French MacLean, Author at The Fifth Field

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Alfred Jodl

Alfred Jodl

Alfred Jodl, Army Colonel General, born 10 May 1890 in Würzburg, Chief of the Operations Staff of the German Armed Forces High Command (OKW), winner of the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, survived the bomb explosion during the 20 July 1944 attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler, convicted of crimes against peace, war crimes and crimes against humanity at Nürnberg, executed by hanging 16 October 1946 at Nürnberg, said the following concerning loyalty:

“My conception of loyalty is not something to be bought and sold like a banker’s stock. I wouldn’t greet a man with both hands when he is victorious and start looking for a dagger as soon as his stock looks as if it is going down. Bankers can do that but not officers.”

The Allies decided that after the execution, the remains of the condemned would be cremated and the ashes dumped into the Isar River, so as to preclude any memorial later be constructed to venerate them. Jodl’s family placed this marker to remember the general:

Alfred JodlFrench MacLean2016-03-28T18:39:19-05:00

Heinrich Müller

Heinrich Müller

Heinrich Müller was born in Munich, Bavaria, 28 April 1900, the son of working-class Catholic parents. In the final year of World War I, he served as a pilot for an artillery spotting unit, during which he was decorated several times for bravery, to include the Iron Cross 2nd Class, the Iron Cross 1st Class, the Bavarian Military Merit Cross 2nd Class with Swords and the Bavarian Pilots Badge.

Müller joined the Bavarian Police in 1919. During the immediate post-war years, Müller was involved in the suppression of attempted Communist risings in Bavaria (He became a lifelong enemy of Communism after witnessing the shooting of hostages by the revolutionary “Red Army” in München, during the Bavarian Soviet Republic.) During the Weimar Republic, Müller served as the head of the München Police Department, where he acquainted with many members of the Nazi Party including Heinrich Himmler and Reinhard Heydrich.

After the 1933 Nazis rise to power, Heydrich – as head of the Security Service – recruited Müller to the SS. In 1936, as head of the Gestapo, Heydrich named Müller that organization’s Operation’s Chief. Heinrich Müller quickly rose to the ranks, achieving the grade of SS-Gruppenführer in 1939. With the consolidation of law enforcement agencies under Heydrich in the Reich Main Security Office (RSHA), Müller became the chief of the RSHA “Amt IV” (Office #4 or Deptartment #4.) At about the same time, he acquired the nickname “Gestapo Müller” to distinguish him from another SS general of the same name. The nickname would soon bring an aura of dread associated with Müller for many. He was also called “Bloody Müller.”

Photo supposedly of Heinrich Müller hunting

As the Gestapo chief, Heinrich Müller played a leading role in the detection and suppression of all forms of resistance to the Nazi regime, succeeding in infiltrating and destroying many underground networks of the Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party. Müller was also active in resolving the Jewish question; Adolf Eichmann headed the Gestapo‘s Office of Resettlement and then it’s Office of Jewish Affairs (the Amt IV section called Referat IV B4), as Müller’s subordinate. Müller attended the Wannsee Conference in Berlin in January 1942 that formalized responsibilities for the destruction of Europe’s Jews.

In 1942, Müller successfully infiltrated the “Red Orchestra” network of Soviet spies and used it to feed false information to the Soviet intelligence services. While not the commander of any Einsatzgruppe, he received regular reports on their progress in Russia. In February 1943, he presented Heinrich Himmler with firm evidence that Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, chief of the German Abwehr Military Intelligence Organization, was involved with the anti-Nazi resistance; however, Himmler told him to drop the case. During the war, Müller received the Knights Cross of the War Service Cross.

After the failure of the July 20, 1944 Bomb Plot to assassinate Hitler, Müller assumed responsibility, for arresting and interrogating anyone suspected of involvement. Müller’s agents arrested over 5,000 people during the next six months. In April 1945, Müller was among the last group of Nazi loyalists assembled in the Führer Bunker, as the Soviet Army fought its way into Berlin. One of his last tasks was to interrogate SS-Gruppenführer Hermann Fegelein in the basement of the Church of the Trinity, near the Reichs Chancellery. Fegelein was Himmler’s liaison officer to Hitler and after Müller’s interrogation, he was shot on April 28, 1945 on Müller’s evidence that Fegelein was attempting to flee Berlin.

Müller’s fate has been the subject of speculation; many historians believe that he was killed, while others opine that he worked for the Soviet Union or the United States Central Intelligence Agency after the war. Other theories speculated that he escaped to South America. The most intriguing option of Müller’s fate came from Walter Lüders, a former member of the Volkssturm (Peoples’ Defense Force.) Lüders said that he had been part of a burial unit, which had found the body of an SS General in the garden of the Reich Chancellery, with the identity papers of Heinrich Müller. The body was subsequently buried in a mass grave at the Old Jewish Cemetery on Grosse Hamburger Strasse, then in the Soviet Occupation Sector.

Was the Gestapo chief buried here ?

There appears to have been no investigation of this gravesite since the war to assess the validity of this witness. Speculation continues, with the recent book Grey Wolf postulating that Müller was part of an elaborate escape plot that ended in Argentina. In any case, “Gestapo Müller” once boasted, “I’ve never had a man in front of me yet whom I did not break in the end.” Was Müller broken in death at the end of the war or did he escape?

Heinrich MüllerFrench MacLean2016-04-05T20:52:53-05:00

Defeating the Terrorists

Terrorists in Brussels airport moments before detonating their bombs

Not sure how many of these mass-casualty terrorist attacks the world in general, and the United States in particular, have to withstand, before the people rise up and demand that their leaders take effective action to stop them.

I am also not sure that insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result, but I do know that it is pretty stupid and almost guarantees that your opponent — be that in a sport, or at the national security level — will probably defeat you.

A whole lot of Americans are getting pretty much tired of the political correctness that suggests that these terrorists are misunderstood; that it is our fault that they attack us; that we must not take drastic measures to defeat them, or they will have won. These pathetic attempts have not proven effective and we now have a major terrorist attack almost every month. Fort Hood, Boston, Chattanooga, San Bernardino, Paris and now Brussels have entered our lexicon as locations of mayhem and death. Before, most Americans associated Belgium with waffles; now they link it to terrorism and murder.

