Horst-Günter Benkmann
Horst-Günter Benkmann (born February 12, 1915 in Königsberg i. Pr. , † November 14, 1996 in Timmendorfer Strand ) was a German lawyer and East Prussian history author.
Life
Benkmann attended the Royal Wilhelmsgymnasium and studied law and political science at the Albertus University in Königsberg . After the first exam he was from 1937 a court trainee in Tecklenburg . In 1938 drafted into the Greifswald Infantry Regiment 92 , he took part in the attack on Poland and in the western campaign. Awarded the Iron Cross 2nd class, he was severely wounded and discharged from the Wehrmacht . In 1942 he took the assessor exam . From September 1, 1942 he was acting district administrator of the Labiau district , from 1943 of the Allenstein district . Against the orders of the Gauleiter Erich Koch , he called in good time to flee and saved the lives of thousands of East Prussians . He himself was one of the last to leave Allenstein. In West Germany , he brought together the expellees from his district and in 1945 he set up a name card index. He was one of the founders of the Allenstein-Land district community, on whose board he sat until the mid-1980s.
As a descendant of Salzburg exiles , he founded the Salzburg Association (East Prussia) , of which he was federal chairman from 1978 to 1989.
Professionally, he was last until 1971 First Alderman of the City of Detmold .
Since 1939 he was married to Dorothee geb. Drop. The marriage had six children. One son died while trying to escape in 1945.
Honors
- Honorary Chairman of the Salzburg Association
- Honorary member of the city community of Königsberg
- Cross of Merit on Ribbon of the Federal Order of Merit (April 27, 1983)
- Gold medal of the East Prussian Landsmannschaft
- Gold Medal of the Association of Expellees
- Benkmann-Haus of the residential monastery Salzburg in Bielefeld
Works
- Benkmann Drope. Ancestors from 6 centuries. Detmold 1952/1960.
- Königsberg (Pr.) And his post. A contribution to the history of the post office in Königsberg (Pr.) From the time of the Order to 1945 (= Prussia series of publications. Work 6 = publication series of the East and West Prussia Foundation in Bavaria, "Professor Doctor Ernst Ferdinand Müller" eV, Vol. 3). Schild-Verlag, Munich 1981, ISBN 3-88014-075-8 .
- Ways and work. Salzburg emigrants and their descendants. Salzburg Association, Bielefeld 1988.
- Gilge. A fishing village on the Curonian Lagoon in East Prussia. Self-published, Lügde-Niese 1995.
obituary
- Home letter of the district community Allenstein-Land. Vol. 28, 1997, ZDB -ID 348325-3 , pp. 176-177 (with picture).
Web links
- Literature by and about Horst-Günter Benkmann in the catalog of the German National Library
Individual evidence
- ↑ Literature documentation on the history of East Central Europe (Herder Institute)
- ↑ a b c Obituary, district community Allenstein-Land.
- ^ A b Robert Albinus: Königsberg Lexicon. City and surroundings. Special edition. Flechsig, Würzburg 2002, ISBN 3-88189-441-1 .
- ^ Salzburg Association
- ^ Residential monastery Salzburg
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Benkmann, Horst-Günter |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German administrative lawyer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 12, 1915 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Königsberg (Prussia) |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 14, 1996 |
| Place of death | Timmendorfer beach |