The war had struck close to Hans Hube. His son had been killed on the Eastern front; his daughter had died in an air raid on Berlin. He himself, the Reich's famed one-armed tank general, had barely managed to slip out of the Russians' reach on the hostile Ukrainian steppe.
On Hitler's birthday, straight-backed Hans Hube journeyed to Berlin, stood at stiff attention while the Führer pinned oak leaves to the Ritterkreuz (Knight's Cross) on his arched chest. Germany needed heroes; the Nazi press obediently hailed the 53-year-old general.
Few hours later dark news was brought to Hitler: Colonel General...