The Europeans may be beyond salvation in this fight, unfortunately, because their populations have ceded way too much power to their own national governments, and on top of that have tried to pound a square peg into a round hole in submitting to an “uber-government” called the European Union. If you understand that the further away from the people a government is, the less it will respond to the people’s wishes, why in the world would anyone think that a governing body higher than the federal level would be of greater assistance to the average man in the street?

It is also obvious that we have had a crop of too many military leaders who were more interested in appearing sophisticated thinkers and Georgetown party-goers than they were interested in kicking ass on the battlefield, but that is what you get when you attempt to conduct years and years of political and social experimentation with your military.

Having said that, we here in the United States may have one last opportunity to preserve our sovereignty and way of life against an enemy that has been an anathema to our ideals for over a millennium. Without getting too far into the weeds, and not hearing any coherent plan from our current crop of political hacks, let me offer the following three-tier strategy.

“Point of the Spear”: take the fight to the terrorists. Intel agencies (like the Central Intelligence Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency, etc.) combine with the military, and the other elements of power for offensive operations outside the US to not just defeat but eradicate the threat. Design rules of engagement to enhance our forces’ ability to find, engage and destroy the enemy, whether that is active terrorists, or those who provide haven, logistical support, or morale support. If you support the terrorists, you may find yourself part of what is called collateral damage. Deny the enemy safe haven anywhere in the world by offensive action and my linking a foreign country’s relationship benefits with the US to the aggressiveness that country deals with terrorists inside its borders. This fight is not designed to nation-build, as that would put US forces on the ground in one area for a protracted time, when what we want is a quick re-cock and the flexibility that provides; it is aimed at dismembering the terrorist organizations and personnel of those who would attack us.

“Not in our house”: defend the actual homeland. Law Enforcement (the Federal Bureau of Investigation, state, local police) and permissible intel (intelligence agencies that are allowed by law to operate inside the US) prevent attacks, and when that is not done, responding rapidly to an attack. Homeland Security and the State Department limit the influx of potential/actual terrorists into the country by protecting the border and effectively screening who attempts to get in, by using the simple and logical rule: when in doubt, keep them out. Use effective profiling techniques unfettered by political correctness, to identify threats especially among those individuals who demonstrate an unwillingness to assimilate into American culture. And we need to come down hard, by passing laws that make a life in prison without parole sentence the most frequent outcome for anyone convicted of taking an active part in a terrorist attack (or providing material support to terrorists be that money, intelligence, sheltering, etc.) whether that is a foreign terrorist or an American citizen that perpetrates those actions abroad or here at home.

“Goal Line Stand”: harness the inherent courage and initiative of the American people as individuals, who when faced with a threat take immediate action such as the passengers in Flight 93 to eliminate or reduce the effects of that attack. Support of the 2nd Amendment, even expanding it if necessary, and the encouragement of concealed carry by law-abiding citizens. Support efforts at community policing in Arab and Muslim enclaves in the US. Reduce gun-free zones that now just invite attacks. Establish laws to indemnify citizens who respond in good faith to terrorist attacks. A good last line of defense can overcome temporary power-brokers in Washington who make bad decisions — be they incompetent or dishonest — as well as foster the key goal that we are all in this together.

Every anti-terrorism effort must fall into one of these three defensive tiers or they are a waste of time and money; that is called unity of effort. Our society needs to marginalize those who would commit national suicide by tying the nation’s hands behind its back. Terrorism is here and not going away any time soon unless we circle the wagons and unify in the effort to defeat it.

“We Are at War” headline in German magazine

Defeating the TerroristsFrench MacLean2016-03-27T10:58:53-05:00

Sonderkommando Letter dated July 11, 1944

Letter from SS-Sturmmann Ernst Buchhorn to his sister Maria in Dresden, dated July 11, 1944. Buchhorn states that he had been released on June 1 for rehabilitation. Sonderkommando Dirlewanger records indicate that on that date some 287 political prisoners were released from the Sachsenhausen concentration camp for service with the unit, while 182 German political prisoners were released for the same purpose from Auschwitz. Buchhorn undoubtedly had been incarcerated and came from one of these two locations.

Einsatzort, July 11, 1944

My dear Sister Maria,

Just a few quick words and I can tell you that I was released on June 1^st and that I have been given the chance that I can restore my honor and will be rehabilitated. I am not allowed to tell you where I am at present, but my Feldpost Number is 21545, and I can assure you that I am in the company of some good comrades and trainers and together we are poised to help each other a lot. I am not yet deployed to action, but my hope is that after a 100% rehabilitation, I can one day come back to you as an honest person. That is all I can promise you for now. Now, where is your Albert these days? How are the children Toni and Liliane; she must be almost 6 years old by now? Please excuse the writing paper but right now I had nothing else. Please do not send anything because we do not know how long we will stay here. And so I will close and the letter can go out in the mail.

Greetings to you Ernst

Sonderkommando Letter dated July 11, 1944French MacLean2016-03-10T18:26:05-06:00

The Wisdom of Crowds

Read this carefully, because I really need your help in proving or disproving a historical mystery, and after you think about what you have read I would ask you to email me with your opinions.

My interest in World War II probably began at age five and since then, especially concerning the war in Europe, I have tried to read book after book on this subject that has been printed in English or German. After five decades and at least 1,000 books read, I was pretty comfortable that I understood how the war unfolded and the general ground truth of what happened.

Within the last two years, however, something has changed with the publication of the book Grey Wolf: The Escape of Adolf Hitler, and last fall the appearance on the History Channel of the series Hunting Hitler. Until these two events, I would have mortgaged the house, sold the dog, taken a second job and wagered every dollar I had, or would ever make in the future, on the premise that Adolf Hitler committed suicide in Berlin on or about April 30, 1945. That event was a given in World War II history and was supported by a mountain of indicators.

Now, while I still freely admit that the mountain of indicators is still there, this little, itty-bitty voice of doubt has crept into some historical recess of my mind that is now saying, “Not so fast.”

