Hans-Ulrich Rudel

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Hans-Ulrich Rudel after his capture in 1945, in the background Adolf Galland

Hans-Ulrich Rudel (born July 2, 1916 in Konradswaldau , Landeshut district ( Silesia ), † December 18, 1982 in Rosenheim ) was a German attack pilot and officer in the Wehrmacht in World War II . He was the only bearer of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with golden oak leaves, swords and diamonds, the second highest award level of the Knight's Cross after the Grand Cross and thus from April 23, 1945 (withdrawal of Hermann Göring's awards) the most decorated soldier in the Wehrmacht. After the end of the war he worked as a Nazi escape helper , arms dealer and supported the right-wing extremist German Reich Party (DRP), whose top candidate he was in the 1953 federal election campaign.

Life

Beginnings and the inter-war period

Rudel was the son of the Protestant pastor Johannes Rudel and his wife Martha Rudel née. Mueckner. From 1922 to 1936 Rudel attended elementary school and a humanistic grammar school in Lauban , which he completed with the Abitur. As a schoolboy he achieved excellent athletic performance. In 1933 he joined the Hitler Youth . In the summer of 1936 he applied for an officer career in the Air Force after successfully passing the acceptance test. After completing his compulsory labor service in autumn 1936, Rudel joined the Air Force on December 4, 1936 as a flag squire . He completed his basic training at Air War School 3 in Wildpark-Werder near Berlin . In June 1937 he began training as a pilot there. In June 1938 he was promoted to senior ensign and transferred to Graz-Thalerhof for dive combat pilot training and assigned to Group I of Sturzkampfgruppe 168. On December 1, 1938 he trained as an observer at the Hildesheim reconnaissance school . Rudel was promoted to lieutenant on January 1, 1939, and on June 1, 1939 , he was transferred to Prenzlau as an observer in the second squadron of long-range reconnaissance squadron 121 .

Second World War

Rudel's preferred aircraft,
the Ju 87 G, with two 3.7 cm anti-tank guns

As an officer and observer, Rudel first took part in the aforementioned reconnaissance group in the attack on Poland and then returned to Prenzlau. On November 10, 1939, he was awarded the Iron Cross, 2nd class. His request for a return to dive combat flying was rejected. From March 1940 he acted as a regimental adjutant in the Aviation Training Regiment 43 in Vienna- Stammersdorf and Crailsheim . In the summer of 1940 his renewed requests for transfer to the Stuka weapon were granted. Here Rudel came to the “Grazer Gruppe” in Caen . On September 1, 1940, he was promoted to first lieutenant . Around mid-April 1941 he was transferred to Stukageschwader 2 "Immelmann" in Greece and deployed on the Eastern Front after the war against the Soviet Union began. On July 28, 1941, Rudel received the Iron Cross First Class and the front flight clasp for attack pilots in gold.

On September 23, 1941 Rudel scored a direct hit with his Junkers Ju 87 on the Soviet battleship Marat (23,600 tons) in the Kronstadt naval port and destroyed the front heavy gun turret. Due to the severe damage, the ship sank, but some of the artillery remained operational and supported the defenders of the besieged Leningrad . In other missions he sank a cruiser and a destroyer . On October 20, 1941, he was awarded the Cup of Honor for Special Achievement in the Air War and on December 8, 1941, the German Cross in Gold. On January 4, 1942, after more than 400 enemy flights, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross . From March to August 1942 Rudel flew first in the supplementary squadron in Graz , later in Sarabus on the Crimean peninsula without combat missions. On August 15, 1942, he returned to the front and flew numerous missions in the Caucasus and the Black Sea as a squadron captain of the 2nd squadron in Sturzkampfgeschwader 2. On September 24, 1942, he flew his 500th enemy flight. In November 1942 he was treated in Rostov for jaundice . In November 1942 he became a squadron captain of the 1st squadron in Sturzkampfgeschwader 2. On February 10, 1943, he was the first in the world to fly his 1000th enemy flight near Isjum . On April 1, 1943, he was promoted to captain early because of "special bravery in front of the enemy". In the spring of 1943 Rudel sank 70 Soviet landing craft with the Ju 87 G during the fighting over the Kuban bridgehead . On April 14, 1943 he was awarded the Knight's Cross as the 229th soldier of the Wehrmacht. In July 1943, the Ju 87 G was first used against T-34 tanks , of which Rudel shot down twelve in this way during the first enemy flight. On August 12, 1943, he flew his 1,300th enemy flight. On September 18, 1943, Rudel joined as a commander ( md W. d. G. b. ) Of the III. Group of the Schlachtgeschwader 2 (III./St.G.2) started his service. On October 30, 1943, he shot down his 100th tank with the Ju 87 G. In November 1943, he flew his 1,600th enemy flight.

