Bio of Oberstleutnant Wolf-Werner von der Schulenburg (1899-1944)

 

Original color portrait of Wolf-Werner Graf von der Schulenburg, taken in 1943.

Full nama: Wolf-Werner Graf von der Schulenburg
Nickname: unknown
Date of Birth: 14 September 1899 at Bad Muskau, Sachsen (Germany)
Date of Death: 14 July 1944 at Saint James, Normandy (France)
NSDAP Number: unknown
SS Number: unknown
Academic Title: unknown
Family Member: Son of the Chef des Generalstabes der Heeresgruppe Kronprinz, Friedrich Graf von der Schulenburg (1865-1939), Pour le Mérite 24 April 1917
Physical Feature: unknown

Beförderungen (Promotion):
20.08.1917 Gefreiter
26.09.1917 Unteroffizier
25.07.1918 Fähnrich
01.09.1918 Leutnant
01.04.1940 Oberleutnant d.R.z.V. (138) mit RDA vom 01.11.1928
01.11.1940 Hauptmann z.V. (203/E); 1942 RDA verbessert (357/E) auf 01.07.1939
19.12.1941 Major z.V. (386/E) m.W vom 01.09.1942 und RDA vom 01.09.1942
09.11.1942 SA-Brigadeführer
27.05.1944 Major z.V. (674/D), verbessertes RDA vom 01.12.1941
23.07.1944 Oberstleutnant z.V. (716/7) m.W. und RDA vom 01.07.1944

Karriere (Career):
00.00.1917 Kriegsfreiwilliger, schwer verwundet (heavy injured)
15.08.1939 Einberufung, Ordonnanzoffizier im Fallschirm-Jäger-Regiment 1
20.02.1942 temporarily charged with leadership I. / FJR 1
20.02.1944 Kommandeur I. Bataillon / Fallschirm-Jäger-Regiment 1
15.11.1943 temporarily charged with command Fallschirm-Jäger-Regiment 1
mid 01.44 again temporarily charged with command I. / FJR 1
21.04.1944 Kommandeur Fallschirm-Jäger-Regiment 13 (5. FJD)

Orden und Ehrenzeichen (Medals and Decorations):
23.05.1940 Eisernes Kreuz II.Klasse
23.05.1940 Eisernes Kreuz I.Klasse
01.10.1942 Erdkampfabzeichen der Luftwaffe
20.05.1943 Ärmelband Kreta
20.06.1943 Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes, as Major and Kommandeur I.Bataillon / Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1 / 1.Fallschirmjäger-Division / XIV.Armeekorps / 10.Armee

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* Fought on Western Front in 1917-1918; Ordnance officer with Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1 in Poland (1939); Served in Holland and Crete, later in Russia.Commanded I./Fsch.Jäg.Rgt 1 (1942-1944). Awarded Ritterkreuz in June 1943 because of his battalion's efforts in unison with the 78.Sturm-Division near Orel; Then served at Cassino.In April 194; took over command of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 13 in the West; Killed in action in Normandy (1944).
* On 12.09.1943 the 1. Fallschirm-Jäger-Division shot at least 13 non-combatants in La Baretta near Cannae. The prosecuting attorney (Cologne 1967 - 1972) found no accused interpreting the killing as permissible reprisal.
* On 21.11.1943 the unit of Graf von der Schulenburg is said to have beastly killed 112 non-combatants in Limmario (31 children, 50 women).
* In November 1943 1. Fallschirm-Jäger-Division executed also 13 civilians not having leaved the “Kampfzone“ of Pietransieri / community of Roccaraso, 15 km NO of Alfedena.
* Wolf-Werner Graf von der Schulenburg was killed in action on July 14th, 1944 as Kommandeur Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 13. He died fighting in the ”Kampfverband 17. SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Division Götz von Berlichingen”. His grave is in Dinard (Bretagne). He was posthumously promoted to Oberstleutnant.

Wolf-Werner Graf von der Schulenburg (born September 14, 1899 in Muskau, † July 14, 1944 at Saint-James, France) was a German administrative lawyer, businessman, head of the foreign department of the Reich Sports Leader, Wehrmacht officer and SA-Brigadeführer.

Wolf-Werner von der Schulenburg came from a noble family in the Altmark. He was the second eldest son of the Prussian general and later NSDAP member of the Reichstag, Friedrich Bernhard Graf von der Schulenburg (1865–1939) and Freda-Marie Countess von der Schulenburg, née Countess von Arnim (1873–1939), a niece (later also a stepdaughter) ) of the Muskau landlord Count Traugott Hermann von Arnim-Muskau. He had four siblings, including the younger brother Fritz-Dietlof von der Schulenburg and the younger sister Tisa von der Schulenburg. Already at an early stage, he embarked on a career in the military and then a civil servant. After taking part in the First World War as a reserve officer, Graf Schulenburg studied law at the Georg-August University in Göttingen. He became active in the Corps Saxonia Göttingen in September 1919. In the summer semester of 1920 he was senior in the corps. On November 1, 1930, he joined the National Socialist German Workers' Party and on February 1, 1931, he joined the Sturmabteilung.