Let’s do a quick review of established history. The Soviet Army advanced through Poland and was in an operational pause along the Oder River, just east of Berlin. On April 16, 1945, they launched their attack to take the German capital, concentrating their forces to break through in the Seelow Heights area. After two days of bitter fighting, the Soviets broke through the German defenses and advanced toward Berlin, while at the same time sending attack wings north and south of the city so as to encircle it. By April 23 April, Berlin was fully encircled and the Battle for Berlin entered its final stage. Hitler decided to die in Berlin, while many or his subordinates attempted to escape over the next eight days. During the last 49 hours of his life, Adolf Hitler married his long-time mistress Eva Braun, dictated his final will and testament and made preparations for his death. The two committed suicide about 3:30 pm on April 30, 1945. SS personnel took the bodies of both people outside the bunker, where they attempted to burn them beyond recognition. A general breakout from the bunker occurred the next day, with some personnel escaping the Red Army, but with most killed or captured.

Grey Wolf, and since I first read it I have discovered that several investigative reporters and historians in South America have come to the same conclusion – one even stating that some of the work in the book was his own – presents a detailed account of how the Nazis amassed a fortune in Argentina and paid off several highly-placed Argentinian leaders to not only look the other way, but to actively assist those Nazis that escaped to their country after the war. The non-fiction work then goes into detail on how Hitler – and Eva Braun – escaped. It gives names of those assisting in the effort, presents the most-likely path of escape, tells of the exact U-boat that ferried the Führer across the Atlantic, describes Hitler’s life in the South American country and presents a description of the Nazi leader’s last days. More incredibly – if that is possible – the work tells how Eva soured on her husband and how she and their two children left the unstable dictator. In short, Grey Wolf tried to answer the question: Did Hitler, code name “Grey Wolf”, really die in Berlin in 1945?

That all sounded incredible – to the point that I have read the book three times and began a search to verify or disprove the details as they were presented (i.e., what was the history of the U-boat in question; what was the history of the area in Argentina to which the couple fled, etc.)

Then last fall, History Channel introduced their series Hunting Hitler, which not only had one of the authors of Grey Wolf on its investigation team, but was also staffed by several other accomplished experts and led by former CIA case officer and author Robert “Bob” Baer. Here was a “heavy-hitter”, a graduate of the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown, an intelligence columnist for Time Magazine and a consultant on intelligence issues and subjects for CNN. Mr. Baer simply is not the type of professional who would support a fraudulent effort to answer a legitimate question, because his reputation is his stock in trade. After watching every episode of the series, my conclusion was that Hitler and Braun could have escaped from Berlin; the short series simply did not have the time or focus to get me to a conclusion that they did escape.

The series lasted three seasons, and in all honesty, I thought they were more interested in continuing the series than actually finding Hitler. So it may be wise to turn to a new method of analysis to try and prove or disprove this potentially history-shaking subject – the wisdom of the crowd. This information-gathering and decision-making tool rests on the conclusion that the collective opinion of a group of individuals is more accurate and prescient than that of a single expert. Behavioral scientists have found time after time that a large group’s aggregated answers to questions involving quantity estimation, general knowledge and many types of reasoning is as good as – and often better than – the conclusion arrived at by any single individual within the group, no matter their education or specialty. This is also the basis of our jury system and how 12 jurors can come up with the correct verdict.

The readers on this website are real thinkers, as their emails to me indicate all the time. So if you are reading this post, I would like you to think about your answer to the following question:

What proof would you need for you to conclude that Adolf Hitler probably did not die in Berlin in 1945 and instead escaped to South America?

To help you organize your thoughts let me offer some “baskets” of proof that you could consider – but if you have something else, please develop that. The goal of this post is to have you send me an email (go to contact the author) and let me hear the wisdom of the reading group, and maybe we can get Bob Baer (who I know) to shake the cage and start another effort.

Basket 1 – Witness Statements. This might include Argentinians who believe they saw Hitler in Argentina after the war. How many different witnesses would cause you to believe their conclusions? What if one or more of the U-boat crewmen that reportedly took Hitler to South America was still alive and made a statement on camera to that effect? Would it take more than one of these sailors to convince you? Since they probably are not alive, what about statements from the children of those crewmen?

Basket 2 – Photographs. If any photographs of Hitler were shown, and were verified by photo experts to have been taken in the 1940s or 1950s, and a forensic expert was able to superimpose them on known photographs to get a percentage of match, how would that affect your opinion?

Basket 3 – Remains or DNA. I am not sure if anyone has DNA that is known to be Hitler’s or someone in his family, as DNA was not a known tool back then for identification. What are your observations concerning the use of DNA. Additionally, if the investigators found what they believe are the remains of Hitler, how would you want that presentation to be handled: a dental records comparison, etc.?

Basket 4 – Eva Braun and the supposed children. Even if Hitler did escape, he would be long dead by now and Eva Braun would almost certainly be dead unless she was born in 1912!! But if the couple indeed had children, those individuals could still be alive. What evidence concerning them would you like to see? If the investigators find a gravestone in a secluded cemetery for Eva Braun and the burial records show the person was born in Munich on the same day that the famous Eva was, what does that do to the little voice in your head?

Basket 5 – Something else. No matter how crazy it may sound, let me hear it!

Basket 6 – This is the “I ain’t buying anything they find or show.” That is important to know as well as it shows a would-be writer or producer the magnitude of the challenge he or she must overcome to change a historical opinion that has been sort of set in concrete for almost 80 years.

So please think about the essential question, Did Hitler really die in Berlin in 1945? Think about what level of evidence or proof you need to answer this in the negative, if that can be done at all.

And then please write me with your thoughts!

The Wisdom of CrowdsFrench MacLean2023-09-07T16:39:15-05:00

Chełmno/Kulmhof

Chełmno was a hybrid extermination camp whose mechanism for death was a special commando, Sonderkommando Lange, of mobile toxic gas vans in which the victims were killed. These vans then dumped the bodies in mass graves in a nearby forest, the Rzuchów Forest. The location, referred to by the Germans as the Vernichtungslager Kulmhof, was thirty-one miles north of the metropolitan city of Łódź, in which a large Jewish ghetto had been established by the Nazis after their invasion of Poland in 1939. Chełmno is actually a shortened named for the Polish village of Chełmno nad Nerem, named Kulmhof an der Nehr in German. It was centrally located in the German district of the Warthegau, which top-ranking Nazis wished to make “Jew-Free”, Judenrein.