On November 25th, packs were awarded the swords for oak leaves. In January 1944, he distinguished himself again at the Battle of Kirovograd . On January 11, 1944, he shot down his 150th tank with the Ju 87 G. Four days later, on January 16, 1944, he flew his 1,700th enemy flight. On February 22, 1944 he was appointed commander of the III. Group of Sturzkampfgeschwader 2 and on March 1, 1944, promotion to major with seniority from October 1, 1942.

During his further operations, Rudel saved six shot down Stuka crews from capture by the Red Army. In the unsuccessful attempt to save a seventh crew, his gunner Erwin Hentschel drowned on March 20, 1944 while fleeing from the persecutors as a return fighter in enemy territory in the icy Dniester . Up to this day, Hentschel and Rudel had completed over 1,400 missions together.

On March 25, 1944, he flew his 1,800th enemy flight. Rudel was named in the Wehrmacht report on March 27 and March 28, 1944 , because he had destroyed 26 tanks and several other motorized vehicles in two days. On March 29, 1944 he was awarded the brilliants for oak leaves and swords. On June 1, 1944, he flew his 2000th enemy flight in the Iași area (Romania) with his new gunner Ernst Gadermann . On June 3, 1944, Rudel was honored by Hermann Göring with the front flight clasp specially created for him for attack pilots in gold with diamonds and pendants with the number 2000 .

On August 6, 1944, Rudel was named again in the Wehrmacht report because he "[shot down] 11 tanks and thus achieved his 300th tank kill with on-board weapons". On August 19, 1944, Rudel was shot down by flak near Ērgļi in Courland and was able to make an emergency landing on the foremost German lines. On September 1, 1944, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel; a month later he took over the leadership of the battle squadron 2 (SG 2) "Immelmann". On November 17, 1944, Rudel was wounded again by earth bombardment in Hungary and had to make an emergency landing at the fighter airfield in Budapest . In the hospital there, his bullet and penetration in the left thigh were treated. Rudel ignored the doctor's instructions and left the hospital without permission. A little later he returned to his squadron with a plaster cast. After more than 2,400 enemy flights (December 22, 1944) and 463 tank destructions, Rudel was the only soldier to be awarded the Knight's Cross with the Golden Oak Leaves with Swords and Diamonds on December 29, 1944. On the same day he was promoted to colonel . The last of his eleven awards from the National Socialist regime was presented to him by Hitler at the Adlerhorst headquarters , with the commanders-in-chief of the Navy ( Dönitz ), the Air Force (Göring) and the OKW management staff also present. On January 14, 1945 Rudel was presented with the highest Hungarian award for bravery (Golden Medal for Bravery) by the leader of the state Ferenc Szálasi . As early as January 3, 1945, his squadron was the 125,000. Mission flown. On January 18, 1945, Rudel increased the number of tanks shot down to 481.

Film recordings with pack after his capture ( Special Film Project 186 )

On February 9, 1945, the Ju 87 G, with which Rudel and Gadermann took off from Fürstenwalde airfield , was hit by a Soviet anti-aircraft gun near Lebus in the Frankfurt (Oder) area while fighting enemy tanks, with Rudel severely wounded on the right lower leg . After the emergency landing of the burning machine, Gadermann pulled Rudel out of the danger area. He then took care of his shot right lower leg and thus saved him from bleeding to death. Rudel's lower leg then had to be amputated at the Waffen SS main first aid station near Seelow. On March 25, 1945, Rudel returned to his squadron and, from April 4, 1945, flew further missions despite the flight ban and the unhealed leg stump. His tank kills were no longer counted, but credited to the squadron. The new and last gunner from Rudel during these months was war correspondent and captain Ernst-August Niermann , who in turn had completed over 600 enemy flights. On April 24, 1945, Rudel shot down his 26th tank after being seriously wounded at the Battle of Bautzen . On May 8, 1945 he flew with his squadron from Bohemia to Kitzingen, where he surrendered to the Americans. In April 1946, Rudel was released from the Fürth military hospital.