Until 1933 he was a businessman in Brazil and Berlin and then became a consultant at the Reich Sports Office. In 1936 he became personal advisor and Gau leader of the Gaues Abroad of the German Reichsbund for physical exercises, a little later head of the foreign department and the chief office of the Reichssportführer Hans von Tschammer und Osten, who advised him and represented him on foreign policy issues. In the meantime director of the government, he was promoted to captain at the beginning of the war, later to major and on November 9, 1942 to SA-Brigadeführer. For his services he was awarded the Ritterkreuz on June 20, 1943. On November 15, 1943 he became the commander (i. V.) of the Parachute Jäger Regiment 1 of the 1st Parachute Division. He fell in 1944 as commander of the 13th Paratrooper Regiment in the battle of Saint-Lô. Posthumously Graf von der Schulenburg was appointed Oberstleutnant der Reserve.

He was married to Gisela, née Freiin von Stralenheim.

Source :
https://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/dba/de/search/?yearfrom=1933&yearto=1945&query=wolf+schulenburg
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?p=448726#p448726
https://forum.axishistory.com/search.php?keywords=wolf+von+der+schulenburg&terms=all&author=&sc=1&sf=all&sr=topics&sk=t&sd=d&st=0&ch=300&t=0&sid=86557943c722838a11d8d6c21fd291ad&submit=Search
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/48117/Schulenburg-Graf-von-der-Wolf-Werner.htm

Ace Pilot Jeremiah O’Keefe

On April 22, 1945, 1st Lt. Jeremiah O’Keefe shot down five Japanese kamikaze aircraft off Okinawa in his F4U Corsair and then brought down another two six days later. When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Jerry enlisted, hoping to become a pilot. He received his wings from the U.S. Marines in May, 1943. In 1944, before leaving for his assignment with the Pacific Fleet, he married his childhood sweetheart, Annette Saxon, and started what would be a family of thirteen children. During combat, Jerry earned the status of 'ace' fighter pilot and was later awarded the US Navy Cross, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal, Gold Star and, in 2015, the Congressional Gold Medal for American Aces.   Jeremiah J. O’Keefe, shot down seven Japanese pilots in one week in World War II.

Source :
National Archives and Records Administration 127-GW-120703
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
https://www.flickr.com/photos/airandspace/albums/72157715574200936

Aviation cadets in training

U.S. Aviation cadets in Tuskegee, Alabama, undergoing advanced training in AT-6s.

 
Source :
National Archives and Records Administration 342-C-K-413
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
https://www.flickr.com/photos/airandspace/albums/72157715574200936

Donetsk Opera Theatre

Donetsk Opera Theatre in 1941 during the German occupation.

Donetsʹkyy Akademichnyy Derzhavnyy Teatr Opery Ta Baletu Imeni Anatoliya Solov'yanenka (Donetsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre) - named after A. Solovyanenko - was established in 1932 in Lugansk on the basis of fit-up theatre of Right-bank Ukraine. Since 15 March 1932 the theatre was transferred to Donetsk theatre group. The first season opened on September 1, 1932 with opera Prince Igor composed by Alexander Borodin. On April 12, 1941, the Theatre opened the season in the new theater building by premiere of Mikhail Glinka's Ivan Susanin. On August 7, same year, the premiere of the first ballet performance Laurencia by Alexander Crain was held. After the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War part of the company was evacuated to Kirghizia, later, in June 1942, the theater moved to Przhevalsk city, where actors held concerts in hospitals and military units. In January 1944 the theater returned to Stalino and already in September, right after the liberation of the Donets Basin a premiere of Alexander Borodin's Prince Igor took place.

Source :
Bundesarchiv Bild 169-0120
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donetsk_State_Academic_Opera_and_Ballet_Theatre

Bio of SS-Obergruppenführer Karl Wolff

SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS Karl Wolff (Höhere SS und Polizeiführer Italien und Bevollmächtigter General der deutschen Wehrmacht in Italien) in Northern Italy, late 1944. The picture was taken by Walter Frentz.

Karl Friedrich Otto Wolff (13 May 1900 – 17 July 1984) was born the son of a wealthy district court magistrate in Darmstadt on 13 May 1900. During World War I he graduated from school in 1917, volunteered to join the Imperial German Army (Leibgarde-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 115) and served on the Western Front. He rose to the rank of lieutenant and was awarded both the Iron Cross second class and first class.

After the war, Wolff was forced to leave the army because of the reduction of the German armed forces following the terms imposed by the Treaty of Versailles. Wolff was in the paramilitary Freikorps from December 1918 to May 1920. He started a two-year apprenticeship at the Bethmann Bank in Frankfurt and married Frieda von Römheld in 1923. The couple moved to Munich, where Wolff worked for Deutsche Bank. In June 1924 he was laid off and joined a public relations firm. Wolff may also have studied law, but never took any state exams. In 1925 he started his own public relations company which he operated in Munich until 1933.

