Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke
Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke | |
---|---|
Born | Schleswig, German Empire | 24 January 1889
Died | 4 July 1968 Kappeln, West Germany | (aged 79)
Allegiance | German Empire Weimar Republic Nazi Germany |
Service/ | |
Years of service | 1905–45 |
Rank | German 2nd Parachute Division Fortress Brest |
Battles/wars | World War I Russian Civil War World War II |
Awards | War crimes |
Criminal penalty | 5 years and 6 months imprisonment |
Details | |
Victims | French civilians |
Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke (24 January 1889 – 4 July 1968) was a German general of paratroop forces during
Ramcke was an ardent Nazi who committed war crimes in Crete and France. Following the fighting on Crete in 1941, he ordered his men to attack civilians as punishment for guerrilla attacks. In 1951 Ramcke was convicted of war crimes against French civilians during the Battle for Brest, but was released after three months, since he had already spent nearly five years in prison. During the 1950s he was a prominent nationalist and supported extreme right-wing movements.
World War I
Born in 1889, Ramcke joined the
In 1919 Ramcke fought against the
World War II
On 19 July 1940, Ramcke was transferred to the
In 1942, Ramcke's unit, later known as
In 1943 Ramcke, now a generalleutnant, took command of 2nd Parachute Division and transferred to Italy.[3] When Italy signed the armistice with the Allies on 8 September 1943, the division took part in Operation Achse to seize the country. Ramcke led his division in an assault on Italian Army units near Rome, and captured the city two days later. He was badly injured when an Italian aircraft ran his car off the road, and was medically evacuated to Germany.[4]
Also in 1943, Ramcke completed a memoir entitled From Cabin Boy to Paratroop General. The book was published by Franz Eher Nachfolger, the Nazi Party's press, and Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels ordered all German mayors to purchase a copy. A total of 400,000 copies of the book were sold, which considerably enriched Ramcke as well as Hitler, who owned a large share of the publisher.[7]
Ramcke returned to service in mid-February 1944. At this time the 2nd Parachute Division was deployed to the Eastern Front where it was retreating. Ramcke soon fell ill, and returned to Germany on 17 March. He rejoined the division, which was now stationed near Cologne, on 5 or 6 May.[4]
Following the Allied
Most of the surviving German soldiers surrendered on 18 September, but Ramcke attempted to escape from the city. Ramcke led what the US Army official history described as "a group of diehards", which was forced to surrender on 19 September.[12] On the same day he was awarded the Swords (99th Recipient) & Diamonds (20th recipient) to the Knight's Cross.[13]
According to the documents about
Post-war
After being taken prisoner, Ramcke was interrogated by an American officer. During this interrogation he expressed strong support for the Nazi Party, claimed that Germany was a "clean innocent nation greatly wronged by other nations" and that after the war he would prepare his sons to help Germany rise again. The American officer judged that Ramcke was "an egotistical, conceited Nazi" and "a firm believer in Hitler and greatly inclined to the [Nazi] Party".[15] Ramcke was then transferred to the Trent Park facility for captured senior German officers in London. The British officers who ran the facility also considered him to be one of the most vocal supporters of the Nazi Party they had encountered. A report prepared on Ramcke stated that "if there [was] to be such a thing as a list of especially dangerous men to be kept under surveillance [after the war], General Ramcke ought to qualify as one of the first candidates".[15] While at Trent Park, Ramcke boasted about destroying Brest in a conversation with Dietrich von Choltitz, the last commander of German-occupied Paris. Von Choltitz believed that Ramcke's actions constituted a war crime.[16]
Ramcke was later moved to the United States as a prisoner of war. On 1 January 1946 he briefly escaped from Camp Clinton, Mississippi to post letters protesting about American propaganda campaigns and the withdrawal of tobacco and other luxury items from the POWs to Byron Price, the director of the Office for Censorship, and Senator James Eastland.[17] After the camp authorities learned of Ramcke's escape, he was transferred to Camp Shelby in Mississippi and held in solitary confinement on a diet of bread and water for four days.[18]
Ramcke was returned to Europe in March 1946. After a brief period in Belgium, he was transferred to the London Cage.[19] Historian Helen Fry has written that he was considered at this time to be a "bombastic nasty man who sought to blame others for the crimes of the regime". During his interrogation at the London Cage Ramcke retracted claims that New Zealand soldiers, including Māori personnel, had committed atrocities during the fighting on Crete which were contained in the book of memoirs he had written while in American custody.[20] Ramcke was later transferred to a camp at Lüneburg and gave evidence in Student's war crimes trial. He was greatly angered when Student was convicted.[19]
From 1946 Ramcke was held in French custody awaiting trial for war crimes relating to the fighting at Brest. The crimes he was charged with included the execution of French civilians, the looting of civilian property and the intentional destruction of civilian houses.[16] After being held in custody for 57 months he escaped to Germany to see his family, but surrendered himself soon afterwards.[21] Following a trial, he was found guilty on 21 March 1951, and sentenced to five years and six months' imprisonment.[16][21] He was released after three months' imprisonment either on account of his age or due to having already been held in French captivity for five years before the verdict.[16][21]
Following his release from nearly seven years captivity, Ramcke, through his public actions, became seen as a dedicated nationalist
In November 1952, Ramcke told a group of former SS men attending a HIAG meeting they should be proud of being blacklisted, while stating that in the future their blacklist would instead be seen as a "list of honor".[22][23] Ramcke's remarks caused a furor in Germany; even the former SS General Felix Steiner distanced himself from them.[24] Konrad Adenauer was so furious with Ramcke's remarks that he directed Thomas Dehler, the German federal Minister of Justice, to investigate the possibility of prosecuting Ramcke. Adenauer publicly described Ramcke's remarks as "irresponsible" and his associated behavior as "foolishness"—a reaction probably prompted because Adenauer's government had made a significant effort to obtain early release for Ramcke from French imprisonment.[25][26]
Ramcke and his supporters argued that the intent of his actions following the war was to again seek to protect his men, both in their reputations and their future, such as in cautioning against their being used as "cannon fodder" in the speech to ex-paratroopers during the rearmament debate.[27] This was consistent with his behavior throughout his military career.[4] Ramcke published two autobiographies, one during the war and the other in 1951. He died in 1968.
