Vincenz Müller Vincenz Müller ( 5 November 1894 , Aichach , Bavarian Swabia – 12 May 1961 ) was a German military officer and general who served in the Imperial German army , the " Wehrmacht Heer " , and after the war in the National People ' s Army of the German Democratic Republic , where he was also a politician . Early career . Müller was born in the Kingdom of Bavaria into a non - military family , being the son of a tanner . As a lieutenant he spent much of World War I in Turkey with the German military mission to the Ottoman Empire . He was wounded by a grenade fragment at Gallipoli , and was then transferred to Baghdad and the Persian Front , returning to Germany after contracting malaria and typhus . In 1917 he returned to Turkey as a tactics instructor for Turkish officers . After the war , he continued to serve with the " Reichswehr " in a variety of staff roles and was promoted to captain . Nazi Germany . Now serving with the " Wehrmacht Heer " , Müller was promoted to colonel , and by 1938 had risen to the role of General Staff Officer of Army Group 2 . During this period , he is known to have had some contact with the conservative anti - Nazi resistance in the " Heer " through Erwin von Witzleben , but did not commit himself as an active plotter . If his political affiliations remained unclear , Müller showed complete willingness to serve the Nazis ' military plans and advance his " Wehrmacht " career . As a staff officer he was involved in planning Operation Tannenbaum , the aborted 1940 invasion of Switzerland , and Operation Barbarossa , the invasion of the Soviet Union . By 1943 , Müller had become a lieutenant - general and was given command of the 56th Infantry Division , part of Fourth Army of Army Group Centre . By 1944 Müller was commander of XII Corps . Müller found himself thrust into prominence during events in the Belorussian SSR in late June 1944 . Along with the rest of Fourth Army , XII Corps found itself encircled east of Minsk by Soviet forces during the latter ' s strategic offensive , Operation Bagration . Müller ' s corps was probably the least - damaged of the trapped forces , and on 3 July he was given overall command of the encircled units of Fourth Army , around 100 , 000 troops , which by 5 July were as much as 100 km behind Soviet lines . Despite signalling by radio that he was confident that a breakout could be achieved , Müller , who had joined the breakout attempt of the 18th Panzergrenadier Division , was captured by 8 July and most of Fourth Army was destroyed . Soviet captivity . Müller showed a willingness to cooperate with the Soviets from the time of his capture , issuing an order to troops of the Fourth Army to lay down their weapons . During his time as a POW Müller had an apparent change of views and professed to have become an anti - Nazi : within days of his capture he had joined the National Committee for a Free Germany and the " Bund Deutscher Offiziere " led by Walther von Seydlitz - Kurzbach . He was one of a group of generals captured during Operation Bagration ( including Edmund Hoffmeister , the commander of XXXXI Panzer Corps , and Rudolf Bamler of the 12th Infantry Division ) who became especially prominent in NKFD activity . Unlike many of his colleagues , however , Müller claimed to have become a staunch Communist . Along with Bamler , Müller is known to have attended special training in Krasnogorsk late in 1944 , and is believed to have been recruited by the Soviet secret services to spy on fellow NKFD members , such as Friedrich Paulus . The German Democratic Republic . Vincenz Müller was released relatively early from Soviet captivity , in 1948 , and joined the National Democratic Party of Germany , the NDPD . From 1949 to 1952 he was the party ' s deputy chairman and was Vice - President of the East German parliament , the " Volkskammer " . During this period he is believed to have continued to act as an informant for East German state security . After 1952 Vincenz Müller returned to a military career and was given the responsibility of reconstructing East Germany ' s armed forces ; he was returned to the rank of Lieutenant - General . After heading the Ministry of the Interior , and successfully developing the " Volkspolizei " , he was appointed the Chief of Staff of the newly formed National People ' s Army - effectively the second - in - command of the East German military behind Willi Stoph . Müller ' s later career is perhaps the most significant example of the East German regime ' s use of former Nazis and military officers , the so - called " Ehemaligen " , in reconstructing its state apparatus . He was , however , known to be in favour of the independence of the NVA from the Soviet military , and to have maintained some contacts in the West through military and Bavarian circles ( Western intelligence services in fact attempted to persuade Müller to defect during this period ) . He is also known to have conducted secret discussions with the West German Finance Minister , Fritz Schäffer , on a possible " détente " between East and West Germany . After being gradually sidelined , Müller retired in 1958 amidst longstanding concerns over his loyalty to the East German administration , and came under increasing pressure from the " Stasi " . He was said to be suffering from schizophrenia , and was hospitalised for a period in 1960 ; allegations also resurfaced that he had been involved in the mass killing of Jews in Artemovsk and the shooting of POW s . He died in 1961 , under somewhat controversial circumstances , in a fall from the balcony of his home on the day he was scheduled to return to hospital ; it was rumoured that he had committed suicide when a police vehicle drew up outside . Müller was a recipient of the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross , the German Cross in Gold , and the " Vaterländischer Verdienstorden " of the German Democratic Republic . A posthumous autobiography , " Ich fand das wahre Vaterland " ( ) , was published in 1963 , edited by Klaus Mammach , a SED historian .