Wolff joined the Nazi Party with card number 695,131 and the SS in October 1931. His SS membership number was 14,235 and he was commissioned as an SS-Sturmführer in February 1932.

From March 1933, after the Nazi Party had obtained national power, Wolff served as an adjutant to Franz Ritter von Epp, then-governor of Bavaria. Here he came to the attention of the head of the SS Heinrich Himmler who appointed Wolff his personal adjutant in June 1933. In 1936 Wolff became a member of the Reichstag. The same year Himmler named him chief of Personal Staff Reichsführer-SS to coordinate all contact and correspondence within the SS at both party and state levels.

By managing Himmler's affairs with the SS, the Nazi Party, state agencies and personnel, the eloquent and well mannered Wolff rose to become one of the key figures in Himmler's power regime. In addition, Wolff oversaw the economic investments made by the SS, was responsible for saving funds among Himmler's circle of friends and for connections to the SS organizations Ahnenerbe and Lebensborn. In 1939 he retroactively became head of the Main Office and SS liaison officer to Hitler. In 1936, Wolff left the Protestant Church. On 30 January 1937, he was promoted to the rank of SS-Gruppenführer (major general).

As was later revealed in the 1964 trial, during the early part of the Second World War, Wolff was "Himmler's eyes and ears" in Hitler's headquarters. He would have been aware of significant events or could easily have access to the relevant information. Apart from the information passing across his desk, Wolff received (as Chief of Himmler's Personal Staff) copies of all letters from SS officers, and his friends at this point included Odilo Globocnik, the organiser of Operation Reinhard. His later denial of knowledge of Holocaust activities may be plausible only at the detailed level, but not of the extent of atrocities by the Nazi regime.

Incriminating letters show that Wolff was involved in the Holocaust. On 8 September 1939, shortly after the invasion of Poland, Wolff wrote to the Gestapo office in Frankfurt (Oder) and ordered the immediate "arrest of all male Jews of Polish nationality and their family members" and the confiscation of any wealth. In 1942 Wolff oversaw the deportation transports during "Grossaktion Warschau", the mass extermination of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto. When rail transport bottlenecks occurred, Wolff communicated repeatedly with Reich Railway Director Albert Ganzenmüller. In a letter sent from the Führer Headquarters, dated 13 August 1942 and referring to transports of Jews to Treblinka extermination camp, Wolff thanked Ganzenmüller for his assistance:

"I note with particular pleasure from your communication that a train with 5,000 members of the chosen people has been running daily for 14 days and that we are accordingly in a position to continue with this population movement at an accelerated pace. I have taken the initiative to seek out the offices involved, so that a smooth implementation of the named measures appears to be guaranteed. I thank you once again for the effort and at the same time wish to ask you to continue monitoring these things. With best wishes and Heil Hitler, yours sincerely W."
    — Karl Wolff to Albert Ganzenmüller, 13 August 1942 —

In August 1941, Himmler and Wolff attended the shooting of Jews at Minsk which had been organized by Arthur Nebe who was in command of Einsatzgruppe B, a mobile killing unit. Nauseated and shaken by the experience, Himmler decided that alternative methods of killing should be found. On Himmler's orders, by the spring of 1942, the camp at Auschwitz had been greatly expanded, including the addition of gas chambers, where victims were killed using the poison gas Zyklon B.

After the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in June 1942, Wolff developed a strong rivalry with other SS leaders, particularly with Heydrich's successor at the Reich Security Main Office (Reichssicherheitshauptamt), Ernst Kaltenbrunner, and with Walter Schellenberg of the foreign intelligence service in the RSHA. His position was weakened by his frequent absence from Berlin, in part due to his suffering from pyelitis and renal calculus (kidney stones), which required surgery. Wolff fell out of favour with Himmler and was dismissed as his chief of staff. In April 1943, he was relieved of his duties as liaison officer to Hitler. Himmler announced he would temporarily take over Wolff's duties. A new replacement as liaison officer to Hitler's HQ did not occur until the appointment of Hermann Fegelein, who assumed the duty in January, 1944. Wolff had particularly angered Himmler by his divorce and remarriage in March 1943. Himmler, who believed the family to be the nucleus of the SS, had denied Wolff permission to divorce, but Wolff had turned directly to Hitler. Himmler still appears to have considered Wolff a loyal member of the SS, for in September 1943 Wolff was transferred to Italy as Supreme SS and Police Leader.

In that position, Wolff shared responsibility for standard police functions such as security, maintenance of prisons, supervision of concentration camps, and forced labor camps as well as the deportation of forced laborers with Wilhelm Harster, who was the Commander in Chief of the Security Police. When Wolff became Plenipotentiary General of the German Wehrmacht in July 1944, he also became responsible for anti-partisan warfare in occupied Italy. By now Wolff commanded the police and the entire rear army in Italy. So far Wolff's involvement in war crimes in Italy remains largely unclear, partially because source material on the degree to which SS units participated in Nazi security warfare is lacking. Although it seems as if US investigators were in possession of incriminating material in 1945, that indicated Wolff's approval of the executions that became known as the Ardeatine massacre, this evidence was deemed not sufficient for criminal charges. On 9 December 1944, Wolff was awarded the German Cross in Gold for using Italian units, with secondary German units, to destroy partisans and for the "maintenance of war production in the Italian territory". During this period he approved the project of the Marnate's Bunker, close to the German command of Olgiate Olona. By 1945 Wolff was acting military commander of Italy.