Four estimates have been made over the years as to the number of victims (mainly Jews and gypsies, but also some non-Jewish Poles and even some Czechs from Lidice) who perished in the operation of the facility: 152,000; 180,000; 340,000; and 200,000. Just as the location was a combination of stationary and mobile elements for killing, so the Nazi staffing of Chełmno was a joint SS and German police; Order Police (Ordnungspolizei) and Protective Police (Schutzpolizei) operation. One man, who escaped, later wrote that Chełmno was a “human slaughterhouse.”

The stationary portion of the operation centered about the grounds of a nearby mansion – the Nazis there known as the Hauskommando; victims were brought to the village by trains and trucks. After unloading, the Jews surrendered their possessions, remaining in the mansion several hours to no more than one day before they were forced into the special gas vans and killed. During the second period of operation, after the mansion had been destroyed, a church was used to hold the victims before their deaths. The Germans at the forest piece of the operation were known as the Waldkommando.

Chełmno remains one of the lesser-known and more-mysterious extermination efforts connected with the Final Solution (also known as the Final Solution of the Jewish Question (Endlösung, die Endlösung der Judenfrage), recent research – such as Chełmno and the Holocaust: The History of Hitler’s First Death Camp, by Patrick Montague has provided insights into many aspects of this terrible facility. The following individuals are believed to have been perpetrators at Chełmno during its two periods of operation:

(November 1941-April 11, 1943)

SS-Oberscharführer Basler, gas van driver

SS-Hauptscharführer Alfred Behm, transport commander; captured by the Soviets in 1945; fate unknown

(Police) Walter Bock, guard; born June 16, 1912; acquitted at trial in 1963

Polizeihauptwachtmeister Otto Böge, sergeant of the guard

Hans Bothmann

SS-Hauptsturmführer & Kriminalkommissar Hans Bothmann, commandant; born November 11, 1911 in Dithmarschen, Germany; arrested by the British on April 4, 1946; hanged himself the same day

Erwin Bürstinger

SS-Hauptscharführer Erwin Bürstinger, motor pool; born February 16, 1908 in Wels, Austria; fate unknown

Walter Burmeister

SS-Rottenführer Walter Burmeister, commandant’s driver; sentenced at trial in 1963 to 13 years in prison

Polizeihauptwachtmeister Gustav Fiedler, sergeant of the guard, operated bone-crusher in forest; born October 23, 1910; tried in Germany in 1965 and received sentence of 13 months in prison

SS-Hauptscharführer Karl Goede, victim valuables

Wilhelm Görlich

SS-Hauptscharführer Wilhelm Görlich, administration; taken prisoner by the Soviets in February 1945; sentenced to 25 years in prison; released in 1949

Alois Häfele

Polizeimeister/Revierleutnant Alois Häfele, supervisor of Jewish labor at the mansion; born July 5, 1893 in Württemberg; sentenced at trial in 1963 to 15 years in prison; sentence reduced to 13 years on appeal

Polizeiwachtmeister Simon Haider, forest guard commander; died November 4, 1958

Polizeioberwachtmeister Karl Heinl, mansion guard commander; born April 11, 1912; sentenced at trial in 1963 to 7 years in prison

Polizeiwachtmeister Friedrich Hensen; born November 29, 1920

SS-Oberscharführer Oskar Hering, gas van driver; killed in action with the 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division “Prinz Eugen” at Vratanica, Serbia on October 4, 1944

(Police) Wilhelm Heukelbach, guard; born February 28, 1911; sentenced at trial in 1963 to 13 months in prison; sentence dropped on appeal

Herbert Hiecke-Richter

SS-Oberscharführer Herbert Hiecke-Richter, transport commander; fate unknown

Revieroberwachtmeister Kurt Hoffmann, operated bone-crusher in forest

Polizeioberleutnant Gustav Hüfing, supervisor police guard; born in Wesel; died July 24, 1958

Fritz Ismer

SS-Hauptscharführer Fritz Ismer, victim valuables; served in the 10^th SS Panzer Division “Frundsberg”; no charges were ever brought against him

Erich Kretschmer

SS-Unterscharführer & Polizei-Oberwachtmeister Erich Kretschmer, transport guard commander; fate unknown

Gustav Laabs

SS-Hauptscharführer Gustav Laabs, gas van driver; born December 20, 1902; sentenced at trial in 1963 to 15 years in prison; sentence reduced to 13 years on appeal

Polizeioberleutnant Harold (Harry) Lang, supervisor police guard, fate unknown

Herbert Lange

SS-Hauptsturmführer Herbert Lange, commandant; born September 29, 1909 in Menzlin, Pomerania; killed in action on April 20, 1945 at Niederbarim near Berlin

Polizeimeister Willi Lenz, supervisor forest camp; born in Silesia; ambushed and hanged by last surviving group of Jews on January 18, 1945 at the granary as the Nazis evacuated Chełmno

Polizeioberleutnant Harri Maas, supervisor police guard

(Police) Friedrich Maderholz, guard; born November 7, 1919; sentenced at trial in 1963 to 13 months in prison; sentence dropped on appeal

Polizeiwachtmeister Theodore Malzmüller, guard; served with the 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division “Prinz Eugen”; provided testimony at post-war trial in Germany

(Police) Mehring, guard; born March 25, 1920; acquitted at trial in 1963

Polizeimeister Kurt Möbius, transportation at the mansion facility; born May 3, 1895; sentenced at trial in 1963 to 8 years in prison

SS-Hauptscharführer Friedrich Neumann, administration

Herbert Otto

SS-Obersturmführer Herbert Otto, deputy commandant; born October 9, 1901 in Dresden; killed in Prague, Czechoslovakia on May 6, 1945

SS-Scharführer Rudolf Otto, guard

Albert Plate

SS-Sturmscharführer Albert Plate, deputy commandant; killed in action on October 4, 1944 with the 7^th SS Volunteer Mountain Division “Prinz Eugen”

Johannes Runge

SS-Hauptscharführer Johannes Runge, forest camp, built crematoria ovens; believed to have died of his wounds after being captured by the Soviets in February 1945 at Poznań, Poland

SS-Hauptscharführer Erwin (Erich) Schmidt, canteen & provisions; believed killed in action in February 1945 at Poznań, Poland

(Police) Wilhelm Schulte, guard; born June 23, 1912; sentenced at trial in 1963 to 13 months in prison; sentence dropped on appeal

