS-
Oberführer. He attained his highest SS rank on 9 November 1942, when he was made an SS-
Brigadeführer.
Second World War Shortly before the outbreak of the
Second World War, Eberhard was recalled to active duty in the
German Army in August 1939. With the start of the
Battle of France on 10 May 1940, Eberhard was assigned to the staff of Field Command 550. He was assigned to organize the artillery on the right bank of the
Rhine in
Wehrkreis V in what became known as Artillery Staff Eberhard. This unit was disbanded on 7 July 1940, after the
Armistice of Compiègne. From 13 May 1941, to 20 June 1942, Eberhard served as commander of Field Command 195 and, after the German invasion of the
Soviet Union, he was named commandant of the occupied city of
Kiev. On 26 September 1941, he participated in a meeting in his office with the commander of
Einsatzgruppe C, SS-
Brigadeführer Otto Rasch, and the commander of
SS-Sonderkommando 4a, SS-
Standartenführer Paul Blobel, in which the
Babi Yar massacre was planned. Eberhard reported to Berlin on 28 September 1941: "Wehrmacht welcomes measures and requests radical action". Eberhard cooperated by providing the SS with a propaganda company to persuade the residents that they were being transported for resettlement. On 29–30 September 1941, SS and police units shot 33,771 Jews from Kiev at the Babi Yar ravine located outside the city. Eberhard also participated in the registration of the Jews of Kiev, ordered the execution of hostages, and opened the city to
Sonderkommando 4a. Eberhard was transferred to the
Führerreserve in July 1942 and left active service at the end of November 1942, having earned the
War Merit Cross, 1st and 2nd class with swords. He was taken into custody by American forces in November 1945 and, on 8 September 1947, took his own life in Stuttgart while still being held as a prisoner. == References ==