Remy Schrijnen

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Remy Schrijnen (born December 24, 1921 in Kumtich, Flemish Brabant ; † July 27, 2006 in Hagen , North Rhine-Westphalia ) was a volunteer in the Waffen SS and one of four Belgians who were awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross .

War effort

Remy Schrijnen was born on December 24, 1921 in Kumtich, a place near the Flemish city of Tienen , Belgium and became a member of the Vlaams Nationaal Verbond (VNV). He volunteered in the Flanders Legion , later the 27th SS Volunteer Panzer Grenadier Division Langemarck , where he became a gunner of a 7.5 cm PaK 40 in the 3rd Company. On May 25, 1944, he was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class for shooting down two Soviet T-34s during the Leningrad blockade . During the battle for the Narva bridgehead on June 26, 1944, a major Soviet offensive began in which Schrijnen managed to shoot down six tanks within a very short time. On the fourth day of the major offensive, his gun operation was switched off by a direct hit, the surviving grenadiers withdrew, as Schrijnen was ordered to do. However, this remained in his position and opposed the attacking infantry and tanks. Although already under his own artillery fire, he was able to destroy three Stalin tanks and four T-34s and put three other armored vehicles out of action before he was recovered wounded in a German counter-attack. For his fighting success at Narva he was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class on August 3, 1944, and was proposed to be a Knight's Cross, which he was awarded on September 21, 1944. He was also promoted to SS-Unterscharführer.

During the war he also received the Infantry Assault Badge and the gold wound badge for eight wounds . His other awards included the Tollnaere Memorial Badge and the Golden VNV Party Badge .

After the war he was imprisoned in Belgium, from which he was only released in January 1955. Schrijnen then turned his back on his homeland and moved to Germany with his wife , where he died on July 27, 2006 in Hagen .

literature

  • Allen Brandt: The last Knight of Flanders. Remy Schrijnen and his SS Legion "Flanders" / Storm Brigade "Langemarck" comrades on the Eastern Front, 1941-1945 . Schiffer Publishing, Atglen PA 1998, ISBN 0-7643-0588-3 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Schrijnen, Remy
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Flemish member of the Waffen SS and bearer of the Knight's Cross
DATE OF BIRTH December 24, 1921
PLACE OF BIRTH Kumtich
DATE OF DEATH July 27, 2006
Place of death Hagen