Awards
- Prussian Iron Cross of 1914 2nd Class on 17 April 1916 & 1st Class on 27 January 1917[28]
- Prussian Golden Military Merit Cross on 24 April 1918[3]
- Clasp to the Iron Cross of 1939 2nd Class on 1 October 1939 & 1st Class on 23 May 1941[28]
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds
- Knight's Cross on 21 August 1941 as Oberst and commander of the Fallschirmjäger-Sturm-Regiment[29]
- 145th Oak Leaves on 13 November 1942 as Generalmajor and commander of Fallschirmjäger-Brigade "Ramcke"[29]
- 99th Swords on 19 September 1944 as General der Fallschirmtruppe and commander of Fortress Brest[29]
- 20th Diamonds on 19 September 1944 as General der Fallschirmtruppe and commander of Fortress Brest[29]
Works
- Vom Ritterkreuzträger zum Angeklagten. ISBN 3-920677-57-9.
- Fallschirmjäger. Schütz, Preußisch Oldendorf 1973.
- Fallschirmjäger, damals und danach. Lorch, Frankfurt am Main 1951.
- Vom Schiffsjungen zum Fallschirmjäger-General. Verlag Die Wehrmacht, Berlin 1943.
Notes
- ^ Included in one Orders of the Day for Ramcke's command in September 1944 was The US Army was the "instrument of the international Jewish clique which is based in Wall Street, New York, and from there wants to subjugate the entire world in co-operation with Russian Bolshevism... The people of the United States of America are no single, united race. They are made up of all the world's races, the good and the inferior. Among the inferior, the blacks and mixed races stand out"—comments which reflect the peculiarly racist outlook of the Third Reich. Mitcham points out that Ramcke's second-in-command, Hans Kroh, who assumed command of Ramcke's 2ndFJD at Brest, is believed to have had strong Nazi party connections and reasonably may have functioned in the political officer role in preparing orders.
References
Citations
- ^ Williamson and McGregor 2006, p. 48.
- ^ a b Williamson 2006, p. 49.
- ^ a b c d e f Quarrie 2005, p. 13.
- ^ a b c d e Mitcham 2009, pp. 182–184.
- ^ Mallett 2013, p. 41
- ^ Mallett 2013, p. 42
- ^ Mallett 2013, p. 45
- ^ a b Blumenson 1961, p. 655
- ^ Blumenson 1961, pp. 641, 648
- ^ a b Mallett 2013, p. 43
- ^ Blumenson 1961, p. 649
- ^ Blumenson 1961, p. 651-52
- ^ Fellgiebel, Walther-peer, Elite of the Third Reich, Helion & Co, West Midlands, UK, 2004, p. 34
- ^ Helen Fry, "'The Walls Have Ears'", Yale University Press, ISBN 978-0-300-23860-0, 2019, pp. 201-3
- ^ a b Mallett 2013, p. 44
- ^ a b c d Hellwinkell 2014, p. 158
- ^ Mallett 2013, pp. 128-129
- ^ Mallett 2013, p. 129
- ^ a b Mallett 2013, p. 174
- ^ Fry 2017, p. 119
- ^ a b c d e Mallett 2013, p. 175
- ^ www.bundesarchiv.de
- ^ Rabble-Rousing General Is Worrying the Allies, Ottawa Citizen 1952 article
- ^ Hitler's Guard Cheers Ex-chief, Sarasota Herald-Tribune 1952 article
- ^ Frei, p. 383.
- ^ Internet Archive reproduction of Frei, p. 383
- ^ Searle 2003, p. 164.
- ^ a b Thomas 1998, p. 182.
- ^ a b c d Scherzer 2007, p. 612.
Bibliography
- Center of Military History. (link to pdf)
- ISBN 0-231-11882-1.
- ISBN 9780300221930.
- Hellwinkel, Lars (2014). Hitler's Gateway to the Atlantic: German Naval Bases in France 1940-1945. Barnsley, United Kingdom: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 9781848321991.
- Mallett, Derek R. (2013). Hitler's Generals in America: Nazi POWs and Allied Military Intelligence. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 9780813142531.
- ISBN 978-1-59797-274-1.
- ISBN 978-1-84176-828-1.
- Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
- Searle, Alaric (2003). Wehrmacht Generals, West German Society, and the Debate on Rearmament, 1949–1959. Westport, CT: ISBN 978-0-275-97968-3.
- Thomas, Franz (1998). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2: L–Z [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 2: L–Z] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2300-9.
- ISBN 978-1-84176-644-7.
- ISBN 978-1-84176-828-1.