In total, Rudel destroyed three Soviet ships, about 70 landing vehicles and 519 tanks in 2530 enemy flights as attack aircraft. It destroyed more than 800 land vehicles, more than 150 anti-aircraft and anti-tank gun -positions, four armored trains , numerous bunkers, bridges and supply connections. In addition, Rudel achieved nine confirmed aerial victories. No other attack aircraft of World War II achieved more than the 2530 sorties flown by Rudel. Rudel mainly flew Junkers Ju 87 G "Kanonenvogel" aircraft as well as Focke-Wulf Fw 190s that had been converted to fight tanks . He was shot down thirty times by anti-aircraft and infantry weapons, but was able to save himself each time. Rudel was wounded a total of five times, for which he wore the Wound Badge in gold.

After 1945

After his release from captivity in April 1946, Rudel ran a haulage company in Coesfeld . In 1948 he emigrated to Argentina via one of the so-called rat lines : He came to Italy via Switzerland ; in Rome he obtained a forged passport of the Red Cross with the code name "Emilio Meier" and landed on a flight from Rome on June 8, 1948 in Buenos Aires . His wife Ursula Rudel and their two children did not follow him to Argentina. The " Spiegel " reported in 1950 that he had divorced his wife because she had sold his war decorations. However, this was denied by Ursula Rudel.

In Argentina, Rudel founded the “ Kameradenwerk ” in Buenos Aires , an aid organization for Nazi war criminals. In addition to the SS man Ludwig Lienhardt , other National Socialists and war criminals such as Kurt Christmann ( Gestapo ) and the Austrian Fridolin Guth also gathered in the “Kameradenwerk” . They maintained close contact with other internationally sought-after fascists such as Ante Pavelić , Carlo Scorza and descendants of well-known fascist personalities such as Benito Mussolini and Konstantin Freiherr von Neurath . In addition to these war criminals who fled to Argentina, the group also provided Nazi criminals such as Rudolf Hess and Karl Dönitz imprisoned in Europe with food parcels from Argentina and by paying legal fees. Together with Willem Sassen , Rudel protected the identity of Josef Mengele and ensured his safety.

In Argentina, Rudel wrote regularly for the monthly magazine Der Weg , which was aimed at refugee National Socialists and was published by Eberhard Fritsch. Rudel wrote several bestsellers about his wartime experiences, thereby gaining a public role.

In the following years Rudel made a career as a military advisor and arms dealer for several Latin American military dictatorships. Through Juan Perón , he officially got a job at the Argentine Aviation Institute and quickly got financially lucrative import licenses and government contracts. Together with Sassen he worked as a military advisor and arms dealer for the coca generals in Bolivia as well as for Augusto Pinochet (Chile) and Alfredo Stroessner (Paraguay). After Perón's fall in September 1955 (so-called Revolución Libertadora ), Rudel moved his residence to Paraguay . As with Juan Perón, he maintained close contacts with the dictator Stroessner.

In the Federal Republic of Germany, Rudel supported the activities of various right-wing groups and parties, such as the Socialist Reich Party, which was banned in 1952 . According to the British secret service, he also had contacts with the Naumann Circle , an association of National Socialists around the former State Secretary in the Reich Propaganda Ministry, Werner Naumann , who wanted to infiltrate the FDP . In the 1953 Bundestag election campaign , former Nazi Rudel stood as the top candidate of the right-wing extremist German Reich Party (DRP). In 1960, the Attorney General conducted an investigation into secret bundles against Rudel. After the Pinochet coup in 1973, Rudel settled in the Colonia Dignidad in Chile . He also maintained good contacts with Juan Perón. He also appeared in 1977 as a speaker for the German People's Union .

Since the early 1950s he was friends with Savitri Devi , who adored Adolf Hitler as an avatar . He promoted her rise within the international neo-Nazi scene and established contacts with Johann von Leers and Otto Skorzeny . Despite his prosthetic leg, he climbed the Llullaillaco (6739 m) three times in 1953 .

In South America, Rudel was the "foreign representative for several German companies", including for the Siemens group. In 1973 he also acted as a mediator in economic projects between Argentina and Paraguay. This was about the Yacyretá dam project . The company Lahmeyer International was also involved in the construction of this hydropower plant , which, according to Argentine police reports, was represented in Argentina by Nazi escape helper Carlos Fuldner . Here the Lahmeyer company recruited Rudel as lobbyists.

Rudel also received support for his activities from the bishop and Nazi escape helper Alois Hudal .

family

Hans-Ulrich Rudel's first wife, whom he married in 1942 and with whom he had two sons, was called Ursula. After he went to Argentina, that marriage ended in divorce. In 1965 he married another Ursula, who was born in 1944 and was around 28 years younger than him. Another son was born from the second marriage.