In 1945, Wolff, under Operation Sunrise, took over command and management of intermediaries including the Swiss Intelligence officer, Captain Max Waibel, in order to make contact in Switzerland with the headquarters of the US Office of Strategic Services, under Allen W. Dulles, as to the surrender of German forces in and around Italy. After initially meeting with Dulles in Berne on 8 March 1945, Wolff negotiated the surrender of all German forces in Italy, ending the war there on 29 April, before the war ended in Germany on 2 May 1945. Wolff's capitulation of Italy to the Allies upset Admiral Karl Dönitz who had otherwise planned a staged series of surrenders designed to give the troops and refugees more time to make their way west.

Arrested on 13 May 1945, he was imprisoned in Schöneberg. During the Nuremberg trials, Wolff was allowed to escape prosecution in exchange for the early capitulation in Italy and by appearing as a witness for the prosecution at trial. Although released in 1947, he had been indicted by the post-war German government as part of the denazification process. Detained under house arrest, after a German trial, Wolff was sentenced in November 1948 and served four years' of imprisonment. After his release, Wolff worked as an executive for an advertising agency.

He took up residence with his family in Starnberg. In 1962 during the trial in Israel of Adolf Eichmann, evidence showed that Wolff had organized the deportation of Italian Jews in 1944. Wolff was again tried in West Germany and in 1964 was convicted of deporting 300,000 Jews to the Treblinka extermination camp, which led to their murder. Sentenced to fifteen years' imprisonment in Straubing, Wolff served only part of his sentence and was released in 1971 following a heart attack.

After his release, Wolff retired to Austria. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Wolff returned to public life, frequently lecturing on the internal workings of the SS and his relationship with Himmler. This resulted in his appearing in television documentaries including The World At War saying that he witnessed an execution of twenty or thirty partisan prisoners in Minsk in 1941 with Himmler.

In the early 1970s, Wolff promoted the theory of an alleged plot to kidnap Pope Pius XII. Most other allegations of such a plot are based on a 1972 document written by Wolff that Avvenire d'Italia published in 1991, and on personal interviews with Wolff before his death in 1984. Wolff maintained that on 13 September 1943, Hitler gave the directive to "occupy Vatican City, secure its files and art treasures, and take the Pope and Curia to the north". Hitler allegedly did not want the Pope to "fall into the hands of the Allies".

Wolff's reliability has been questioned by Holocaust historians, such as István Deák, a professor of history at Columbia University. Reviewing A Special Mission by Dan Kurzman, a promoter of the theory, Deák noted Kurzman's "credulity" and that the latter "uncritically accepts the validity of controversial documents and unquestioningly believes in the statements made to him by his principal German interlocutor, the former SS General Karl Wolff". He further criticized the book's "modest documentation" containing "a great number of vague or inaccurate references".

In the late 1970s Wolff also became involved with Stern journalist Gerd Heidemann. Together with Heidemann, he travelled through South America, where he helped to locate, among others, Klaus Barbie and Walter Rauff, with whom Heidemann conducted interviews for a series of articles. Wolff served as a consultant for the alleged Hitler Diaries and was upset when they turned out to be forgeries by Konrad Kujau. Asked to attend the trial of Heidemann and Kujau, Wolff declined; on 17 July 1984, he died in a hospital in Rosenheim. He was buried in the cemetery at Prien am Chiemsee on 21 July 1984.

SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS Karl Wolff (Höhere SS und Polizeiführer Italien und Bevollmächtigter General der deutschen Wehrmacht in Italien) in Northern Italy, late 1944. The officer behind him is his adjutant, SS-Sturmbannführer Eugen Wenner. The picture was taken by Walter Frentz.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Wolff
https://twitter.com/nickfshort/status/1213392477144698880/photo/1

Market in Athens

 

Athens 1941 in the market. This is from the same photographer who took Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 5 series.

Source :
Akira Takiguchi photo collection
https://www.facebook.com/groups/237076659811098/posts/1828970997288315/?__cft__[0]=AZWomJ17kfWKwrmgls8DCZBf1o5S76_AwPDh02j_XO0HnY4afgj7LODOrZQARIJyfft2aQ-4vFYIl5SVEOSzFxbgJGUKv_UVhbAwZzlG38OTyJuEfc6wst298UQio-70SuSi09EPaxKtPyEnKuWYSGBZ&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R

Two Diving Bf109's from JG 52

Two diving Bf109's from JG 52 (Jagdgeschwader 52).

The speed of Agfacolor Neu film was only ISO 25 - 2 stops slower than the later standard of ISO 100, so it required the photographer extreme skill when he wants to take photos of moving targets. Compare with the today's digicams which enjoy something like ISO 12800 and more...

