Hugo Gutmann served in the German Army in the early 1900s. After his discharge, he owned a Nuremberg office furniture store. During World War I, he returned to military service as a lieutenant. He commanded the unit in which Adolf Hitler served during most of 1918, and recommended him for the Iron Cross First Class for bravery in combat; Hitler had previously received the Second Class award, and receiving the First Class was notable because it was not usually awarded to a soldier of the lower enlisted ranks. Gutmann was also a recipient of both the Iron Cross Second Class and First Class. After the war, he returned to operating his store. Though he was Jewish, he received a pension; President Paul Von Hindenburg had overseen passage of laws to protect Jewish veterans. His pension continued even as the Nazis oppressed Jews in the 1930s, probably because of Hitler's influence. He was arrested in 1938, but released through the influence of military members who knew his war record. He moved to Belgium in 1939, and the US in 1940. His career included working as a typewriter salesman in St. Louis before he changed his name and relocated to San Diego.
Hugo Gutmann served in the German Army in the early 1900s. After his discharge, he owned a Nuremberg office furniture store. During World War I, he returned to military service as a lieutenant. He commanded the unit in which Adolf Hitler served during most of 1918, and recommended him for the Iron Cross First Class for bravery in combat; Hitler had previously received the Second Class award, and receiving the First Class was notable because it was not usually awarded to a soldier of the lower enlisted ranks. Gutmann was also a recipient of both the Iron Cross Second Class and First Class. After the war, he returned to operating his store. Though he was Jewish, he received a pension; President Paul Von Hindenburg had overseen passage of laws to protect Jewish veterans. His pension continued even as the Nazis oppressed Jews in the 1930s, probably because of Hitler's influence. He was arrested in 1938, but released through the influence of military members who knew his war record. He moved to Belgium in 1939, and the US in 1940. His career included working as a typewriter salesman in St. Louis before he changed his name and relocated to San Diego.
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