SS-Unterscharführer Max Sommer, victim valuables; died in Bonn prior to trial

(Police) Alexander Steinke, guard; acquitted at trial in 1963

Franz Walter, gas van driver

Toni Wornshofer, truck driver

(March 19, 1944-January 18, 1945)

SS-Hauptsturmführer & Kriminalkommissar Hans Bothmann, commandant; born November 11, 1911 in Dithmarschen, Germany; arrested by the British on April 4, 1946; hanged himself the same day

SS-Hauptscharführer Erwin Bürstinger, motor pool; born February 16, 1908 in Wels, Austria; fate unknown

Ernst Burmeister

Polizeileutnant Ernst “Max” Burmeister, commanded police detachment; sentenced at trial in 1963 to 3 ½ years in prison

SS-Unterscharführer Walter Burmeister, commandant’s driver; sentenced at trial in 1963 to 13 years in prison

SS-Hauptscharführer Hermann Gielow, gas van driver; born October 9, 1892 in Berlin; tried in Poland; received death sentence; executed at Poznań, Poland on June 6, 1951

SS-Hauptscharführer Wilhelm Görlich, administration; taken prisoner by the Soviets in February 1945; sentenced to 25 years in prison; released in 1949

Revierleutnant Alois Häfele, supervisor of Jewish labor; sentenced at trial in 1963 to 15 years in prison; sentence reduced to 13 years on appeal

SS-Hauptscharführer Herbert Hiecke-Richter, victim valuables; fate unknown

Polizeioberwachtmeister Bruno Israel, guard; born August 19, 1906 in Łódź; tried in Poland; received death sentence; commuted to life in prison; released from prison December 12, 1958; died in Mindelheim, West Germany on April 17, 1968

SS-Unterscharführer & Polizei-Oberwachtmeister Erich Kretschmer, supervisor crematoria ovens; fate unknown

SS-Hauptscharführer Gustav Laabs, gas van driver; born December 20, 1902; sentenced at trial in 1963 to 15 years in prison; sentence reduced to 13 years on appeal

Polizeimeister Willi Lenz, supervisor forest camp; born in Silesia; ambushed and hanged by last surviving group of Jews on January 18, 1945 at the granary as the Nazis evacuated Chełmno

Walter Piller

SS-Oberscharführer Walter Piller, deputy commandant, drove gas van; born December 14, 1902 in Berlin; tried in Poland; received death sentence; executed on January 19, 1949 in Łódź

Polizeiwachtmeister Rufenach, guard

SS-Hauptscharführer Johannes Runge, forest camp, supervisor crematoria ovens; believed to have died of his wounds after being captured by the Soviets in February 1945 at Poznań, Poland

SS-Sturmscharführer Wilhelm Schmerse, deputy commandant

SS-Hauptscharführer Erwin (Erich) Schmidt, canteen & provisions; believed killed in action in February 1945 at Poznań, Poland

SS-Scharführer Stefan Seidenglanz, driver; fate unknown

Polizeiwachtmeister Arthur Sliwke, guard

SS-Unterscharführer Max Sommer, administration; died in Bonn prior to trial

SS-Hauptscharführer Ernst Thiele, driver; fate unknown

The following individuals are reported to have been at Chełmno, but it is not clear when they served there or what position they held:

Polizeiwachtmeister Bartel

Polizeiwachtmeister Blench

Polizeiunterwachtmeister Bollmann

Polizeioberwachtmeister Daniel

SS-Unterscharführer Walter Filer

Polizeiwachtmeister Moyz Kerzer

Polizeioberwachtmeister Oskar Kraus

Polizeiwachtmeister Friedrich Loscheck

Polizeiwachtmeister Sepp Reissner

Polizeiwachtmeister Anton Reiblinger

SS-Sturmscharführer Albert Richter

Polizeiwachtmeister Erich Rombach

SS-Scharführer Franz Schalling

SS-Rottenführer Wilhelm Sefler

Chełmno/KulmhofFrench MacLean2016-03-06T10:31:09-06:00

Richard Glücks

Richard Glücks

Richard Glücks was born on April 22, 1889 (two days after Adolf Hitler) in the city of Odenkirchen. After graduating from high school (gymnasium), he worked at his father’s fire insurance agency. In 1909, Glücks joined the army and served in the artillery for a year. In 1913, he lived in England and later moved to Argentina as a businessman. After World War I erupted, Glücks returned to Germany and joined the army, during which time he won the Iron Cross First and Second Class. After the war, Richard Glücks served in the Freikorps.

Glücks joined the Nazi Party in 1930 and the SS in 1932. On April 1, 1936, he became the chief of staff for Theodor Eicke, then Concentration Camps Inspector. When Theodor Eicke joined SS Division “Totenkopf“, Glücks was elevated to Concentration Camps Inspector and on November 18, 1939, Heinrich Himmler named him as Eicke’s successor.

On April 20, 1941, Himmler promoted Glücks to the grade of SS-Brigadeführer and on March 29, 1942, he assumed the position of the head of Amt D: Konzentrationslagerwesen of the SS-Wirtschafts-Verwaltungshauptamt (WVHA), the Economics and Administrative Department of the SS. He was promoted on July 23, 1943 to SS-Gruppenführer and a Generalleutnant of the Waffen-SS.

By the end of the war, the WVHA headquarters transferred from Berlin to Born in Pomerania. Richard Glücks and his wife are believed to have fled the advancing Allies to Flensburg at the end of April 1945. Some sources believe that he took poison and committed suicide at the Mürwik Kriegsmarine base at Flensburg-Mürwik, but the chaos, lack of official records and the absence of a set of identifiable remains has led to speculation that he may have escaped justice and fled to Argentina and safety.

Richard GlücksFrench MacLean2016-03-04T17:31:16-06:00

Wannsee Conference Participants

Gerhard Klopfer, attendee at the Wannsee Conference

The following individuals participated in the Wannsee Conference (Wannsee-Konferenz, Wannseekonferenz), held in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee on January 20, 1942, to achieve bureaucratic unanimity concerning the Final Solution of the Jewish Question (Endlösung, Endlösung der Judenfrage), a euphemism for the destruction of the Jews in Europe.

SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich, Chief of the RSHA (Reichssicherheitshauptamt/ Reich Main Security Office) and Deputy Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia; ambushed in Prague on May 27, 1942 and died of his wounds on June 4, 1942.

