Schmundt was born in
Metz (then in Germany) and served as a lieutenant for the German Army during
World War I. In
World War II he became the Chief of the Personnel Department of the
German Army in October 1942 and later attained the rank of
General of the Infantry in 1944. Throughout the war, Schmundt was one of
Adolf Hitler's many adjutants, and flew with
Erwin Rommel in early 1941, just before the
Afrika Korps was created. Schmundt was one of the casualties of the failed
20 July plot, planned to kill the German dictator
Adolf Hitler. One of the conspirators, Colonel
Claus von Stauffenberg, placed a bomb in a briefcase beside Hitler. Colonel
Heinz Brandt moved it behind a heavy table leg and unwittingly saved Hitler's life, but as a consequence, he lost his own. Severely injured in the assassination attempt, losing his left eye and suffering shrapnel wounds to both legs, Schmundt initially made a promising recovery, but ultimately died of complications resulting from his injuries on 1 October 1944 at the
Carlshof hospital. Schmundt was posthumously awarded the
German Order on 7 October 1944. He was replaced as the Chief of the Personnel Department by General
Wilhelm Burgdorf, the deputy chief. ==Decorations==