Fritz Klingenberg

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Fritz Klingenberg during a propaganda interview in April 1941
Fritz Klingenberg in the rank of SS-Stubaf and with the Knight's Cross in June 1943

Fritz Paul Heinrich Otto Klingenberg (* 17th December 1912 in Rövershagen , † 23. March 1945 in Herxheim bei Landau / Pfalz ) was a German officer of the SS in World War II , most recently with the rank of SS Lieutenant leader .

Life

Fritz Klingenberg grew up in Mecklenburg and graduated from high school . In 1931 he joined the NSDAP . In April 1934, he broke off studying chemistry in Rostock and joined the SS army as a volunteer shortly after being deployed . A short time later he was accepted into the first course at the newly created cadet school in Bad Tölz and stayed there until 1935.

As an officer, he first served in the SS standards “Germany” and “Germania” . He later served in the SS division Das Reich . Promoted to SS-Hauptsturmführer in 1939 , he took part in the conquest of Austria , the Sudetenland and Czechoslovakia . During the Polish campaign he served as a staff officer , including as adjutant to Paul Hausser and IIa in the SS inspection , and received both classes of the Iron Cross . There he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross as SS-Hauptsturmführer in the position during the Balkan campaign as chief of the 2nd company in the SS motorcyclist battalion, which he had been since autumn 1940 . Shortly afterwards he was present when Heinrich Himmler visited the Mauthausen concentration camp .

He received the Knight's Cross for "taking" Belgrade at the beginning of 1941. When his unit advanced deep into enemy territory, he reached the morning of April 12, 1941 after crossing the Danube because the bridges had been blown up from a previous air raid Chaos sunken Belgrade with a remaining squad of 6 men. After a brief firefight, the squad and several captured Yugoslav soldiers were able to reach the city center. He hoisted a German flag and made it clear to the mayor of the city that he would command a raid force and that, depending on the outcome of the conversation, air support would be possible. The unconditional handover of the city then took place at around 6:45 p.m. With the six men, the guarding of the almost 1,000 captured soldiers was organized. In addition, he gave the order to Serbian engineer units to carry out the crossing by boat for the German troops standing on the bank. During the night, support from Kleist's Panzer Group reached Belgrade. Subsequently, this action was used for propaganda purposes and received the title coup on Belgrade .

He became the commander of the SS motorcycle rifle battalion. At the beginning of 1942 he fell ill with dysentery , his command was taken over by Christian Tychsen and he was sent back to Germany. After his recovery he was assigned to the SS Junker School in Bad Tölz. From the beginning of 1943 he was in command of the 2nd company of the 2nd SS Panzer Regiment.

At the end of April 1944, as SS-Obersturmbannführer (since the end of 1943) in the SS division Das Reich, he was awarded the German Cross in Gold.

From January to March 1945, Klingenberg, who had been appointed SS-Standartenführer shortly beforehand, took over command of the 17th SS Panzer Grenadier Division as a substitute for Werner Ostendorff and then became the commandant of the SS Junker School in Bad Tölz. From mid-January to mid-March 1945 he was in command of the 17th SS Panzer Grenadier Division. A short time later he was hit by a tank shell. Posthumously he was appointed SS-Oberführer.

He was buried in a military cemetery in Andilly , France.

literature

  • Robert J. Edwards: Tip of the Spear . Stackpole Books, 2015, pp. 173 + 174
  • Helmut Günther: Hot engines, cold feet . Nation-Europa-Verlag , 2003, various pages.
  • Ernst-Günther Krätschmer : The knight's cross bearers of the Waffen-SS . KW Schütz, 1982, p. 136 ff.
  • Michael Sharpe, Brian L. Davis: Waffen-SS elite forces . Book Sales, 2008, p. 179 ff.

Web links

Commons : Fritz Klingenberg  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ernst-Günther Krätschmer: The knight's cross bearers of the Waffen-SS . KW Schütz, 1982, ISBN 978-3-87725-077-8 , pp. 137 ( google.de [accessed April 30, 2020]).
  2. ^ Peter Schmitz: The German divisions, 1939-1945: Army, land-based navy, air force, Waffen-SS . Biblio, 1993, ISBN 978-3-7648-2421-1 , pp. 161 ( google.de [accessed April 30, 2020]).
  3. ↑ Fritz Wilhelm Schütter: Men of the Waffen-SS: the way of a troop, 1935-1945 . KW Schütz, 1982, ISBN 978-3-87725-104-1 , pp. 341 ( google.de [accessed April 30, 2020]).
  4. ↑ Mustard: Mammoth Book of the Third Reich . Siena, 1999, ISBN 978-0-7525-2823-6 , pp. 159 ff . ( google.de [accessed April 30, 2020]).
  5. ^ Karl Heinz Mathias: Paul Hausser, Colonel General of the Waffen-SS: "I serve": a picture of life and time . DS-Verlag, 2002, ISBN 978-3-935102-02-5 , pp. 131 ff . ( google.de [accessed April 30, 2020]).
  6. ↑ Michael Sharpe, Brian L. Davis: Waffen-SS elite forces 1 . Book Sales, Inc., February 28, 2008, p. 120 ( google.de [accessed April 30, 2020]).
  7. ^ Conquest of the Balkans . Time-Life Books, 1990, ISBN 978-0-8094-6979-6 , pp. 54 ff . ( google.de [accessed April 30, 2020]).
  8. ^ Samuel W. Mitcham : The Rise of the Wehrmacht: The German Armed Forces and World War II . ABC-CLIO, 2008, ISBN 978-0-275-99641-3 , p. 396 ( google.de [accessed April 30, 2020]).
  9. ↑ Philip Kovacevic: The Balkans from the perspective of the SS: Reception and construction of the Balkan area in the SS magazine "Das Schwarze Korps" . Akademische Verlagsgemeinschaft München, 2009, ISBN 978-3-96091-152-4 , pp. 63 ( google.de [accessed April 30, 2020]).
  10. ^ Robert Edwards: Scouts Out: A History of German Armored Reconnaissance Units in World War II . Stackpole Books, 2014, ISBN 978-0-8117-1311-5 , pp. 473 ( google.de [accessed on May 1, 2020]).
  11. ^ The Waffen SS and Police, 1939-1945: Leadership and Troops . Militair-Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall, 1995, p. 396 ( google.de [accessed on May 1, 2020]).
  12. ^ Peter Schmitz: The German divisions, 1939-1945: Army, land-based navy, air force, Waffen-SS . Biblio, 1993, ISBN 978-3-7648-2421-1 , pp. 166 ( google.de [accessed April 30, 2020]).
  13. ^ A b Samuel W. Mitcham: German Order of Battle: Panzer, Panzer Grenadier, and Waffen SS divisions in World War II . Stackpole Books, 2007, ISBN 978-0-8117-3438-7 , pp. 1955 ( google.de [accessed April 29, 2020]).
  14. ^ Ernst-Günther Krätschmer: The knight's cross bearers of the Waffen-SS . KW Schütz, 1982, ISBN 978-3-87725-077-8 , pp. 138 ( google.de [accessed April 30, 2020]).
personal data
SURNAME Klingenberg, Fritz
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Klingenberg, Fritz Paul Heinrich Otto (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German SS-Obergruppenführer
DATE OF BIRTH December 17, 1912
PLACE OF BIRTH Rövershagen
DATE OF DEATH March 23, 1945
Place of death Herxheim near Landau / Pfalz