After Wildermuth completed secondary schooling in 1908 he studied law and political sciences in Tübingen, Leipzig and Berlin from 1909 to 1914.

Here he met future political associates Reinhold Maier, Karl Georg Pfleiderer, Konrad Wittwer and Wolfgang Haussmann.

From 1928 Wildermuth was director of Deutsche Bank's construction operations and in addition from 1930, board member, later president of the German Society for Public Works.

[citation needed] His main enemies in this period were the (Communist) Spartacus League, who returned the compliment by putting a price on his head.

[1] At the outbreak of the Second World War Wildermuth was drafted as a reserve major and during the Battle of France was commander of the Second Battalion of Infantry Regiment 272.

Before taking his new command, however, he swore the 'customary oath' to Hitler: to defend the fortress to the last man, and only to surrender with the authorisation of his superiors.

[4] Prior to the early September launch of the British-led Operation Astonia to take the port city Wildermuth had requested that French citizens be evacuated before heavy pre-assault naval and air bombardment commenced.

His offer was rebuffed by Lt-General John Crocker, in command of the 1st British Corps which had laid siege to the city.

[5] Upon his 12 September surrender Wildermuth was interned in England at the Trent Park senior officers' prisoner of war camp.

British intelligence considered Wildermuth a convinced patriot and brave officer but vehemently opposed the Nazi regime.

In a wiretapped conversation in Trent Park, Carl Friedrich Goerdeler said that Wildermuth had in May 1944 been willing to participate in a coup against Hitler.

At Trent Park, he and other captured officers were invited by the British in early 1945 to call publicly on the Wehrmacht to surrender.