Source :
Akira Takiguchi photo collection
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10224498370480259&set=gm.1829076917277723

U.S. Paratroopers during Training in Tunisia

U.S. Paratroopers of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment / 82nd Airborne Division during training in Tunisia before the Allied invasion of Sicily, 1943. They are holding watermelons, with the purpose unknown. Photo taken by Robert Capa.

Source :
https://www.vintag.es/2016/07/the-world-in-color-during-1940s-and.html

Bio of Luftwaffe Ace Werner Schroer

Werner Schroer was born on 12 December 1918 at Mülheim in Ruhr. His Luftwaffe career began in 1937 as a member of the ground staff. In May 1940 he completed his flying training. On 27 August 1940 he joined 2./JG 27 based on the Channel front. He flew his first combat missions during the Battle of Britain but did not claim any confirmed victories. In March 1941, I./JG 27 was deployed to North Africa in order to support the Afrika Korps under the command of Erwin Rommel. Schroer claimed his first victory, a RAF Hurricane, on 19 April 1941, however, his Bf 109 E (WNr 3790) was hit and he had to make a forced-landing near his airfield with 48 bullet holes in his aircraft. On 21 April, in an engagement with RAF Hurricanes, an aircraft collided with his Bf 109 E (WNr 4170) slightly injuring him and requiring him to make another forced-landing. By the end of 1941 his score stood at seven. In March 1942, he was appointed Adjutant of I./JG 27. He was appointed Staffelkapitän of 8./JG 27 on 22 June. In July he recorded 16 victories. On 9 September, he was awarded the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold. He shot down 13 enemy aircraft in September, including six on 15 September to record his 35th through 40th victories. In October, Schroer claimed 15 victories. Leutnant Schroer was awarded the Ritterkreuz on 21 October for 49 victories. On 4 November, Schroer, with Alfred Stückler (10 victories), shot down two four-engined B-24s. On 11 February 1943, Schroer reportedly shot down two RAF Beauforts, although he claimed them as B-26s. When Major Gustav Rödel (98 victories, including 13 four-engined bombers, RK-EL) was appointed Kommodore of JG 27, Hauptmann Schroer took his place as Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 27 on 22 April 1943. Operating over Sicily and southern Italy, between 29 April and 23 July, Schroer was to claim 22 Allied aircraft shot down, including 12 four-engined bombers. On 2 August, he became the 268th recipient of the Eichenlaub, awarded for his 84 victories. In August 1943, II./JG 27 was redeployed to Wiesbaden-Erbenheim in Germany for Reichsverteidigung duties. On 6 September, Schroer led the Gruppe on an interception of a formation of 262 B-17s. In all 45 American bombers were lost including four shot down by II./JG 27, three of which were claimed by Schroer as his victories 86 through 88. On 3 March 1944, Major Schroer scored his 99th victory and was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of III./JG 54, relieving Major Rudolf Sinner (39 victories, DK) who had been badly wounded on 6 March attacking a formation of four-engined bombers. III./JG 54 was based at Lüneberg and flew the Bf 109 G-6. On 24 May, Schroer shot down a P-51 and two P-47s for his 100th to 102nd victories. On 21 July 1944, Schroer relinquished command of III./JG 54 to Hauptmann Robert “Bazi” Weiss (121 victories, RK-EL, killed in action 29 December 1944). Schroer was transferred to a fighter pilot school as an instructor. On 4 August, he had to make a forced-landing when his engine malfunctioned. From November 1944 to February 1945 Schroer was retained in a training role. On 14 February 1945, Schroer was appointed Kommodore of JG 3. With this unit he quickly claimed 12 Russian aircraft destroyed. On 19 April 1945 he became the 144th recipient of the Schwertern. Werner Schroer survived the war. He died on 10 February 1985 in Munich, aged 67.

Werner Schroer was credited with 114 victories flying 197 missions. 102 of his victories were scored on the Western front, including 61 claimed over North Africa, and 26 four-engined bombers.

 

Source :
"Ritterkreuzträger Profile Nr. 15" by Ralf Schumann
http://www.luftwaffe.cz/schroer.html

Bio of Luftwaffe Fighter Ace Horst Ademeit

Horst Ademeit (Adomaitis) (8 February 1912 – 7 August 1944), the son of a Regierungsbaurat (government building officer), was born on 8 February 1912 in Breslau in the Kingdom of Prussia of the German Empire, present-day Wrocław in western Poland. He studied at the Königsberg Albertina University, a member of the Corps Masovia Königsberg. He then studied chemistry at the Technical University of Berlin and the Technical University of Braunschweig graduating as Diplom Ingenieur. He joined the military service of the Luftwaffe on 1 August 1936.

On 9 December 1938, Ademeit was made an officer cadet of the reserves and received flight training.

In the spring of 1940, Unteroffizier Ademeit was transferred to 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing) and participated in the Battle of Britain. He claimed his first victory on 18 September 1940. Shortly afterwards he was shot down over the Channel. He bailed out and was rescued by the Seenotdienst unharmed.