Political scandals

1976 pack affair

A political scandal occurred in the Federal Republic of Germany when Rudel, at the invitation of high-ranking Bundeswehr officers, took part in a traditional meeting of former members of battle squadron 2 "Immelmann" of the Wehrmacht at Bremgarten air base in October 1976 . Lieutenant General Walter Krupinski and Major General Karl-Heinz Franke had issued the invitation to Rudel and, in public attempts at justification, compared Rudel's Nazi past with the Communist past of Social Democrat Herbert Wehner . The Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Defense , Hermann Schmidt (SPD), had approved the event and was also criticized, which ended with the departure of all three from office.

Defense Minister Georg Leber decided to put the two generals into temporary retirement in October 1976 because of the comparison between Rudel and Wehner ; After a brief hesitation - he had flown as an Air Force soldier himself in the Second World War - Federal President Walter Scheel followed his request and dismissed both generals in accordance with Section 50 of the Soldiers Act .

The Rudel affair sparked a media debate about maintaining tradition in the Bundeswehr. In February 1977 the German Bundestag also dealt with the affair and its consequences.

1978 Football World Cup in Argentina

During the Football World Cup in Argentina in 1978 under the military dictatorship , Rudel was received in the training quarters of the German national team in Ascochinga . The President of the German Football Association, Hermann Neuberger, defended the visit by saying that criticism of Rudel's appearance would be “an insult to all German soldiers”. Support for the pack visit came from the extreme right-wing press such as the German national newspaper .

1982 death and burial

Rudel died of a stroke on December 18, 1982 at the age of 66 .

Rudel's grave in Dornhausen

Rudel is buried in Dornhausen in Central Franconia because his family moved there after the war. His mother is also buried there. At his funeral on December 22, 1982, there was a scandal when, according to eyewitness reports, several phantoms and a starfighter of the Bundeswehr Air Force flew over and over his grave as a tribute. In an investigation report by the Ministry of Defense, however, it was alleged that at the time in question "normal training flight operations" prevailed, the military aircraft had not deviated from the prescribed course and flew by "at a considerable distance from the village". The people who claimed that the planes had flown over the place "succumbed to an optical illusion".

Awards

Works

  • Wir front soldiers for rearmament , Dürer-Verlag, 1951, OCLC 603587732
  • Stab in the back or legend? , Series of publications on the present, No. 4, Dürer-Verlag, 1951, OCLC 23669099, OBV , DNB
  • It's about the Reich , series of publications on the present, No. 6, Dürer-Verlag, 1952, OCLC 48951914
  • Nevertheless , Schütz-Verlag, 1977, OCLC 2362892, OBV , DNB , ISBN 978-3-87725-047-1
  • Hans-Ulrich Rudel: Eagle of the Eastern Front , 1971, National-Verlag, OBV , DNB , ISBN 978-3-920722-08-5
  • My life in war and peace , Deutsche Verlagsgesellschaft, 1994, OCLC 34396545, OBV , DNB , ISBN 978-3-920722-22-1
  • Hans-Ulrich Rudel - Records of a Stuka pilot - My war diary , Arndt-Verlag, 2001, OBV , DNB , ISBN 978-3-88741-039-1
  • From the Stukas to the Andes - At the highest volcano on earth , 2008, Winkelried Verlag

