Eduard von Schleich

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Eduard von Schleich

Eduard-Maria Joseph Schleich , since 1918 Knight von Schleich (born August 9, 1888 in Munich , † November 15, 1947 in Dießen am Ammersee ), was a German officer and politician . In the First World War Schleich was a famous fighter pilot. After the war, Schleich worked for the National Socialists in building up the SS flying squadron and as a member of the Reichstag for the NSDAP . During the Second World War he was Lieutenant General in the German Air Force .

Life

Schleich was born in Munich as the son of the painter Eduard Schleich the Younger (1853-1893). The family later moved to Bad Tölz , where Schleich spent his youth and school days. Schleich was married to Micheline Heusch.

Military and political career

Before the First World War

Schleich joined the Bavarian army as a cadet in 1908 . He completed his officer training and was promoted to lieutenant . Shortly before the beginning of the First World War, he was discharged from military service due to health problems.

First World War

First Lieutenant Eduard Schleich, leader of Jagdstaffel 21, in his Albatros DV a

At the beginning of the First World War, Schleich was initially employed as an infantry officer and was wounded on August 25, 1914. After his recovery he joined the air force , initially as an observer and soon afterwards as a pilot. In 1917 he was promoted to commander of Jagdstaffel 21, then the newly established Bavarian Jagdstaffel 32, Jagdgruppe 8 and finally, shortly before the end of the war, of Jagdgeschwader 4. In August 1918, Schleich was promoted to captain .

Schleich was one of the most successful German fighter pilots in World War I, 35 aerial victories are attributed to him. Since he painted his aircraft black from 1917, he became known as the "Black Knight".

Schleich has received several awards for its military successes. He received the Iron Cross II. And I. Class, on December 4, 1917 the order Pour le Mérite and as the highest honor of the Kingdom of Bavaria on June 14, 1918 the Knight's Cross of the Military Max Joseph Order . Due to the associated elevation into the personal nobility , he was allowed to call himself Knight von Schleich from this point on .

Between the world wars

After the end of the war, Schleich was part of the aviation troop's handling points, including in Schleissheim . The air force was to be dissolved in accordance with the Versailles Peace Treaty . Between March and December 1921 he was posted to the Army Peace Commission , a German liaison office to the Inter-Allied Military Control Commission . On December 31, 1921, he was retired with the rank of major .

In civil life, Schleich worked from May 1924 as a flight controller for various airlines, most recently from April 1927 to October 1929 at Lufthansa, which had been founded shortly before . In 1930 Schleich was briefly director and flight instructor at a flight school. In October 1930 he took over the position of training manager at the Munich Light Airplane Club. His best-known student pilot was the German actor Heinz Rühmann , who took flight lessons with him from January to March 1931 and acquired a pilot's license.

On April 1, 1931, Schleich joined the SS with the rank of SS-Sturmbannführer . From October 1, 1931 to April 15, 1934, he led the SS Fliegerstaffel Süd. The Munich light aircraft club was deliberately infiltrated by the National Socialists so that the club's aircraft could be used. At the end of 1932, Schleich became president of the club. In 1932 the SS-Fliegerstaffel-Süd accompanied Adolf Hitler's Ju 52 in the Reichstag election campaign.

After the NSDAP came to power, the SA and SS squadrons were transferred to the German Air Sports Association (DLV). This ended his membership in the SA and SS, apparently to the regret of those affected: Ernst Röhm emphasized in an order of May 15, 1933 that this decision had been difficult for him: “However, because the DLV air storms consisted only of the SA and SS Supplement men and that they should continue to be made available to the SA on a case-by-case basis, the connection to the SA and SS units is secured, so that the air storms can still consider themselves members of the large Brown Army even after they have left [...] ". Within the DLV presidium, Schleich was an air commander, and he also led the Thuringia regional group. His function as a liaison to the Reich Youth Leadership was particularly important ; the Reich youth leader Baldur von Schirach called Schleich a friend. Great importance was attached to the training of young people: Within the Hitler Youth , the "Flieger-HJ" emerged, in which young people - depending on their age - built model airplanes or glided. For Schleich there was a connection between aviation and National Socialism:

“Aviation and the National Socialist Revolution, inseparably linked, are imbued with the same spirit: loyalty and simple fulfillment of duty, selfless devotion to an overarching goal, service to the people and fatherland up to the end of the line, these are virtues that adorn a true aviator and National Socialist . "

In November 1933, Schleich was elected to the Reichstag for the NSDAP . He belonged to it during the second electoral period until March 28, 1936, when all other parties had already been switched off and only the NSDAP stood for election. In the 1936 Reichstag elections , Schleich was temporarily removed from the standard list, presumably because he had joined the Air Force in the meantime.

On April 1, 1935, Schleich joined the newly established Air Force with the rank of major . As an instructor, he was responsible for the dive bombers and their crews. There are contradicting statements as to whether he took part in the Spanish Civil War as a member of the Condor Legion .

On November 1, 1938, Schleich became a colonel in command of Jagdgeschwader 132 , based in Cologne and Düsseldorf. On December 11, 1938, the unit also received the name of the free corps fighter Schlageter , who was executed in 1923 and used for propaganda purposes by the National Socialists . After the Luftwaffe was reorganized, the number was changed to Jagdgeschwader 26 on May 1, 1939 .

Second World War

The Jagdgeschwader 26 under Schleich's leadership took part in the attack on Poland from September 1, 1939 at the beginning of World War II . At the end of the month it was moved to the Western Front, where there was little fighting at the time.

As early as December 1939, Schleich was withdrawn from the combat unit and, promoted to major general, was transferred to a newly founded fighter pilot school 5 in Schwechat near Vienna . In the autumn of 1940 he moved to Romania , an ally of Germany , to support the Romanian Air Force with organization and training.

Only a few days before the German-Soviet War , Schleich was withdrawn from Romania and on June 12, 1941, he was the commanding general of the German Air Force in occupied Denmark . In January 1944 he took over the management of the Luftgau Norway , which he held until October of the same year. After merging the command for airborne and ground troops, on October 10 he became the commanding general of the German Air Force in Norway for a transitional period of one month . In the meantime promoted to lieutenant general, Schleich was transferred to the inactive reserve on November 15, 1944.

At the end of the war, Schleich was captured on May 9, 1945. He was in a US prisoner of war camp until his death .

gallery

  • Schleich Albatros page.jpg
  • Schleich Albatros rear.jpg

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Lilla, extras , p. 559. Lilla does not mention Schleich's NSDAP membership.
  2. ^ Mathias Rösch: The Munich NSDAP 1925-1933. An investigation into the internal structure of the NSDAP in the Weimar Republic. Oldenbourg, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-486-56670-9 , p. 265.
  3. ^ Röhm's order of May 15, 1933, quoted from: Georg Cordts: Junge Adler. From aviation to aviation service 1920–1945. Bechtle, Esslingen 1988, ISBN 3-7628-0477-X , p. 77.
  4. ↑ Baldur von Schirach: I believed in Hitler. Mosaik Verlag, Hamburg 1967, p. 183.
  5. ↑ quoted in Cordts, Adler , p. 104.
  6. ↑ Lilla, extras , p. 558. List place 759 intended for Schleich remained free.
personal data
SURNAME Schleich, Eduard von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Schleich, Eduard-Maria Joseph Ritter von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German officer, most recently lieutenant general, politician (NSDAP), MdR
DATE OF BIRTH August 9, 1888
PLACE OF BIRTH Munich
DATE OF DEATH November 15, 1947
Place of death Dießen am Ammersee