Benson Railton Metcalf Freeman
Benson Railton Metcalf Freeman (born October 6, 1903 ) was a British deserter and member of the Waffen SS during the Second World War .
Life
Freeman served as an officer in the British Army from 1924 , first in the Kings Own Royal Regiment , and later as a pilot in the RAF . In 1931 he left the army and worked as a farmer; from 1937 he was a member of the British Union of Fascists .
After the start of World War II, Freeman was drafted again into the RAF and used during the western campaign . On May 22, 1940, his fighter plane was shot down by German troops over the French city of Merville . He survived the shooting down and was taken prisoner. After he was able to convince the Germans of his fascist background, Freeman, excluded from the ranks of the usual prisoners of war , was taken to Berlin and introduced to Rudolf Hess . From June 1942 he was involved in the war as a propaganda officer on the side of the German Reich . He also joined the Waffen SS in October 1944 and checked propaganda material in Kurt Egger's SS standard , which was commanded by Gunter d'Alquen .
In April 1945 Freeman, with the rank of SS-Untersturmführer , settled in Lenggries , where he was arrested by US troops on May 9th . An Allied court martial sentenced him to 10 years in prison. His further fate is unknown.
literature
- Gordon Williamson: The SS - Hitler's Instrument of Power. Neuer Kaiser Verlag, Fränkisch-Crumbach 1998, ISBN 3-8468-2003-2 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Gordon Williamson: The SS - Hitler's Instrument of Power. Neuer Kaiser Verlag, 1998, p. 258.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Freeman, Benson Railton Metcalf |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British deserter and member of the Waffen SS |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 6, 1903 |
| DATE OF DEATH | 20th century or 21st century |