Character Relationship Map: The Devil's General

Characters

• Gen. Harry Harras (played by Curd Jürgens) — protagonist

  Highly decorated WWI veteran and Luftwaffe general who despises the Nazi regime. His growing disillusionment drives him to orchestrate covert sabotage and ultimately crash his aircraft into his airbas...

• SS-Gruppenführer Schmidt-Lausitz (played by Viktor de Kowa) — protagonist

  SS official initially tasked with managing and courting General Harras. As Harras's subversion becomes evident, he shifts from patron to investigator, ordering arrests and representing the oppressive...

• Ingénieur Karl Oderbruch (played by Karl John) — supporting

  Harras's flight engineer and key operational supporter. He collaborates directly with the general to sabotage aircraft, enabling the final act of rebellion against the Nazi war machine.

• Dorothea 'Diddo' Geiss (played by Marianne Koch) — supporting

  A young woman from the aristocratic cultural circle who becomes romantically involved with General Harras. Her character highlights the personal and social dimensions of life under the Third Reich.

• Hauptmann Lüttjohann (played by Bum Krüger) — supporting
• Waltraut 'Pützchen' Mohrungen (played by Eva Ingeborg Scholz) — supporting

  Daughter of industrialist Hugo Mohrungen and a member of the civilian elite. She frequents the same social gatherings as the military leadership, illustrating the intersection of industry and the Nazi...

• Generalleutnant von Stetten (played by Robert Meyn) — minor
• 2. SD-Beamter (played by Rudolf Fenner) — minor
• Polizei-Fotograf (played by Wolfgang Neuss) — minor
• Baron von Pflunck (played by Werner Fuetterer) — minor
• Kellner Detlev (played by Wolfried Lier) — minor
• Hauptsturmführer Zernick (played by Joseph Offenbach) — minor
• Kammersängerin Olivia Geiss (played by Camilla Spira) — supporting

  Renowned opera singer and Diddo Geiss's mother. She embodies the cultural Establishment of the era, moving within the same patronage networks as the military and political elite.

• Hauptmann Pfundtmayer (played by Beppo Brem) — minor
• Anne Eilers (played by Erica Balqué) — minor
• 1. SD-Beamter (played by Horst Beck) — minor
• Geschäftsführer Otto (played by Reinhold Nietschmann) — minor
• Oberst Friedrich Eilers (played by Albert Lieven) — supporting

  Senior Luftwaffe officer and military peer of General Harras. He operates within the same command structure, experiencing the same institutional pressures and political surveillance.

• Otto Korrianke, Fahrer von Harras (played by Paul Westermeier) — supporting
• Generaldirektor Hugo Mohrungen (played by Karl Ludwig Diehl) — supporting

  Powerful industrialist and father of Waltraut Mohrungen. His corporate interests are tied to the Nazi war effort, placing him within the same elite circles as the military leadership.

Story Analysis

A decorated Luftwaffe general's ideological clash with the Nazi regime culminates in a final act of destructive defiance.

Plot Progression

1. Courtship and Contempt
2. Suspicion and Arrest
3. Defiance and Sabotage
4. Final Descent