State Secretary Roland Freisler, Reich Ministry of Justice; killed in an air-raid in Berlin on February 3, 1945.

SS-Sturmbannführer Rudolf Lange, Commander of the Sicherheitspolizei (Security Police; SiPo) and the SD for the General-District Latvia, Deputy of the Commander of the SiPo and the SD for the Reichskommissariat Ostland, and Head of Einsatzkommando 2; killed in action (or suicide) at Posen/Poznań, Poland on February 23, 1945.

State Secretary and Deputy Reich Minister Alfred Meyer, Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories; committed suicide on April 11, 1945 near Hessisch Oldendorf.

SS-Gruppenführer Heinrich Müller, Chief of Amt IV (Gestapo) in the Reich Main Security Office; last seen in Berlin on April 30, 1945 – fate unknown.

Undersecretary of State Martin Luther, Reich Foreign Ministry; finished the war in a concentration camp after falling out with Foreign Minister Ribbentrop; died in Berlin of heart failure in May 1945.

SS-Oberführer Karl Eberhard Schöngarth, Commander of the SiPo (Security Police) and the SD (Security Service) in the General Government; hanged for war crimes (killing British prisoners of war) at Hameln Prison on May 16, 1946 (executioner – Albert Pierrepoint.)

Ministerial Director Friedrich Wilhelm Kritzinger, Permanent Secretary at the Reich Chancellery (representing Dr. Hans Lammers); acquitted of war crimes; died at Nürnberg on April 25, 1947.

State Secretary Josef Bühler, General Government (representing Governor-General Dr. Hans Frank); tried in Poland for war crimes and executed in Kraków, Poland on August 22, 1948.

State Secretary Erich Neumann, Office of the Plenipotentiary for the Four Year Plan; briefly imprisoned; died at Garmisch-Partenkirchen on March 23, 1951.

State Secretary Wilhelm Stuckart, Reich Interior Ministry; imprisoned for four years before being released for lack of evidence in 1949; killed in a car accident near Hanover on November 15, 1953.

SS-Obersturmbannführer Adolf Eichmann, Head of Referat IV B4 of the Gestapo; hanged at Ramla Prison in Israel on June 1, 1962.

Ministerial Director Georg Leibbrandt, Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories; charged with war crimes but the case against him was dismissed in 1950; died in Bonn on June 16, 1982.

SS-Gruppenführer Otto Hofmann, Head of the SS Race and Settlement Main Office (RuSHA); sentenced to 25 years in prison for war crimes, but was pardoned in 1954; died in Bad Mergentheim on December 31, 1982.

Ministerial Director Gerhard Klopfer, Permanent Secretary of the Nazi Party Chancellery (representing Martin Bormann); charged with war crimes but released for lack of evidence; died on January 29, 1987.

Wannsee Conference ParticipantsFrench MacLean2016-03-02T21:18:07-06:00

VII Corps Desert Storm Reunion, 26-28 February 2016

VII Corps Desert Storm Veterans Association, Desert Storm Reunion, 26-28 February 2016

Let me start this with something I hope that you will take to heart. My father, who died last summer at age 91, had been an infantry private first class in the Ninth Infantry Division in the Hürtgen Forest and Battle of the Bulge in World War II. He had always wanted to see his old buddies again, but for one reason or another, he never made it to a reunion and regretted that till the day he died.

So, if you have ever wanted to get back together with your buddies from Desert Storm, this is it!

The twenty-fifth anniversary is here upon us; where has the time gone? At age 63, I’m not waiting for the 50th reunion, although if I’m around for it, I’ll go to that one also.

Every veteran of VII Corps from Desert Storm, and especially in my case every veteran of the Third Armored Division “Spearhead,” is warmly welcomed to gather outside our nation’s capital (primarily Crystal City, VA) at the end of February to meet with old comrades and friends, catch up on what everyone has been doing since we were “young” and most importantly pay our respects to the true heroes of that war, our comrades in arms who made the ultimate sacrifice and died before they could grow old and do all the things that we sometimes take for granted.

First, this is not just a gathering of “old,” retired generals, although many will certainly be there. But those folks did not win the war; you did…the “skeeter-wings,” the specialists, the buck sergeants, the first sergeants and the CSMs, so please attend if you can make it, and be sure to tell the folks you have stayed in contact with to go as well.

Registration

Online registration for the 25th Reunion is available at this link: http://25.desertstormvets.org/

You can purchase your banquet tickets, register for your hotel room at the special rate of $99 per night and also see updated schedule of events. The special rate of $99 per night for hotel rooms will be available until 5 February 2016.

Here are some of the events planned, as I know them in late January; please check often: http://25.desertstormvets.org/

This will be updated on a regular basis with latest information as related to the reunion.

All units

Friday, 26 February, beginning 3:00 pm, out of town guests check in at Crystal Gateway Hotel at leisure. After that, check in across from registration at the VII Corps Reunion Ops Center to get your name badges for all attendees and guests as well as memorabilia items for distribution to all attendees.

Third Armored Division (Spearhead)

Friday, 26 February, gathering beginning at 6:00 pm at the Crystal City Sports Pub, 529 South 23rd Street, Arlington VA 22202 (the only charge is what you consume food and beverages.)

VII Corps Artillery

Friday, 26 February, reception in the Jackson Room (Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel) from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. There will be a cash bar and “heavy” hors d’oeuvres. (I guess “heavy” is to make sure all the tankers attend.)

Saturday, 27 February, buffet breakfast from 7:30 to 9:00 am in the Jackson Room (Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel.)

All units

Saturday, 27 February, 10:00-11:00 am, General Membership Meeting, VII Corps Desert Storm Reunion Association across from check-in desk, Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel.

All units

Saturday, 27 February; Memorial Service Arlington Cemetery: 1:15 pm, depart Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel for Memorial Service (Transportation buses will be provided free of charge); 2:00 pm, VII Corps DSVA Annual Memorial Service at Fort Myer Memorial Chapel to honor the 111 Soldiers who served in VII Corps during Operations Desert Shield & Desert Storm who gave the ultimate sacrifice. Lieutenant General Karen Dyson – Military Deputy to the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Financial Management & Comptroller) – will be the guest speaker. LTG Dyson was a company commander in VII Corps (7th Finance Group) during Desert Shield & Desert Storm; 3:25 pm, depart Memorial Service for Arlington National Cemetery for wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of The Unknown Soldier; 4:00 to 4:30 pm, Changing of the Guard and VII Corps DSVA Wreath Laying at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier; 4:45 pm, depart Arlington National Cemetery for Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel.

