Friedrich Poske (naval officer)

Hans-Georg Friedrich "Fritz" Poske (born October 23, 1904 in Berlin-Schöneberg ; † October 1, 1984 , Wachtberg - Niederbachem ) was a German naval officer and border guard , most recently in the rank of sea ​​captain in the German Navy . From 1951 to 1956 he was the head of the maritime border protection . He was the son of the pedagogue Friedrich Poske .

Reich and Kriegsmarine

After graduating from high school in April 1923, Poske joined the Reichsmarine as an officer candidate (sailor FmR (volunteer with school leaving examination)) . Promoted to lieutenant in the sea in 1927 , he served on various surface ships and some land units. On January 1, 1939, Poske was promoted to corvette captain. At the beginning of the Second World War he was a navigation officer on the liner Silesia and then served on the light cruisers Nuremberg and Königsberg . From June to October 1940 he was in command of the Avisos Grille, which was used as a mine - layer .

In November 1940 Poske began his training as a submarine commander, which lasted until May 1943. From July 1941 to January 1943 he undertook enemy voyages with the submarine U 504 (01.1941: 4 ships with a total of 26,561 t sunk, 07.1942: 6 ships with a total of 36,156 t sunk) and was with on November 6, 1942 for his successes awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross . He was promoted to frigate captain on February 1, 1943 and then served as commander of the 1st submarine training division in Pillau . On October 1, 1943, he was promoted to captain at sea. As a member of the Navy Department he was taken prisoner by the British in May 1945 , from which he was released in March 1946.

Post-war period and sea border protection

After his release from captivity, Poske made his way as a craftsman, inland boatman, warehouse worker and commercial clerk before he was able to set up a coffee mail order business with his wife in Bremen . In preparation for this task, he trained as a clerk.

In January 1951 Poske was approached by the former admirals Heye and Wagner whether he wanted to participate in the establishment of the maritime border protection, which was to be created as part of the Federal Border Protection (BGS). After a hesitant acceptance, he began his service in the Federal Ministry of the Interior in May 1951 . The sea border protection was carried out independently of the rest of the BGS directly from the ministry through the newly established Section VI C 6, whose head Poske officially became on July 15, 1952. Initially hired as "Oberstabskapitän im BGS", which corresponded to a lieutenant colonel in the rest of the BGS, on October 1, 1953, he received the rank of "Captain in the BGS" (Colonel). Poske remained its head until the dissolution of the maritime border protection and its transfer to the Federal Navy on July 1, 1956.

Federal Navy

When the Maritime Border Guard was dissolved, its personnel were almost completely taken over into the German Navy. As a staff officer, Poske had to present himself to the personnel appraisal committee, which had to examine soldiers who were intended for employment with the rank of colonel upwards on their personal suitability. Poske received only conditional approval because he had insisted on documenting his loyalty to Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz, who was still a war criminal at the time, with a picture on his desk. Therefore, when he was taken over, the promotion to an admiral rank was excluded.

Poske began his service on July 1, 1956 in the naval command , where he first headed the budget and later the organization department. He was appointed sea ​​captain on July 1, 1956. On November 1, 1960, he became Chief of Staff at the command of the fleet base and retired from here on March 31, 1963.

retirement

After retirement, Poske worked in industry until 1972. He was also involved in local politics and was a member of the municipal council in Wachtberg-Niederbachem until 1979 .

literature

• Fritz Poske: The sea border protection 1951-1956. Reminder - Report - Documentation , Koblenz / Bonn 1982. ISBN 3-7637-5410-5
• Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war, 1939-1945: The knight's cross bearers of the submarine weapon from September 1939 to May 1945 , Mittler & Sohn, 2003

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Clay Blair: Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunters, 1939-1942 . Random House Publishing Group, 2010, ISBN 978-0-307-87437-5 ( google.de [accessed December 18, 2017]).
2. ^ Douglas C. Peifer. Three German navies - dissolution, transitions and new beginnings. Bochum 2007. ISBN 978-3-89911-101-9