In June 1941, after the attack on the Soviet Union, he accompanied I./JG 54 to the Eastern Front. In quick succession he achieved aerial victories, promotions and awards. On 7 March 1943, Ademeit was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 6. Staffel of JG 54, replacing Oberleutnant Hans Beißwenger who was killed in action the day before.

In October 1943, Ademeit was credited with his 100th aerial victory. He was the 61st Luftwaffe pilot to achieve the century mark. In the beginning of August 1944, Ademeit was appointed acting Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) of JG 54.

On 7 August 1944, Ademeit, flying a Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-5 (Werksnummer 5960 — factory number) pursued a Russian Il-2 Sturmovik ground-attack aircraft eastwards over Russian lines near Dünaburg, however he failed to return from this mission and is considered Missing in action since. Berlin radio announced his loss on 29 September 1944.

Horst Ademeit was credited with 166 victories in over 600 missions over the Eastern Front. He was posthumously promoted to Major.

Matthews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found documentation for 160 aerial victory claims, all of which confirmed and claimed on the Eastern Front. The authors Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike and Bock list six further victories, aerial victories numbered 99–104, which were not documented by Matthews and Foreman, in the timeframe 18 September to 3 October 1943.

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 2525". The Luftwaffe grid map (Jägermeldenetz) covered all of Europe, western Russia and North Africa and was composed of rectangles measuring 15 minutes of latitude by 30 minutes of longitude, an area of about 360 square miles (930 km2). These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area 3 × 4 km in size.

Awards
Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (7 September 1940) and 1st Class (5 September 1941)
Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe for fighter pilots in Gold and Penant
Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 8 December 1941 as Leutnant and pilot
German Cross in Gold on 25 February 1942 as Leutnant in the 1./Jagdgeschwader 54
Knight's Cross on 16 April 1943 as Leutnant and pilot in the I./Jagdgeschwader 54
414th Oak Leaves on 2 March 1944 as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur I./Jagdgeschwader 54

Source :
http://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2011/07/album-foto-berwarna-perwira-dan_5529.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horst_Ademeit

Bio of Admiral Theodor Krancke

Theodor Krancke, born March 30, 1893, in Magdeburg, joined the German navy in April 1912. During World War I serving on in the IX Torpedo Boat Flotilla, attached to von Hipper’s battlecruisers, he participated in the Battle of Jutland. From 1927 to 1929, he was the torpedo officer on the pre-dreadnought battleship Schleswig-Holstein.

When World War II began, this successful Kriegsmarine officer gave up running the Naval Academy to take part in naval operations. As chief naval advisor to Admiral Raeder, he oversaw planning of the 1940 invasions of Norway and Denmark. Two months later, he was given command of the pocket battleship Admiral Scheer. In late October 1940, he began a successful 5-1/2 month North Atlantic raid, capturing three merchant ships and sinking a total of 13 merchant vessels and the auxiliary cruiser HMS Jervis Bay. In June 1941, he was appointed head of the Quartermaster Division of the Kriegsmarine, and a year later promoted to naval advisor at OKW.

On April 20, 1943, he was appointed Marinegruppenkommando West on the Bois de Boulogne in Paris. Von Rundstedt’s naval counterpart, he commanded all naval surface units and coastal batteries in the Western Theatre, and as such directly answerable only to Dönitz and OKM. Krancke always remained at odds with Rommel’s naval advisor, Admiral Ruge, refusing to understand why a naval officer was attached to an army command. Ruge, in turn, resented the undertone that he should be at sea or a lackey on some naval staff.

Krancke felt that when the invasion came, it would probably be somewhere between Boulogne and Cherbourg. On June 4th, he departed for Bordeaux to wind up some mining operations in the Bay of Biscay. Because the weather was scheduled to be bad for the next few days, and because he felt a landing at this time would not occur because the tides were wrong, he suspended minelaying operations and naval patrols to the order.

When D-Day began, Krancke rushed back to his headquarters in Paris but could do little to remove the huge Allied fleet parked off Normandy’s coast.

Krancke, an ardent Nazi, had a major hand in suppressing the anti-Hitler coup attempt in Paris on July 20, 1944. When he found out that the military governor had arrested several of the SS and Gestapo, he threatened to march into Paris and go to the prison with a thousand marines to free them.

He was later given command of Naval Group Norway, which he held until April 1945. After the surrender, he remained in command, overseeing the removal of minefields and the dismantling of German naval defences in Norway. Captured by the British on August 27th, he was released on October 3, 1947, and retired to his home near Hamburg.

He died on June 18, 1973.

Source :
https://www.casematepublishing.co.uk/blog/2019/05/23/countdown-to-d-day-krancke/
http://thirdreichcolorpictures.blogspot.com/2010/08/admiral-theodor-krancke.html

German Funker with Radio

 

German funker (radio operator) in action. The radio is possibly a Torn. Fu. b1. From color slide group of II.Abteilung / Artillerie-Regiment 63, Serie 5, frame 5.

