Erwin Kreetz
Erwin Kreetz (born December 9, 1919 in Swinoujscie ; † April 17, 1945 in Steinheim an der Murr ) was a soldier in the German Wehrmacht who was executed as a deserter a few days before the end of World War II .
family
Erwin Kreetz was married and had four children who lived with his wife in Berlin during the Second World War.
Second World War
Prison company
On May 1, 1944, Erwin Kreetz was posted to a field prison company as a punishment. He then belonged to the 3rd Flak Replacement Department 7 of the 559th Volksgrenadier Division under the command of Kurt Adolf Eduard von Mühlen and was a machine gunner. In April 1945 Erwin Kreetz was on the front line near Flein .
Desertion
A few days before he left the troops, he received news from the German Red Cross that his wife had died in a bomb attack on Berlin. This event is considered to be the trigger for his desertion .
When the division withdrew, Erwin Kreetz was arrested either on April 14 or 15, 1945 a few hundred meters behind the front by Major General Kurt Adolf Eduard von Mühlen and then taken by military police to Kleinbottwar , where he was in the town hall by the military police officer Karl Mu was guarded for trial. (In the cited source, the name Kurt-Hermann von Mühlen is used instead of Kurt Adolf Eduard von Mühlen.)
Legal proceedings
On April 16, 1945, the trial took place as a court martial or court martial in Kleinbottwarer Gasthaus Sommer. The process ends with a death sentence. A request for clemency made by Erwin Kreetz was rejected by General von Mühlen.
execution
On April 17, 1945 Erwin Kreetz was brought to the quarry below Schaubeck Castle , between Kleinbottwar and Steinheim an der Murr , for execution .
General von Mühlen did not allow the local pastor Lamparter to attend the execution. In the death register of Kleinbottwar it was noted that spiritual assistance was refused.
The firing squad consisted of 6 to 8 division members. After the death sentence was read out again, the last wish for a cigarette was refused. Immediately afterwards, Erwin Kreetz, who was tied to a stake, was shot. Then two Italian foreign workers had to bury the man who had been shot in the quarry. A Christian burial in the cemetery was banned.
After the Second World War
Reburial
On May 9, 1945 Erwin Kreetz's body was excavated by two men from Kleinbottwar and then buried in the Kleinbottwar cemetery with the participation of 20 to 30 locals.
Commemoration
For many years, Erwin Kreetz has been commemorated at his grave in the Kleinbottwar cemetery on Memorial Day .
Since 1989, on the initiative of the then Steinheim mayor Alfred Ulrich, a memorial stone has stood above the execution site.
literature
- The fate of a deserter illuminates the Stuttgarter Zeitung, March 30, 2011 [accessed November 19, 2017]
- Memorial sites for the victims of National Socialism. A documentation . Volume 1. Federal Agency for Civic Education, Bonn 1995, ISBN 3-89331-208-0 . P. 85
- State Bibliography Baden-Württemberg Personal data on Erwin Kreetz.
- Reminder for peace in threatening times Marbacher Zeitung, September 3, 2017, [accessed November 19, 2017].
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Schönberger, Klaus and Beck, Stefan: For me the war is over. Desertion, condemnation, etc. Execution d. Erwin Kreetz in Kleinbottwar in April 1945. Alexander Seitz History Workshop Marbach and surroundings, Marbach am Neckar 1987.
- ^ Parish archives Kleinbottwar, death book, entry No. 4 from April 17, 1945
- ↑ In memory of the deserter Erwin Kreetz . SPD local association Steinheim, November 14, 2017, accessed on November 19, 2017 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Kreetz, Erwin |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German soldier in World War II who was executed as a deserter a few days before the end of the war |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 9, 1919 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Świnoujście (present-day Poland ) |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 17, 1945 |
| Place of death | Steinheim an der Murr district of Kleinbottwar |