Werner von Gilsa Werner Albrecht Freiherr von und zu Gilsa ( born 4 March 1889 in Berlin ; † 8 May 1945 Leitmeritz ) was a German officer and General of Infantry , whose last assignment was as " Wehrmacht " commandant of Dresden . In 1936 , while he was a lieutenant colonel , Gilsa became commandant of the Olympic Village , during the Berlin Olympic Games . Pre - War and World War I . Gilsa was descended from a noble German family , the Lords and Barons of Gilsa , and was himself a baron ( " Freiherr " ) . He joined the Garde - Fusilier regiment , part of the German army , on 19 March 1908 . On 19 August 1909 Gilsa was appointed second lieutenant . At the beginning of the First World War , he went to the front as a platoon leader . He was promoted to first lieutenant on 24 July 1915 . In the meantime he was awarded Iron Cross es second and first class . Gilsa became regimental adjutant , then brigade adjutant ; on 15 July 1918 he was promoted to captain . At war ’ s end he was awarded the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern , Knight ' s Cross with Swords , as well as other decorations . Weimar years . After the war Gilsa was transferred to the Reichsheer . From here he made the transition , in the spring of 1920 , to the Reichsheer ' s 115th military infantry regiment and was responsible for the training of 100 , 000 men . He became a company officer in the 5th Prussian infantry regiment , then company commander . Between 1924 and 1927 , he was chief of the 8th MG ( machine gun ) company of the 5th Prussian infantry regiment . On 1 October 1930 he was appointed adjutant to the commander of the troop exercise area in Döberitz and as such was promoted to Major , on 1 June 1931 . " Wehrmacht " Career . Gilsa became commander of the 1st Battalion of the 6th Infantry Regiment on 1 April 1934 ; he was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 1 September . With the enlargement of the Reichsheer , Gilsa became the commander of the 1st Battalion of the infantry regiment at Lübeck . He was appointed commander of the Berlin Guard - Regiment on 15 October 1935 . As such he became , in the summer of 1936 , the commander of the Olympic village , replacing the demoted Wolfgang Fürstner . World War II . Gilsa was , from 1 October 1936 to 31 January 1941 , commander of the 9th Infantry Regiment . He led his unit in the Polish campaign at the outbreak of World War II . During the campaign , Gilsa was awarded both clips ( " Spangen " ) for his Iron Crosses , meaning that he was awarded these decorations for the second time . In early 1940 his regiment fought in the campaign against France . Gilsa succeeded in taking Charleville with some Maas bridges intact , contributing to the success of the German advance . For this achievement , he was awarded the Knight ’ s Cross of the Iron Cross on 5 June 1940 . From 1 April 1941 to 4 April 1943 , Gilsa was commander of the 216th Infantry Division . In the winter of 1941 / 42 the division was sent to the Eastern Front . For the defence of the fortified sites at Sukhinitchi ( " Festen Platzes Suchinitschi " ) , Gilsa was awarded the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves , on 24 January 1942 . He was promoted to lieutenant general on 1 October of that year . Gilsa was a confidant of the conspirators in the Stauffenberg assassination plot to kill Hitler . Last Commands . Gilsa was promoted to General of Infantry on 1 July 1943 . From 11 June 1943 to 23 November 1944 he was Commanding General of the LXXXIX Army Corps , which took part in the Battle of the Scheldt , from 2 October to 8 November 1944 . Gilsa was Military Commander of Dresden from 15 March to May 1945 . In Dresden he opened the " Wehrmacht " hospitals and food warehouses to the civilian population . Captured by the Russians at the end of the war , Gilsa committed suicide .