Source :
Akira Takiguchi photo collection
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10224301088748339&set=gm.1799301070255308

Burial of Russian Civilian

Funeral of a Russian civilian. The body was taken from the coffin and placed in a blanket of the earth. The picture was taken by an unknown German photographer in the period of 1941-1943.

Source :
Bundesarchiv Bild 169-0339

German Horse-Drawn 150mm Feldhaubitze 18

German horse-drawn 15cm gun marching into enemy territory, 1940. Though almost invisible, the gun barrel has a muzzle cover with a red reflector. From a Farbdias group of a (later) ZKO officer. A fantastic photograph on many levels that would grace any book on World War II - also rare in that it shows German troops in relaxed mode. Don't forget the small details, such as the steam still coming off the horses! It maybe the only colour photograph to show the 150mm Feldhaubitze 18 in horse.

Source :
Akira Takiguchi photo collection
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10224447831776823&set=gm.1821186171400131

German Soldier Eating in a Tent

After a long march there is another opportunity to do personal hygiene and have something to eat. Soldier of a propaganda company eating in front of a tent. The picture was taken in the Eastern Front, 1941/42.

Source :
Bundesarchiv Bild 169-0144

Wreckage of Ju 52 and Fallschirmjäger Graves

The wreck of a crash-landed Junkers Ju 52 on the Maleme airfield with the grave of two Fallschirmjäger. At 08:00 on 20 May 1941, German paratroopers, jumping out of dozens of Junkers Ju 52 aircraft, landed near Maleme Airfield and the town of Chania. The 21st, 22nd and 23rd New Zealand battalions held Maleme Airfield and the vicinity. The Germans suffered many casualties in the first hours of the invasion: a company of III Battalion, 1st Assault Regiment lost 112 killed out of 126 men, and 400 of 600 men in III Battalion were killed on the first day. Most of the parachutists were engaged by New Zealanders defending the airfield and by Greek forces near Chania. Many gliders following the paratroops were hit by mortar fire seconds after landing, and the New Zealand and Greek defenders almost annihilated the glider troops who landed safely. Some paratroopers and gliders missed their objectives near both airfields and set up defensive positions to the west of Maleme Airfield and in "Prison Valley" near Chania. Both forces were contained and failed to take the airfields, but the defenders had to deploy to face them. Towards the evening of 20 May, the Germans slowly pushed the New Zealanders back from Hill 107, which overlooked the airfield.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Crete

Exhausted Motorcyclists Sleeping

 

Exhausted motorcyclists of Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 5 taking a nap in Greece, 1941. Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 5 (armored recce batallion 5) of the German 2. Panzer-Division invades Greece. Their Kupferbraun (copper brown) Waffenfarbe (branch color) of the Aufklärer / Kradschützen is evident in this photo.

Source :
Akira Takiguchi photo collection
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10224431956859960&set=gm.1818746084977473

Polish Armored Train "Danuta"

Poland, near Łowicz, September 1939. Damaged Polish armored train No. 11 "Danuta" captured by German troops. The Danuta was built in Poznań in 1919. In August 1920, the train participated in the Battle for Warsaw, as part of the Polish 1st Army. In 1924, the Danuta was assigned to the armoured train training unit located in Jabłonna, Legionowo County. Like most other Polish armoured trains, the Danuta was modernised in the early 1930s by receiving a Ti3 type locomotive, additional guns and AA machine guns. After the Polish Army was mobilised in 1939, the train was assigned to the Poznań Army. In the first days of the war, the Danuta supported various Polish infantry units. On 4 September, the train was bombed by the Luftwaffe, but received only minor damage. Next the train participated in the Battle of the Bzura. On 16 September, the train helped to halt the advance of the German 24. Infanterie-Division and tried to withdraw towards the Polish 16 Infantry Division, but was ambushed by the German anti-tank artillery. The damage received in the ambush and the fact that the train's ammunition supplies were almost depleted forced the commander of the train, Captain Korobowicz, to order the train to be blown up, together with the assaulting German infantry, to prevent German capture. Out of the tanks used to scout on and off the rails, five tankettes TKS were evacuated successfully and two FT-17 tanks blown up.

Source :
Bundesarchiv B 206 Bild-GD-52
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danuta_(armoured_train)

Artillerie-Regiment 213 on the March in Poland

Artillerie-Regiment 213 on the march with drawn units on a country road in Poland, September-October 1939. The regiment is a part of 213. Infanterie-Division. During the Invasion of Poland, the 213th Infantry Division served in the reserves of Heeresgruppe Süd (Generaloberst Gerd von Rundstedt). It did not play a significant role in the Poland campaign. After the campaign, the division served under XXXV. Armeekorps.

