Egon Aghta

Egon August Agtha (* 18th January 1918 in Rosenthal , Berlin-Pankow , † 2. May 1945 in Berlin-Spandau ) was a German captain of the reserve , pyrotechnics and demolition squad leader of the Wehrmacht during the Second World War .

Life

Aghta was initially an artillery soldier in the Wehrmacht and shortly after the beginning of the Second World War he was called up as a fireworker for the 1939/41 war fireworks course in Lichterfelde . There he was trained as a demolition specialist for defusing bombs, especially with long detonators. After successfully participating, he was stationed in the greater Berlin area and assigned to a demolition squad. In 1942 he suffered serious injuries to his face as a sergeant in fireworks while defusing an English dud near Oranienburg . As a result, he lost most of his eyesight and was forced to resign due to medical treatment. Two years later, the then 25-year-old returned to the service as a severely disabled person . Aghta continued to serve in Luftgau III (Berlin), was promoted to lieutenant and appointed leader of a demolition squad. After further deployment, he was promoted to first lieutenant on February 3, 1945 and to captain of the reserve in the fireworks service on March 12, 1945. For his work he was awarded the German Cross in Gold on January 19, 1945 and the Oak Leaves for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on March 12, 1945 (778th award).

Aghta was seen in the last German war newsreel on March 22, 1945 defusing a bomb with a long detonator. A few weeks later, Aghta was killed in an exchange of fire with Soviet troops defending Berlin together with some comrades from his demolition squad.

Web links

Agtha, Egon. Index entry: German biography. [26. August 2020].

Individual evidence

↑ Thamm, August: Egon August Agtha — Feuerwerker and Sprengkommandofführer Berlin 1945 . pro literatur Verlag, 2005, ISBN 3-86611-034-0 .
↑ Veit Scherzer : The knight's cross bearers 1939-1945. The holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 from the Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and armed forces allied with Germany according to the documents in the Federal Archives . Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, Jena, Germany 2007, ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2 , pp. 188 .

personal data
SURNAME	Aghta, Egon
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Agtha, Egon August
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German reserve captain, fireworker and demolition commando leader of the Wehrmacht during the Second World War
DATE OF BIRTH	January 18, 1918
PLACE OF BIRTH	Rosenthal , Berlin-Pankow
DATE OF DEATH	May 2, 1945
Place of death	Berlin-Spandau

[1] Thamm, August: Egon August Agtha — Feuerwerker and Sprengkommandofführer Berlin 1945 . pro literatur Verlag, 2005, ISBN 3-86611-034-0 .

[2] Veit Scherzer : The knight's cross bearers 1939-1945. The holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 from the Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and armed forces allied with Germany according to the documents in the Federal Archives . Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, Jena, Germany 2007, ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2 , pp. 188 .