Willy Johannmeyer Willy Johannmeyer ( sometimes mistakenly written " Willi " ) was a German officer during World War II . He was also a recipient of the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves , and , by the time of the dissolution of the Third Reich , the last Army adjutant ( " Heeresadjutant " ) to Adolf Hitler . Military career . Interwar period . Willy Johannmeyer was born in Iserlohn , Westphalia , on 27 July 1915 After Adolf Hitler ' s rise to power in 1933 , he joined the SS , becoming member No . 262992 . In 1936 , he assigned to the 64th Infantry Regiment as Cadet ( " Fahnenjunker " ) and two years later , he rose to the rank of Leutnant . By 1939 , he was the leader of the Signal Corps training centre of the 503rd Infantry Regiment . World War II . Johannmeyer took part in the invasion of France , having been appointed leader of the regiment ' s 2nd Company on 1 April 1940 . In April 1941 he was transferred to the 14th Company of the regiment . Subjected to the Army Group North , the regiment fought mainly at the Leningrad front , after the invasion of the Soviet Union ( Operation Barbarossa ) . Because of his excellent leading skills , he was soon appointed commander of the 2nd Battalion on 1 April 1942 . There , for actions during the battles around the Lake Ilmen ( May 1942 ) , he was awarded the highest award of Nazi Germany to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership , the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross on 16 May 1942 ; soon followed by his promotion to Hauptmann ( 1 June 1942 ) . The 503rd Infantry Regiment was involved in the defensive battle of Nevel ( south of Pskov Oblast , near Belorussia ) . In this sector , Johannmeyer distinguished himself with a particular action during the fighting in March 1943 , and was thereby awarded the 329th Oak Leaves ( " Eichenlaub " ) on the Knight ' s Cross on 18 November 1943 . On November 25 , his battalion attacked Soviet positions near the town of Sergeytsevo ( northwest of Nevel ) with the aid of the 502nd Heavy Tank Battalion in a forest . Otto Carius , a Tiger I tank commander of the battalion and one of the greatest tank aces of World War II , recalled on his memoirs that Johannmeyer was struck by sniper fire in the lungs from a Soviet marksman hidden in the foliage of a tree . Although it was initially thought that Johannmeyer ' s chances of survival were very slim , he managed to survive . Carius wrote that he was relieved to hear from Johannmeyer while he was in hospital in 1944 . Nevertheless , Johannmeyer was absent from his official Oak Leaves awarding ceremony , as his condition was still utterly critical at that time . In a few days ' time , on 1 December he was promoted to major . On 1 March 1944 , Johannmeyer was called to a training course for senior officer adjutant s and three months later he was transferred to the OKH – Oberkommando des Heeres , Army High Command ) . From August 1944 onwards he served in the Army Personnel department ( " Heerespersonalamt " ) , with the rank of Oberstleutnant i . G . ( im Generalstab ) . Hitler ' s Adjutant . In November 1944 , Johannmeyer was transferred to the " Führerhauptquartier " in Berlin , located at the time in the Reich Chancellery , as Army Adjutant ( " Heeresadjutant " ) , replacing Martin Bormann ' s brother , Albert Bormann . Johannmeyer was present at the conferences held twice a day ( 3 . 00 pm and at midnight ) in the Chancellery ' s greenhouse , and later to those in the Führerbunker . By Hitler ' s order , Johannmeyer flew to Eastern Prussia to " clarify " the situation formed as the Soviets advanced to the Baltic States . As he always considered reports by army generals unrealistic , and refusing to accept that the Eastern Front was collapsing , he relied on his adjutants to receive " positive news " . But , Johannmeyer , upon his return , reported that the army was in alarmingly bad state , especially after the formation of the Courland pocket and the pocket around Königsberg . Hitler refused to allow any means of withdrawal , as usual . When Johannmeyer referred to the civilian deaths due to the massive evacuation of eastern territories , Hitler replied in anger : Johannmeyer was among the occupants of the Führerbunker , Hitler ' s underground headquarters in encircled Berlin . Johannmeyer was present at Hitler ' s last birthday ceremony on 20 April 1945 . During the night of 28 – 29 April , Hitler ordered that three copies of his political testament be hand - delivered to Field Marshal Ferdinand Schörner in Czechoslovakia , Karl Dönitz in Schleswig - Holstein , and Paul Giesler in Tegernsee by Willy Johannmeyer , Bormann ' s adjutant SS - Standartenführer Wilhelm Zander and Chief Press Secretary ( " Stellvertretender Pressechef " ) Heinz Lorenz , respectively . The three officers said their farewell to Hitler and were handed a white dossier with the testament by Martin Bormann at approximately 4 . 00 am on 29 April . Armed with automatic weapons , wearing helmets and uniforms to break through Soviet lines , the officers left Berlin later that day . Oberstleutnant Graßmann took off with a Fieseler Storch liaison aircraft at around midnight , 1 – 2 May 1945 with the obligation to fetch Johannmeyer from Pfaueninsel , Wannsee and bring him to Field Marshal Schörner ' s headquarters , who was unaware of his appointment to Commander - in - Chief of the Army . However , Graßmann was unable to land in Berlin ; he turned his " Storch " back and made an emergency landing in the Erzgebirge . Post - war life . Johannmeyer was arrested by American troops in 1945 . After his liberation , he was engaged in industrial business , mainly in Agricultural Economics and attained the respective Diploma ( " Dipl . agr . " ) . He worked for the DEMAG subsidiary FMA Pokorny in Frankfurt am Main , Hessen , and became a member of the company ' s Board of directors . His main field of involvement reportedly was compressed air engineering , where he was praised for being " a dynamic and creative personality " . Willy Johannmeyer died on 14 April 1970 after a heavy , long illness , in Kelkheim , at the age of 54 . According to other sources , Johannmeyer died in Frankfurt am Main .