Werner Lorleberg
Werner Lorleberg (born October 17, 1894 in Bottmersdorf ; † April 16, 1945 in Erlangen ) was a lieutenant colonel in the Wehrmacht and combat commander in Erlangen.
Lorleberg's career
Lorleberg came from a pastor's family. He attended high schools in Halle and Neuhaldensberg . After graduating from high school, he became a professional soldier. As a young officer, he took part in the First World War and received several awards for his special bravery. In 1916 he was taken prisoner by the British, seriously wounded. After his release (1919) he was a bank clerk in Halle and Dresden until 1936 . When the Wehrmacht was being built up, he was reactivated as a captain . In the winter of 1941/42 he volunteered for the Eastern Front and suffered a serious wound while withdrawing in July 1944, which made him unable to work until February 1945. Then he belonged to a so-called leader reserve that had been brought together in Erlangen. On April 9, 1945 he was used as "combat commander" Erlangen. The positions of combat commanders were created on March 8, 1945 by Hitler's instructions . "Particularly energetic and crisis-proven officers " should defend "local bases" in the event of enemy breakthroughs in the depths of the combat zone and form starting points for counterattacks.
Preservation of Erlangen by Lorleberg
Because of this mission, Lorleberg, citing his mandate and oath, long refused the requests of Erlangen's Lord Mayor Herbert Ohly to hand over Erlangen, overcrowded with refugees and wounded, to the American troops without a fight and showed himself to be a loyal representative of the National Socialist spirit. It was only when American units on April 16, 1945 already in the precincts had entered the city, Lorleberg could be convinced of the futility of further resistance. He surrendered the city without a fight. This saved Erlangen from destruction.
Controversial role of Lorleberg in today's Erlangen
In today's perspective, Lorleberg continues to be upheld as the keeper of the city of Erlangen - also by official authorities of the city of Erlangen - and regularly historically transfigured as a hero through the laying of wreaths and corresponding memorial plaques on Lorlebergplatz named after him. However, not the entire population agrees with this status as a “hero”. There have already been several anti-Nazi demos in the course of honoring Lorleberg. The monument erected in his honor near the Thalermühle has often been graced with graffiti such as "SS" or "Nazi". Officials point out that Lorleberg merely fulfilled his military duty as a soldier, and was also demonstrably not a supporter of the Nazi ideology (in contrast to the then Erlangen Mayor Herbert Ohly , who was an avowed Nazi party member of the NSDAP ) and was therefore The honor of the lieutenant colonel in no way signifies approval of the Nazi regime.
Lorleberg's death
Immediately after this surrender, Lorleberg went with a police officer to a mill complex in the Regnitzwiesen, where German soldiers were still staying, in order to convince these Wehrmacht soldiers, who remained there despite the surrender, to give up. Although he succeeded in this, he died under circumstances that could no longer be clarified. According to the police officer who had been waiting in front of the building, a single shot was fired as Lorleberg approached the exit. It could not be clarified whether it was suicide, murder by one of the Wehrmacht officers or by the police officer. At the place where he was found dead, a memorial today commemorates him. He was buried in the Erlangen Zentralfriedhof, but in December 1945 he was reburied in the Ehrenfriedhof.
In his honor, the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz in Erlangen was renamed Lorlebergplatz on November 1, 1945.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Harald Popp : Lorleberg, Werner . In: Christoph Friederich, Bertold Freiherr von Haller, Andreas Jakob (Hrsg.): Erlanger Stadtlexikon . W. Tümmels Verlag, Nuremberg 2002, ISBN 3-921590-89-2 , p. 468 f . ( Complete edition online ).
- ↑ From a letter from his brother to the Lord Mayor of Erlangen on November 7, 1945, communicated in: Harald Popp, Erlangen in the last days of the Second World War, Erlanger Baussteine 43/1995
- ↑ Harald Popp, Erlangen in the last days of the Second World War, Erlanger Building Blocks 43/1995
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Lorleberg, Werner |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Lieutenant Colonel in the Third Reich |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 17, 1894 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Bottmersdorf |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 16, 1945 |
| Place of death | gain |