Military Figure. The last known German veteran of World War I. Born in Hanover, Kastner graduated from high school in June 1918 and joined the army the following month. Due to incomplete records his exact duties are under dispute. He served in Flanders on the Western Front but apparently saw no frontline action; it is believed he took part in Kaiser Wilhelm II's final military review in November 1918. After the war he earned a doctorate in law and was a practicing attorney in Hanover. During World War II he rejoined the military and served as a first lieutenant in ground support for the Luftwaffe in France. He then resumed his law career and became a judge of Hanover's Higher Court. Upon his retirement in 1967 he was awarded Lower Saxony's Cross of Merit, 1st Class. In his final years Kastner downplayed his status as one of the last surviving veterans of World War I, refusing requests for interviews and autographs from the United States and other countries. He died in a nursing home near Cologne at the age of 107. His wife of 75 years, Maria, died in 2003 at age 102. In Germany, where the shame of military defeat and Nazism weighs heavily on its 20th Century history, news of Kastner's passing went unnoticed until it was picked up by international media outlets.
Military Figure. The last known German veteran of World War I. Born in Hanover, Kastner graduated from high school in June 1918 and joined the army the following month. Due to incomplete records his exact duties are under dispute. He served in Flanders on the Western Front but apparently saw no frontline action; it is believed he took part in Kaiser Wilhelm II's final military review in November 1918. After the war he earned a doctorate in law and was a practicing attorney in Hanover. During World War II he rejoined the military and served as a first lieutenant in ground support for the Luftwaffe in France. He then resumed his law career and became a judge of Hanover's Higher Court. Upon his retirement in 1967 he was awarded Lower Saxony's Cross of Merit, 1st Class. In his final years Kastner downplayed his status as one of the last surviving veterans of World War I, refusing requests for interviews and autographs from the United States and other countries. He died in a nursing home near Cologne at the age of 107. His wife of 75 years, Maria, died in 2003 at age 102. In Germany, where the shame of military defeat and Nazism weighs heavily on its 20th Century history, news of Kastner's passing went unnoticed until it was picked up by international media outlets.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
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