All units

Saturday, 27 February; 7:30 to 10:00 pm, VII Corps DSVA 25th Annual Banquet – Grand Ballroom (Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel). This is for all attendees. Guest Speaker will be GEN Martin Dempsey USA-Ret) – 18th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who got his “start” as XO of the Third Brigade, Third Armored Division during Desert Storm. I am pretty sure that LTG (USA-Ret) Paul Funk, our Third Armored Division commander will be there.

Addresses:

E-Mail Address: viicorpsvets@gmail.com

Regular mailing address:

VII Corps Desert Storm Veterans Association

2425 Wilson Boulevard

Arlington, Virginia 22201

Points of contact:

Email these folks to get more information on specific topics:

VII Corps Artillery

Stan Lenox at 512-897-7751 or by e-mail at slenox@austin.rr.com.

Third Armored Division (Spearhead)

Rob Goff at 540-422-9588 or by e-mail at lrgoff3@gmail.com OR Bob Reeves at 254-231-8970 or by e-mail at robert.reeves54@gmail.com.

First Cavalry Division

Jim Bob Rollins by email at acpac@consolidated.net.john.

First Infantry Division

Doug Morrison at 703-772-7614 or by e-mail at Dm371482@gmail.com.

Second Armored Cavalry Regiment

David Boyce at 623-451-5637 or by e-mail at dboyce1@cox.net.

First UK Armoured Division

John Geis by e-mail at 1UKXX-G5-SO1-US@mod.uk

VII Corps DSVA Ops Center

There will be an Ops Center set up in BIN 1700 which is located across from the check in desk at Crystal Gateway Marriott. All attendees can pick up their name badge as well as memorabilia items we are distributing and also receive information on all events that will take place during the weekend. Please do not hesitate to contact viicorpsdsva@gmail.com for any questions you may have.

Every single one of you did something quite special and remarkable back then; please come back to the reunion so that we can all meet again.

VII Corps Desert Storm Reunion, 26-28 February 2016French MacLean2022-10-08T17:52:18-05:00

German Sixth Army Order of Battle

Effects of a 44th Infantry Division soldier from Stalingrad

Sixth Army; Surrendered January 30, 1943

6^th Artillery Command (Arko 6)

Sixth Army Engineer Replacement Battalion

Bridge Column B22

21^st Bridge Construction Battalion (Mot)

25^th Observation Detachment

28^th Observation Detachment (Mot)

144^th Artillery Command (Arko 144)

145^th Artillery Command (Arko 145)

310^th Higher Artillery Command (Harko 310)

413^th Engineer Regiment

521^st Army Signal Regiment

540^th Office for Food Supply

541^st Military Hospital Detachment

541^st Medical Evacuation Detachment

542^nd Medical Evacuation Detachment

542^nd Supply Battalion

549^th Army Signal Regiment

562^nd Medical Evacuation Detachment

592^nd Army Medical Detachment

593^rd Motor Repair Detachment

601^st Signal Regiment

608^th Survey & Map Detachment

617^th Survey & Map Detachment

790^th Medical Evacuation Detachment

Corps

IV Corps; Surrendered January 31, 1943

44^th Corps Signal Detachment

404^th Artillery Command (Arko 404)

404^th Supply Command

VIII Corps; Surrendered January 31, 1943

48^th Corps Signal Detachment

408^th Artillery Command (Arko 408)

408^th Supply Command

XI Corps; Surrendered February 2, 1943

51^st Corps Signal Detachment

411^th Artillery Command (Arko 411)

411^th Supply Command

XIV Panzer Corps; Surrendered February 2, 1943

60^th Corps Signal Detachment

60^th Pioneer Battalion (Mot)

414^th Artillery Command (Arko 414)

414^th Supply Command

LI Corps; Surrendered January 31, 1943

153^rd Artillery Command (Arko 153)

451^st Corps Signal Detachment

451^st Supply Command

Divisions

3^rd Infantry Division (Motorized) (PzA 103, GR 8 *, GR 29 *, AR 3, PiB 3, KrB 53, PzJA 3, NA 3, FlakA 312); Annihilated January 22, 1943

14^th Panzer Division (PR 36 *, PGR 103, PGR 108, PAR 4, PzPiB 13, KrB 64, PzNA 4); Surrendered February 2, 1943

16^th Panzer Division (PR 2, PGR 64, PGR 79, PAR 16, PzPiB 16, PzJA 16, KrB 16, PzNA 16); Surrendered February 2, 1943

22^nd Panzer Division (August-September only) (PR 204, PGR 129, PGR 140, AR 140, KrB 24, PzJA 140, PzPiB 50, NA 140); Transferred to another command and survived

24^th Panzer Division (PR 24, PGR 21, PGR 26, PAR 89, PzPiB 40, KrB 4, PzJA 40, PzNA 86); Surrendered February 2, 1943

29^th Infantry Division (Motorized) (PA 129, GR 15, GR 71, AR 29, PiB 29, KrB 29, PzJA 29, NA 29); Annihilated January 22, 1943

44^th Infantry Division (GR 131, GR 132, GR 134, AR 96, PiB 80, PzJA 46, AA 44, NA 64); Surrendered February 2, 1943

60^th Infantry Division (Motorized) (PzA 160, IR (mot) 92, IR (mot) 120, AR 160, PzJA 160, KrB 160, NA 160); Surrendered February 2, 1943

71^st Infantry Division * (GR 191, GR 194, GR 211, AR 171, PiB 171, PzJA 171, NA 171); Surrendered January 31, 1943

76^th Infantry Division (GR 178, GR 202, GR 230, AR 176, AA 176, PiB 176, PzJA 176, NA 176); Annihilated January 22, 1943

79^th Infantry Division (GR 208, GR 212, GR 226, AR 179, PiB 179, AA 179, PzJA 179, NA 179); Disbanded January 8, 1943

