Ludwig Edinger (First Lieutenant)
Ludwig Edinger (born January 7, 1917 in Hinzweiler ; † March 27, 2000 in Kassel ) was a German professional soldier in the Wehrmacht and combat commander in Apolda , who ordered the city to be surrendered without a fight at the end of the Second World War.
First phase of life
Edinger visited after the elementary school , the high school , where he 1937, the High School took off. In his spare time he worked since January 7, 1935 in the Ev. Boy Scout Youth , which was affiliated with the Hitler Youth . He was a member of the NSDAP.
On November 8, 1937, he became a professional soldier . After completing his basic training and attending a military school, he was promoted to NCO on August 1, 1939 . Four months later he was a sergeant . On April 1, 1940, he was raised to the rank of officer when he was promoted to lieutenant . Exactly two years later he received the rank of first lieutenant as his highest rank in the Wehrmacht. Several wounds during the war meant that he was decorated with the Wound Badge in black and silver. Other awards were the Schutzwall Decoration of Honor , the Iron Cross (EK) II class in 1942 and EK I in March 1945. Its areas of application were:
Handover of Apolda on April 11, 1945
At the beginning of April 1945 the 3rd US Army moved into Thuringia and stood near Weimar on April 10th . Then Edinger received the Führer order to go to Apolda and as combat commander "to defend the location to the extreme". According to a later recording, the then District Army Leader Franke reported that Edinger and three other officers, coming from Weimar, appeared on April 11 at around 2 p.m. in the Apolda city administration in the town hall and explained the execution of his order there. Thereupon discussions took place between Edinger and the municipal management personnel in the command post of the mayor Julius Dietz in a barrel vault of the town hall cellar, which after these reports were heated and controversial. Dietz and his staff made it clear to the commandant that in view of the precarious situation of the city (the main aqueduct had already been destroyed by bombs) and the few remaining military personnel, a defense of the city was hopeless and would provoke a massive military counterattack by the US Army , which led to the destruction of the City and would lead to the death of many civilians. Edinger decided, contrary to his Führer's order, to sign a declaration that he did not want to defend the city. Together with another officer he left the city on a bicycle, reported back to his unit two days later and was taken prisoner in the Egerland .
On the morning of April 12th, OB Dietz and his companions drove towards a US Army reconnaissance post. On the return trip together with the US commander Major Trowbridge, the convoy, accompanied by armored vehicles, reached the market square and the town hall without attempting to defend itself. This sealed the surrender of the city without a fight. The town hall and other buildings had already hoisted white flags.
After the Second World War
After his release from US captivity on June 5, 1945, Edinger found it difficult to gain a foothold in western post-war Germany. He actually wanted to become a teacher, but was not allowed to start a corresponding training on the grounds that he was unsuitable “because of political attitudes and knowledge of National Socialism”. From 1946 to 1950 he completed a degree in theology. He became a member of the Kassel Masonic Lodge , of which he was the lodge master from the 1970s until his death.
Edinger did not visit Apolda again because the incumbent mayor Michael Müller (CDU) in the 1990s described his act as "tacitly supporting the decision of our former mayor" (meaning Dietz) in a letter to Edinger.
In January 2011, the SPD's city council group applied to the Apolda Council to name a new street “Ludwig-Edinger-Straße”. The motion was approved with a majority. On the occasion of a congratulation on the occasion of her 90th birthday, which Mayor Rüdiger Eisenbrand and an invitation addressed to the widow, Hedwig Edinger visited the city, accompanied by daughter Ulrike and son-in-law.
literature
- Peter Franz , Hartwig Mähler, Udo Wohlfeld: Against highest orders. A courageous decision for the life of a city , = found 13, ed. History workshop Weimar-Apolda / working group of the Prager-Haus Apolda eV association, Apolda 2013, ISBN 3-935275-30-7
- Eva Gollrad: History and description of the city of Apolda 1871–1990 , Apolda o. J., p. 336, ISBN 3-00-002012-8
Individual evidence
- ↑ Thomas Bahr: Apolda 1944/45 , = Apoldaer Heimat. Contributions to the nature and local history of the city of Apolda and its surroundings, Apolda 1998, p. 27
- ↑ "found 13" Peter Franz, Hartwig Mähler, Udo Wohlfeld: Against the highest order. A Courageous Choice for City Life , Apolda 2013, ISBN 3-935275-26-9
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Edinger, Ludwig |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German professional officer, combat commander and rescuer of the city of Apolda |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 7, 1917 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Hinzweiler |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 27, 2000 |
| Place of death | kassel |