Early Life
Mende was born in Gross-Strehlitz, Upper Silesia, (today Poland). His father, Maximilian Mende, was the director of a secondary school and, as was usual among Catholics, a supporter of the Centre Party.
On graduating from grammar school in 1936 he decided to become a professional soldier and enlisted in the Wehrmacht's 84th Infantry Regiment at Gleiwitz, on the German-Polish frontier.
Read more about this topic: Erich Mende
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