1957 german award owners

[don_kihotis7]

Nice addition to this thread Chris ! I have never written to vets before....perhaps I should, before they all go to Valhalla........... the only autograph of an RK holder I have, I bought........Ludwig Bauer.
Prost ! Steve.

Hi Steve, indeed time is running out. I am trying to contact as many as i can now that there is still time.
Paul thanks for the addition of the names.

[Paul D]

The baubles of war will be around for hunderds of years to come , the human beings who experienced it won't and like us all their time is running down quickly , quite a few despite their age will still respond so now is the time to contact veterans of all sides !!

I have been contacting then for over 15 years and have written to over 800 German vets but i still envy the guys who were doing this long before me such as Mark Yerger and John Moore et al !!

[JERSEY 34]

As soon as I saw the photo you had posted I knew who the chap was before I saw his name. I knew he was Kapitanleutnant Zimmermann (Senior Naval Staff Officer and Flottilenchef of the 46th Hilfsminensuchflotille) when he was in the Channel Islands during the German Occupation. On Tuesday the 8th of May 1945 he was sent by Vice Admiral Huffmeier (Officer Comanding the German Armed Forces in the Channel Islands) to meet with HMS Bulldog and discuss the terms of surrender.
He was piped aboard HMS Bulldog and once on deck proceeded to give the Nazi salute. Once in the wardroom he was faced with the British representatives to whom he informed he was not there to sign the Instrument of Surrender but only to discuss its terms. He then added that it was to begin at 00.01 hours on the 9th of May 1945.
He was then asked to withdraw from the wardroom which he did but not before saluting yet again. After an hour he was called back in and told that the British reprentative would only deal with the overall Commander (Huffmeier) or his representative who was able to sign the unconditional surrender. Zimmermann was given a letter for his Commander outlining this as well as a copy of the instrument of Surrender.
Zimmermann much to everyone's astonishment then stated that his Commander had pointed out that safe conduct had only been guaranteed only to the rendezvous point and if they remained in place after his departure from HMS Bulldog it would be seen as a hostile act and they would be fired upon. Brigadier Snow told Zimmermann to inform Huffmeier that if they were fired upon he would hang him tomorrow.
Needless to say Kapitanleutnant Zimmermann left a lasting impression on those in the wardroom.
All the best from Jersey.
D.


I see that the photo has for some reason uploaded side on, I am unsure how to correct this but it was the right way round in my file!!!! Sorry.

[oradour]

some more Spanish "Blue Division" veterans...................first one is General Juan José Orozco, a Nationalist hero in the Spanish Civil War and then marched to Russia with the Blue Division..............
Prost !Steve.

[oradour]

and not be outdone, two Italian veterans, first Generale Ennio Calabresi who received "in the field" the Iron Cross first Class on May 31, 1942, as a result of action at Bir el-Aslagh (North Africa). Then a vet of the battle of El-Alamein, Santo Pelliccia, one of "the boys of the Thunderbolt.".... 4th battalion of paratroopers "Folgore Division" Italian Army.
Prost ! Steve.

[Nick Hessens]

Great photograph of Herbert-Otto Gille being presented with his "new" (57er version) Ritterkreuz mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten (with oak leaves,swords & diamonds), during a special ceremony of the OdR, November 1958.

Great photo indeed, gave this one a try with Gimp...

[Paul D]

Great job Nick

[oradour]

Great job Nick

I agree !
Prost ! Steve.

[oradour]

Some more post war photographs of Spanish "Blue Division" members........... first RKT General Emilio Esteban-Infantes, awarded the Knight's Cross on October 3, 1943, followed by two unknown ex members......then, air ace Teniente General José Ramón Ponce de León Gavilan shown in 1983, he died September 19 2009. Gavilan was with the Luftwaffe and fought on the Eastern Front, with nine air victories, and was known as the "Sparrowhawk" !
The last photo shows more veterans of the Blue Division, General Vega Rodriguez, in 1978. who later became a Joint Chief of Staff of the Spanish Armed Forces, he is in the foreground wearing the Infantry Assault Badge................I wonder how that went down at NATO meetings !
Prost ! Steve.

[oradour]

Gentlemen, here is a splendid image of Werner Sternebeck an SS-Obersturmführer of 3./SS-PzRgt 1. He got the 75 Panzerkampf Abzeichen on May 8th, 1945. Shown as a BW Oberstleutnant.
He died in 1990.
Prost ! Steve.