Ernst Graewe

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Ernst Graewe (picture from his pay book, after 1943)

Ernst Wilhelm Johannes Graewe (born October 1, 1914 in Unna , † April 10, 1945 in Deventer ) was a German soldier in World War II .

history

Ernst Graewe was the last medical sergeant in the parachute medical department 6 of the 6th parachute division. On January 30, 1945 he was awarded the War Merit Cross, Second Class with Swords. Shortly before the end of the war , he was shot by his company commander in the village of Deventer in the Netherlands because he had refused to take part in the shooting of Dutch resistance fighters .

The shooting of the resistance fighters on the last day of the occupation of Deventer by the Wehrmacht is known in the Netherlands under the term Twentol-Drama , after the company Smeerolie en Teerindustrie Twentol in Deventer, in whose magazine the resistance fighters holed up. The resistance fighters wanted to defend a bridge over the Overijssels kanaal located there and prevent it from being blown up so that it could be used by the approaching Allies . On the night of April 9th ​​to 10th, 1945 there was an exchange of fire between the resistance fighters in the warehouse and Wehrmacht soldiers on the bridge. In a fire that broke out, two resistance fighters were killed, five other resistance fighters were initially able to escape and were arrested early in the morning. Half an hour before Deventer was liberated by troops of the 3rd Canadian Division, they were shot by Wehrmacht soldiers on the grounds of the slaughterhouse on Snipperlingsdijk in Deventer.

Ernst Gräwe was buried in the district of Diepenveen von Deventer and reburied in the Ysselsteyn war cemetery in March 1949 . His grave is there in block BP 12-276.

Grave cross of Ernst Graewe on the German military cemetery Ysselsteyn / Netherlands

Commemoration

After the Second World War, a memorial was erected on the wall of the slaughterhouse to commemorate the victims. After the wall was torn down , the so-called Twentol Monument was restored and is now located on Twentolplein, which was dedicated in 2006 . The monument consists of brick as exposed masonry; On a surface with a red background, a memorial inscription names the names of the seven resistance fighters who were killed. In the right area of ​​the monument there is another, black memorial plaque with the following inscription in Dutch, which also pays tribute to Ernst Graewe:

Twentol Monument in Deventer , Netherlands (2006)
Op de dag van de bevrijding van Deventer, April 10, 1945,
wild jonge verzetsstrijders de bruggen over de IJssel
en de havens voor de bevrijders veilig.
Twee van hen kwamen om in hun schuilplaats, het gebouw
'Twentol'. Vijf are created here en gefusilleerd.
The monument en de Treurwilg ernaast vormen een
eerbiedige herinnering aan hun leven en sterven.
Eveneens de Duitser Ernst Gräwe deserves respect, the
weigerde aan de executie deel te nemen en wiens leven
here een gewelddadig einde vond.

Translated into German, the inscription reads:

“On the day of the liberation of Deventer, April 10, 1945, young resistance fighters wanted to secure the bridges over the IJssel and the port for the liberators. Two of them perished in their hiding place, a building in 'Twentol'. Five were brought here and executed. This monument and the weeping willow next to it are a respectful reminder of their life and death. The German Ernst Graewe, who refused to take part in the execution and whose life came to a violent end here, also deserves respect. "

Work-up

On the 75th anniversary of the shooting of Graewe, the French historian Jérémy Gaudais, in collaboration with the city of Unna and the city archives of Unna, began to research the history and background of the murder.

Military background

On October 1, 1936, Graewe was drafted into general military service with the staff battery of I./FlakReg 26 in Kochstedt near Dessau, initially for two years. He served there until October 26, 1938.

In February 1939 he was drafted into the Wehrmacht by war order and immediately reported to 13. FlakRgt 44 in Lippstadt . In November 1943, Graewe signed up for further employment in the Luftwaffe . His period of service was therefore fixed until September 30, 1948.

Until his use in Parachute Medical Department 6 of the 6th Paratrooper Division in July 1944 and the subsequent deployment in the Netherlands, Graewe was mainly deployed in the homeland war zone to secure the western border.

Promotions

  • January 1, 1937 Promotion to private
  • April 1, 1940 Promotion to NCO
  • December 1, 1943 Promotion to sergeant

Awards

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Deventer toen en nu: Twentol Monument. In: deventertoenennu.nl. Retrieved August 15, 2017 (Dutch).
  2. ↑ a b Het drama Twentol. In: 4meideventer.nl. Retrieved August 15, 2017 (Dutch).
  3. ↑ Twentieth Monument. In: 4meideventer.nl. Retrieved August 15, 2017 (Dutch).
personal data
SURNAME Graewe, Ernst
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gräwe, Ernst Wilhelm Johannes (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German soldier in World War II
DATE OF BIRTH October 1, 1914
PLACE OF BIRTH Unna
DATE OF DEATH April 10, 1945
Place of death Deventer