Hans Speidel

Hans Speidel was a German military officer who successively served in the armies of the German Empire, Nazi Germany and West Germany. The first general officer of the Bundeswehr, he was a key player in West German rearmament during the Cold War as well as West Germany's integration into NATO and international negotiations on European and Western defence cooperation in the 1950s. He served as Commander of the Allied Land Forces Central Europe (COMLANDCENT) from 1957 to 1963 and then as President of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs from 1964.

28 October 1897

Born on the same birth date (28 October 1897): Edith Head

Born on the same birth day (28 October): Andy Richter • Antonio Creus • Azumafuji Kin'ichi • Charles A. Gargano • Concha García Campoy • Dennis Franz • Evelyn Waugh • Miroslav Cerar • Wayne Fontana

Born in the same month (October 1897): Agustín Lara • Billy Walker (footballer, born 1897) • Constance Savery • Edith Head • Erwin von Lahousen • Florence B. Seibert • Isabel Briggs Myers • Johannes Sikkar • John Baker (RAF officer) • Joseph Goebbels • Juan Ignacio Luca de Tena, 2nd Marquis of Luca de Tena • Karl Olivecrona • Louis Aragon • Louis de Cazenave • Luigi Pavese • M. Bhaktavatsalam • Nathan F. Twining • Thakin Mya • Yi Un