Post-war
Manteuffel was held in an Allied POW camp until September 1947. After his release, he entered politics and was a representative of the Free Democratic Party of Germany (FDP) in the German Bundestag from 1953 to 1957. In the early 1950s Manteuffel advised on the redevelopment of the Bundeswehr (see: Searle's Wehrmacht Generals).
Manteuffel was not charged with war crimes by the Allies although in 1959 he was brought to trial for having a deserter shot in 1944. He was convicted and sentenced to two years in prison. This trial was highly controversial however. Supporters argued that these actions did not constitute a violation of the "laws or customs of war" clause in the Nuremberg Principles, the rules governing what constituted war crimes that occurred during the war, since it was legal in the German military and that Allied armies had similar provisions in their military codes at the time. German political leaders lobbied for an overturn of the conviction and he was eventually released after serving four months.
He spoke fluent, even sophisticated, English, and was an honored guest in the United States, visiting the Pentagon and, by the invitation of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the White House. In 1968 he lectured at the United States Military Academy at West Point, and worked as a technical adviser on war films and was featured in Cornelius Ryan's The Last Battle. He also featured in the acclaimed documentary, The World at War.
Hasso von Manteuffel died while on a trip to Reith im Alpbachtal, Tyrol, Austria on 24 September 1978.
Read more about this topic: Hasso Von Manteuffel
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