Kurt Dahlmann
Kurt Dahlmann | |
|---|---|
| Born | 4 March 1918 Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves |
Kurt Dahlmann (4 March 1918 – 29 August 2017) was a German pilot, attorney, journalist, newspaper editor and political activist. He was also a recipient of the
Early life
Dahlmann was born in
Second World War
Dahlmann was further trained as a bomber and ground attack pilot, flying both
Dahlmann later specialized in solo night bombing attacks against specific high-value targets. These missions included weapons factories in Britain, British airfields, late war harassing bombing raids over London and attacking the Remagen bridge which was the first Allied open crossing over the Rhine river into Germany.[2] He was also personally assigned a specially stripped-down, high-speed Fw 190 for target marking and pathfinding missions.[2]
He flew over 350 combat missions throughout Europe between September 1940 and 8 May 1945 (
Post-war
Following his release as an Allied
In 1958 he left Germany for
After a long battle with cancer, which forced his return to Germany to seek treatment, Dahlmann moved into a public assisted-living facility in Baden-Baden. He died in August 2017 at the age of 99.[6]
Political activism
Writing under the pen name Stachus, symbolised as a potted cactus with an oblique dip pen, Dahlmann was adamant about the fleeting nature of apartheid. He wrote many editorials on this topic suggesting ways that Namibia and South Africa should address the issue of inevitable black rule in both countries.[7]
His views so grated Diether Lauenstein, who had recently purchased the paper, that he was fired from the Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper in 1978. Dahlmann alleged that Lauenstein fired him on 20 April 1978, the birthday of Adolf Hitler. Lauenstein was adamantly opposed to Namibian independence, and his enthusiastic support for apartheid as well as the continued South African rule of the territory placed him at odds with Dahlmanns' own views, which were generally in favour of independence and majority rule.[8] Dahlmann would later state publicly that the acquisition of the paper by Lauenstein was at the behest of the South African government with the view of expanding its dominance over Namibia.[9] Dahlmanns' Namibian activism was based on three premises: the end of apartheid, continued independence vs integration with South Africa, and universal, race- and gender-independent, suffrage for all Namibians.[8]
Awards and decorations
- Flugzeugführerabzeichen
- Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe (19 January 1942)
- Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe in Gold
- Iron Cross
- 2nd Class
- 1st Class
- German Cross in Gold on 15 February 1943 as Oberleutnant in the III./Kampfgeschwader 30[10]
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
References
Citations
- ^ a b c "Von 90 Jahren war Dahlmann zwei Jahrzehnte bei der AZ" [90-year-old Dahlmann was two decades at the AZ]. Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). 27 March 2008.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-903223-99-4.
- ^ "Dahlmann, Kurt". Lexicon der Wehrmacht (in German).
- ^ "Kurt Dahlmann". Schlachtflieger.de (in German).
- ^ a b "Biographies of Namibian Personalities: L". Namibia Library of Dr. Klaus Dierks.
- ^ Alt-Chefredakteur der AZ ist verstorben
- ^ "20 Jahre lang Stoff für den Glossentopf - Resümee eines Dieners". Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). 4 August 2006.
- ^ a b Reinsperger, Regina. "Diether Lauenstein und die Apartheid" (PDF). Ausführlicheres kritisches Porträt (in German). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 June 2012. 503kB.
- ^ "Spitze des Eisbergs" [Tip of the iceberg]. Der Spiegel (in German). 13 November 1978.
- ^ Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 77.
- ^ a b Scherzer 2007, p. 264.
- ^ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 156.
- ^ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 95.
Bibliography
- ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
- Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
- 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.
- Stockert, Peter (2008). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 8 [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 8] (in German). Bad Friedrichshall, Germany: Friedrichshaller Rundblick. OCLC 76072662.
- Thomas, Franz (1997). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 1: A–K [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 1: A–K] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2299-6.
External links
- "Oblt Kurt Dahlmann III/KG 30" (forum thread). Luftwaffe and Allied Air Forces Discussion Forum.
- "Knights Cross Recipients Who Are Still Living" (forum thread). Wehrmacht-Awards.com Militaria Forums.
- "Seid nett zu den armen Namibia-Deutschen" [Be nice to the poor Namibian-German]. Der Spiegel (in German). 28 August 1978.
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