Source :
Bundesarchiv B 206 Bild-GD-06
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/213th_Security_Division_(Wehrmacht)

Bio of Generalleutnant René de l'Homme de Courbière

Generalleutnant René de l'Homme de Courbière
Born: 24 Jan 1887 in Sanskow, District Stolp, Pomerania (Pommern)
Died: 07 May 1946 in Wildeshausen, Oldenburg

Promotions:
Fähnrich (18 Nov 1904); Leutnant (18 Jun 1905); Oberleutnant (05 Jun 1914); Hauptmann (16 Jun 1915); Major (01 Apr 1928); Oberstleutnant (01 Feb 1933); Oberst (01 Mar 1935); Generalmajor (01 Apr 1938); Generalleutnant (01 Jun 1940)

Career:
Entered Army Service (14 Apr 1904)
Fahnenjunker in the 9th Grenadier-Regiment (14 Apr 1904-10 Dec 1915)
Detached to MG-Training-Course (01 Jan 1913-31 Mar 1913)
Company-Leader with the Infantry Replacement Troops in Warsaw (10 Dec 1915-27 Mar 1916)
Company-Leader with the MG-Instruction-Course in Döberitz (27 Mar 1916-24 Oct 1916)
Hauptmann with the Staff of the 9th Grenadier-Regiment (24 Oct 1916-31 Jul 1917)
Staff-Officer with the Staff of the 9th Grenadier-Regiment (31 Jul 1917-14 Jan 1919)
Company-Leader in the 9th Grenadier-Regiment (14 Jan 1919-01 Oct 1919)
Transferred into the 3rd Reichswehr-Infantry-Regiment (01 Oct 1919-01 Oct 1920)
Company-Chief in the 4th Infantry-Regiment (01 Oct 1920-01 Jun 1926)
Hauptmann with the Staff of I. Battalion of the 4th Infantry-Regiment (01 Jun 1926-01 Apr 1927)
Transferred to the Staff of the 2nd Division (01 Apr 1927-01 May 1927)
Transferred to the Staff of the Training-Battalion of the 4th Infantry-Regiment (01 May 1927-01 May 1928)
Company-Chief in the 4th Infantry-Regiment (01 May 1928-01 Oct 1928)
Transferred to the Staff of the 4th Infantry-Regiment (01 Oct 1928-01 Mar 1929)
Transferred to the Staff of the 2nd Division (01 Mar 1929-04 Mar 1932)
Detached to Course for Infantry Arms (28 May 1929-21 Jun 1929)
Commander of the Training-Battalion of the 5th Infantry-Regiment (04 Mar 1932-01 Oct 1934)
Transferred to the Staff of Artillery-Leader I (01 Oct 1934-15 Oct 1935)
Transferred to the Staff of the 1st Division (15 Oct 1935-06 Oct 1936)
Commander of the 96th Infantry-Regiment (06 Oct 1936-10 Nov 1938)
Landwehr-Commander Glogau (10 Nov 1938-26 Aug 1939)
Commander of the 213th Infantry-Division (26 Aug 1939-15 Mar 1940)
Commander of the 213th Security-Division (15 Mar 1940-12 Aug 1942)
Commander of the 153rd Field-Training-Division (15 Jan 1943-08 Jun 1943)
Führer-Reserve OKH (08 Jun 1943-08 Sep 1943)
Delegated with the Temporary Leadership of Division 432 (08 Sep 1943-15 Oct 1943)
Führer-Reserve OKH (15 Oct 1943-01 Nov 1943)
Commander of Landesschützen-Division 410 (01 Nov 1943-20 Dec 1943)
Führer-Reserve OKH (20 Dec 1943-10 Jan 1944)
Commander of the 338th Infantry-Division (10 Jan 1944-18 Sep 1944)
Führer-Reserve OKH (18 Sep 1944-19 Jan 1945)
Commander of the Catch-Staff in Military-District VIII (19 Jan 1945-05 Mar 1945)
Commander of the Catch-Staff with Army High Command 4 (05 Mar 1945-29 Mar 1945)
Taken ill, in Hospital (29 Mar 1945-00 Jan 1946)
In Captivity (00 Jan 1946-24 Feb 1946)
Released (24 Feb 1946)

Awards & Decorations:
- Deutsches Kreuz in Gold: am 23.11.1944 als Generalleutnant und Kommandeur der 338. Infanterie-Division
- 1914 EK I
- 1914 EK II
- Kgl. Bayer. Militär-Verdienstorden IV. Klasse mit Schwertern
- Hamburgisches Hanseatenkreuz
- Fürstl. Lippisches Kriegsverdienstkreuz
- Verwundetenabzeichen, 1918 in Schwarz
- Ehrenritter des Kgl. Preuss. Johanniter-Orden
- Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer
- Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung IV. bis I. Klasse
- Spange zum EK II
- Spange zum EK I

German soldiers and officers in an unnamed town square in Poland, September-October 1939. The one in the middle is Generalmajor René de l'Homme de Courbière (Kommandeur 213. Infanterie-Division). During the Invasion of Poland, the 213th Infantry Division served in the reserves of Army Group South (Gerd von Rundstedt). It did not play a significant role in the Poland campaign. After the campaign, the division served under XXXV Army Corps.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/213th_Security_Division
http://www.geocities.ws/orion47.geo/WEHRMACHT/HEER/Generalleutnant/HOMME_RENE.html