94^th Infantry Division (GR 267, GR 274, GR 276, AR 194, PiB 194, AA 194, PzJA 194, NA 194); Disbanded December 10, 1942

100^th Jäger Division (JR 54, JR 227, IR 369 (Croat), AR 83, AA 100, PiB 100, PzJA 100, NA 100); Surrendered January 31, 1943

113^th Infantry Division (GR 260, GR 261, GR 268, AR 87, PiB 113, PzJA 113, AA 113, NA 113); Surrendered February 2, 1943

295^th Infantry Division (GR 516, GR 517, GR 518, AR 295, PiB 295, PzJA 295, NA 295); Surrendered January 31, 1943

297^th Infantry Division (GR 522, GR 523, GR 524, AR 297, PiB 297, PzJA 297, AA 297, NA 297); Annihilated January 22, 1943

298^th Infantry Division; Transferred to another command and survived

305^th Infantry Division (GR 576, GR 577, GR 578, AR 305, PiB 305, PzJA 305, NA 305; Surrendered January 31, 1943

371^st Infantry Division (GR 669, GR 670, GR 671, AR 371, PiB 371, PzJA 371, NA 371); Surrendered January 31, 1943

376^th Infantry Division (GR 672, GR 673, GR 767, AR 376, PiB 376, PzJA 376, AA 376, NA 376); Surrendered February 2, 1943

384^th Infantry Division (GR 534, GR 535, GR 536, AR 384, PiB 384, PzJA 384, NA 384); Disbanded December 5, 1942

389^th Infantry Division (GR 544, GR 545 *, GR 546, AR 389, PiB 389, PzJA 389, NA 389); Surrendered January 31, 1943

Sixth Army Independent Units; available for attachment to corps and divisions

1^st Construction Battalion

2^nd Heavy Werfer Regiment (I & III Battalions)

6^th Armored Train

7^th Artillery Observation Detachment

9^th Machinegun Detachment

10^th Armored Train

16^th Fortress Construction Battalion

29^th Artillery Observation Detachment

36^th Artillery Observation Detachment

40^th Light Artillery Observation Detachment

41^st Pioneer Battalion (Mot)

43^rd Engineer Battalion

43^rd Light Observation Detachment

45^th Pioneer Battalion (August, November onward)

2^nd Battalion of the 46^th Artillery Regiment (Hvy How)

50^th Panzer Pioneer Battalion (November onward)

51^st Werfer Regiment *

2^nd Battalion of the 53^rd Heavy Artillery Regiment (10cm Cannon)

53^rd Werfer Regiment

2^nd Battalion of the 54^th Artillery Regiment

2^nd Battalion of the 59^th Artillery Regiment (Hvy How)

2^nd Battalion of the 64^th Artillery Regiment (10cm Cannon)

71^st Pioneer Battalion

2^nd Battalion of the 72^nd Artillery Regiment (15cm Cannon)

101^st Heavy Artillery Detachment (Hvy How)

110^th Construction Battalion

130^th Construction Battalion

161^st Construction Battalion

162^nd Pioneer Battalion (November onward)

177^th Sturmgeschütz Detachment

243^rd Sturmgeschütz Detachment (November onward)

244^th Sturmgeschütz Detachment

245^th Sturmgeschütz Detachment

255^th Bridge Construction Battalion

294^th Pioneer Battalion (November onward)

336^th Pioneer Battalion (November onward)

413^th Engineer Regimental Staff

430^th Heavy Artillery Detachment (10cm Cannon)

501^st Light Road Construction Battalion

521^st Panzerjäger Detachment

521^st Road Construction Battalion

522^nd Bridge Construction Battalion

540^th Road Construction Battalion

541^st Army Supply Command

541^st Military Police Detachment

542^nd Guard Battalion

571^st Military Police Detachment

602^nd Flak Detachment (Mot)

604^th Engineer Regimental Staff

605^th Engineer Regimental Staff

608^th Flak Detachment (Mot)

611^th Panzerjäger Detachment

614^th Flak Battalion (Mot)

616^th Heavy Artillery Detachment (21cm Mortars)

627^th Artillery Regiment Staff

631^st Heavy Artillery Detachment (10cm Cannon)

635^th Pioneer Battalion (Mot)

651^st Pioneer Battalion

652^nd Pioneer Battalion

655^th Bridge Construction Battalion

670^th Panzerjäger Detachment

672^nd Pioneer Battalion

677^th Engineer Regimental Staff

733^rd Heavy Artillery Detachment (21cm Mortars)

754^th Pioneer Battalion

800^th Heavy Artillery Detachment (35.5cm Mortars)

849^th Heavy Artillery Detachment (10cm Cannon)

851^st Heavy Artillery Detachment (10cm Cannon)

855^th Heavy Artillery Detachment (21cm Mortars)

912^th Assault Boat Commando

Significant Luftwaffe Units with a Ground Combat Mission

9^th Flak Division (FR 8, FR 25, FR 37, FR 91, FR 99, FR 104, FR 241, Air Signal Bn 129, Supply Regiment 9); Surrendered January 31, 1943

Battle Group Stahel (99^th Flak Regiment)

Legend:

AA = Reconnaissance Detachment (Auflärungs Abteilung)

AR = Artillery Regiment

FR = Flak Regiment (Anti-Aircraft Regiment)

GR = Grenadier Regiment (Infantry Regiment in a regular Infantry Division)

IR (mot) = Infantry Regiment in a Motorized Infantry Division

JR = Light Infantry Regiment (Jäger Regiment; an infantry regiment in the 101^st Jäger Division)

KrB = Motorcycle Infantry Battalion (Kradshützen Bataillon)

NA = Signal Detachment (Nachrichten Abteilung)

PAR = Panzer Artillery Regiment (Armored, Self-Propelled, Artillery Regiment)

PGR = Panzer Grenadier Regiment (Mechanized Infantry Regiment in a Panzer Division)

PiB = Pioneer (Combat Engineer) Battalion

PR = Panzer Regiment

PzA =Panzer Detachment (Panzer Abteilung)

PzPiB = Armored Pioneer (Combat Engineers) Battalion in a Panzer Division

PzJA = Anti-tank Detachment (Panzerjäger Abteilung)

PzNA = Armored Signal Detachment in a Panzer Division

German Sixth Army Order of BattleFrench MacLean2016-01-19T07:57:12-06:00