literature

Web links

Commons : Hans-Ulrich Rudel  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ RK with golden oak leaves
  2. ↑ a b c d Obermaier p. 30.
  3. ↑ a b c d Obermaier p. 31.
  4. ↑ D. Thomson et al.: The Air Force . Bechtermünz Verlag, Eltville, 1993, p. 122.
  5. ↑ a b Obermaier: Knight's Cross Bearer , p. 33.
  6. ↑ a b Obermaier: Knight's Cross Bearer , p. 32.
  7. ↑ Obermaier: Knight's Cross Bearer, pp. 29–36.
  8. ↑ D. Thomson et al.: The Air Force. Bechtermünz Verlag, Eltville a. R., 1993, p. 123.
  9. ↑ Personal details : Hans Ulrich Rudel . In: Der Spiegel . No. 48 , 1950 ( online ).
  10. ↑ a b Personal details: Ursula Rudel . In: Der Spiegel . No. 13 , 1951 ( online ).
  11. ↑ Uki Goñi: Odessa: The True Story. Escape aid for Nazi war criminals. 2nd Edition. 2007, p. 140 f.
  12. ↑ Uki Goñi: Odessa…. P. 265 f.
  13. ↑ Uki Goñi: Odessa…. P. 272.
  14. ↑ Uki Goñi: Odessa…. P. 272 ​​f.
  15. ↑ On the contact with Stroessner cf. Uki Goñi: Odessa…. P. 223.
  16. ^ Ernst Klee : The dictionary of persons on the Third Reich. Who was what before and after 1945. Second, updated edition. Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2005, ISBN 3-596-16048-0 , p. 512.
  17. ^ Ernst Klee: The dictionary of persons on the Third Reich. Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, 2005, p. 512, source BA N 1080/272.
  18. ↑ On the contact with Juan Perón mentioned here, cf. Uki Goñi: Odessa…. P. 179.
  19. ↑ A visit to old comrades - The Nazi pack came in 1978. In: Der Tagesspiegel. June 2, 2008.
  20. ↑ Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke: In the Shadow of the Black Sun. Aryan Cults, Esoteric National Socialism and the Politics of Demarcation. Marix Verlag, Wiesbaden 2009, ISBN 978-3-86539-185-8 , pp. 208-210.
  21. ↑ Hans-Ulrich Rudel: From the Stukas to the Andes. Schütz-Verlag, Coburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-938392-18-8 .
  22. ↑ On the contact with Juan Perón mentioned here, cf. Uki Goñi: Odessa…. P. 272 ​​f.
  23. ↑ Uki Goñi: Odessa…. P. 223.
  24. ^ Sönke Neitzel :  Rudel, Hans-Ulrich. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 22, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-428-11203-2 , pp. 160 f. ( Digitized version ).
  25. ↑ In love with the uniform . In: Der Spiegel . No. 46 , 1976 ( online ).
  26. Jump up ↑ The Pack Affair. Report on the Air Force website, accessed August 10, 2012.
  27. ↑ A game of the century and a scandal of the century. In: Der Spiegel .
  28. ^ Died: Hans-Ulrich Rudel . In: Der Spiegel . No. 52 , 1982, pp. 124 ( online ).
  29. ^ Sönke Neitzel:  Rudel, Hans-Ulrich. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 22, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-428-11203-2 , pp. 160 f. ( Digitized version ).
  30. ↑ Last flight . In: Der Spiegel . No. 1 , 1983, p. 65 f . ( online ).
  31. ^ Heinrich Doehle : The awards of the Greater German Empire. Orders, decorations, badges. 5th edition. License issue. Patzwall, Norderstedt 2000, ISBN 3-931533-43-3 .
  32. ^ Kurt-Gerhard Klietmann : Awards of the German Reich 1936–1945 , Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1994, pp. 173–175.
  33. ↑ Horst Scheibert: The bearers of the German cross in gold and the German cross in silver. , Podzun-Pallas-Verlag, Friedberg, Volume 2: The bearers of the German cross in gold: Kriegsmarine, Luftwaffe, Waffen-SS and the German cross in silver: Army, Kriegsmarine, Luftwaffe, Waffen-SS. 1984, ISBN 3-7909-0223-3
  34. ↑ Kurt-Gerhard Klietmann : German awards - a history of decorations and medals, commemorative and merit badges of the German Empire, the German states and government agencies, organizations, associations, etc. from 18. – 20. Century. In cooperation with the International Society for Scientific Order Studies e. V Volume 2: German Empire. 1871-1945. The Order Collection, Berlin 1971.
  35. ↑ Winfried Heinemann : Das Eiserne Kreuz: The history of a symbol in the course of time, publisher: Military History Research Office, ISBN 3-941571-30-3
  36. ^ Kurt-Gerhard Klietmann : Awards of the German Empire. 1936-1945. Motorbuch, Stuttgart 1981, ISBN 3-87943-689-4 .
  37. ^ Jörg Nimmergut : German medals and decorations until 1945. Volume 4: Württemberg II - German Empire. Central Office for Scientific Order Studies, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-00-001396-2 .
  38. ^ Günter Fraschka : With swords and diamonds: The bearers of the highest German valor award. 10th edition. Universitas Verlag, Wiesbaden / Munich 2002, ISBN 3-8004-1435-X , p. 324.
  39. ^ The Wehrmacht reports 1939–1945. Volume 3: January 1, 1944 to May 9, 1945. Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, Munich 1985, ISBN 3-423-05944-3 , p. 66.
personal data
SURNAME Rudel, Hans-Ulrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German attack pilot and officer in the Wehrmacht in World War II
DATE OF BIRTH July 2, 1916
PLACE OF BIRTH Konradswaldau , Landeshut district
DATE OF DEATH 18th December 1982
Place of death Rosenheim