Gustav Krukenberg
Gustav Krukenberg | |
---|---|
Born | SS Division Charlemagne SS Division Nordland | 8 March 1888
Battles/wars | World War I World War II |
Awards | Iron Cross 1st Class Iron Cross 2nd Class |
Relations |
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Gustav Krukenberg (8 March 1888 – 23 October 1980) was a high-ranking member of the Waffen-SS and commander of the SS Charlemagne Division and the remains of the SS Division Nordland during the Battle of Berlin in April 1945. After Krukenberg surrendered to Soviet Red Army troops, he was tried, convicted and sentenced to prison by a Soviet court. He was released from prison after serving 11 years and died on 23 October 1980 in Germany.
Life
Krukenberg was born in
World War II
With the outbreak of
Berlin 1945
On the night of 23/24 April 1945, Krukenberg received a call from Army Group Vistula headquarters. He was summoned to bring the remains of his division to help with the
On 25 April, Krukenberg was appointed by General
By 26 April, with Neukölln heavily penetrated by Soviet combat groups, Krukenberg prepared fallback positions for Sector C defenders around Hermannplatz. He moved his headquarters into the opera house. As the Nordland Division withdrew towards Hermannplatz, the Frenchmen under Fenet and some attached Hitler Youth destroyed fourteen Soviet tanks; one machine gun position by the Halensee bridge managed to hold up Soviet forces for 48 hours.[8]
After an appeal by Krukenberg, General Weidling agreed to allow the re-deployment of the Nordland Division as one unit and not scattered in its employment. Weidling created two sub-sections of Sector "Z"; the Western Sub-sector would be commanded by Oberleutant Seifert. His command post was in the Air Ministry Building. The Eastern Sub-sector would be commanded by Krukenberg where most of the remains of the Nordland were already fighting. The demarcation line was the Wilhelmstrasse.[9] Forced to fall back on 27 April, Krukenberg's Nordland headquarters was a carriage in the Stadtmitte U-Bahn station in Defence sector Z (Central District).[10] Of the 108 Soviet tanks destroyed in the centre district, Frenchmen under Krukenberg's overall command accounted for "about half" of them.[11] On 29 April 1945 Krukenberg awarded one of the last Knight's Crosses of the war to Unterscharführer Eugène Vaulot for his combat actions.[12]
It is widely believed that on 1 May, Krukenberg attempted to stem the Soviet advance by ordering sappers to blow up the S-Bahn tunnel under the Landwehr canal, causing 25 kilometres of S-Bahn and U-Bahn tunnels to flood, which led to many casualties. But according to author A. Stephan Hamilton, it is far more probable that the massive bombardment of the city by hundreds of tons of shells and rockets by the Soviets caused the damage and flooding of the tunnels. As the Germans made extensive use of the underground (U-Bahn) for redeployment of troops, makeshift hospitals and as a place to take refuge from the constant shelling, it seems highly doubtful that Krukenberg ordered the destruction of the U-bahn tunnels.[13]
After Hitler's death, Krukenberg assembled most of his escort made up of French SS for a breakout. They joined up with Joachim Ziegler and a larger group of Nordland troops. They crossed the Spree just before dawn. Near the Gesundbrunnen U-Bahn station they came under heavy fire from Red Army troops. Ziegler was gravely wounded and died on 2 May.[14] Later, Krukenberg made it to Dahlem where he hid out in an apartment for a week before surrendering to Red Army troops.[15] He was tried, convicted and sentenced to prison by a Soviet court. He was released from prison after serving 11 years and returned to Germany.[16] Krukenberg died on 23 October 1980.[16]
Awards
- Iron Cross (1914), 1st and 2nd class[1]
- Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939), 1st and 2nd class[17]
- Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918
References
Citations
- ^ a b c Forbes 2010, p. 156.
- ^ a b c Forbes 2010, p. 157.
- ^ Forbes 2010, pp. 157, 158, 170–171.
- ^ Beevor 2002, pp. 291–292.
- ^ Forbes 2010, pp. 390, 396–398.
- ^ Forbes 2010, pp. 398, 401.
- ^ Beevor 2002, pp. 301–302.
- ^ Beevor 2002, p. 303.
- ^ Forbes 2010, pp. 421, 422.
- ^ Beevor 2002, p. 323.
- ^ Beevor 2002, p. 352.
- ^ Forbes 2010, p. 439.
- ^ Hamilton 2008, p. 214.
- ^ Beevor 2002, p. 383.
- ^ Beevor 2002, p. 384.
- ^ a b Forbes 2010, p. 501.
- ^ Forbes 2010, pp. 157, 158.
Bibliography
- Beevor, Antony (2002). Berlin – The Downfall 1945. Viking-Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-670-03041-5.
- Forbes, Robert (2010) [2006]. For Europe: The French Volunteers of the Waffen-SS. Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-811735-81-0.
- Hamilton, A. Stephan (2008). Bloody Streets: The Soviet Assault on Berlin, April 1945. Helion & Co. ISBN 9781906033125.
- Schöttler, Peter (2015). "Three Kinds of Collaboration: Concepts of Europe and the ‘Franco-German Understanding’ – The Career of SS-Brigadeführer Gustav Krukenberg." In: Dieter Gosewinkel (ed.), Anti-Liberal Europe. A Neglected Story of Europeanization. New York/Oxford: Berghahn, p. 128–156.
Further reading
- Le Tissier, Tony. Charlemagne - The 33rd Waffen-SS Grenadier Division of the SS. Pen & Sword (2010). ISBN 978-1-848842-31-1