Christian Schulze

Christian Schulze
Birth name	Hans Christian Schulze
Birth date	15 July 1893
Place of birth	Gut Schwartenbeck [Schwartenbek] near Kiel, Province of Schleswig-Holstein, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Death date	ᛣ⚔ 13 September 1941 (aged 48)
Place of death	Eastern Front
Allegiance	German Empire Weimar Republic National Socialist Germany
Service/branch	Prussian Army Imperial German Army Freikorps Police Heer SS
Years of service	1912–1914 1914–1918 1919 1919–1935 (1938–1940) 1935–1938 1940–1941
Rank	SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Polizei
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Iron Cross House Order of Hohenzollern Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Relations	∞ 24 September 1936 Margarethe Groth

Hans Christian Schulze (often wrongly Hans-Christian; 15 July 1893 – 13 September 1941) was a German officer of the Prussian Army, the Imperial German Army, the Freikorps, the Police, the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS, finally SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Polizei and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II.

Life

Christian was born the son of H. Schulze, lord of the manor (Gutsbesitzer) of Gut Schwartenbeck [Schwartenbek] near Kiel (later sold to Dr. Stahl from Schulzenwalde, Kreis Gumbinnen, East Prussia) and member of the Scientific Association for Schleswig-Holstein (Naturwissenschaftlicher Verein für Schleswig-Holstein). He attended a Gymnasium and passed his Abitur.

In August 1912, Christian Schulze joined then Schleswig-Holsteinisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 163 (subordinated to the 81. Infanterie-Brigade in Lübeck) as an officer candidate (Fahnenjunker). In 1914, he was prompted to 2nd Lieutenant serving in the 5th company of the 2nd Battalion in Neumünster. From May 1913 to 22 March 1914, he visisted the War School (Kriegsschule) in Metz (Reichsland Elsaß-Lothringen).

Between wars

In 1919, he served with the Freikorps (Freiwilligen-Infanterie-Regiment 163) and was transferred to the Schutzmannschaft Hamburg with c. 6,000 men, forerunner of the Schutzpolizei. In 1933, he was transferred to the State Police (Landespolizei) of Hamburg. Still in Hamburg, he moved to the Army in October 1935 as a Major and battalion commander with the Infanterie-Regiment 47, also stationed in Hamburg. Then from October 1936 to May 1938, Schulze was assigned as a staff officer to the Dortmund military recruitment district (Stabsoffizier beim Wehrbezirkskommando Dortmund I). He returned to the Schutzpolizei on 1 May 1938 as an Oberstleutnant der Schutzpolizei and again served in Hamburg as commander of the trainings battalion and chief of staff.

WWII

Schulze formed and took command of Polizei-Schützen-Regiment 2 in September/October 1939. He therefore belonged to the Polizei-Division (renamed SS-Polizei-Division in August 1940), which replaced the 205. Infanterie-Division in January 1940 guarding the western defences (Westwall) of Germany against British and French attacks after the Polish campaign. On 23 February 1940, Schulze, who until then was bureaucratically managed by the Polizeiverwaltung (PV) Hamburg, was transferred "for budgetary reasons" (aus haushaltsrechtlichen Gründen werden eingewiesen) to the Staatliche Polizeiverwaltung (PV) Vienna with effect from 1 January 1940, which opened up much needed Oberst positions for the police administration in Hamburg.

On 20 April 1940, he joined the SS (SS-Nr.: 401,321), which was now mandatory for police officers (the Reichsführer-SS was als head of the German policeforce or Chef der Deutschen Polizei), as a SS-Mann and was promoted on the same day to SS-Standartenführer und Oberst der Polizei. With 33,561 men, the Polizei-Division crossed the border to Luxembourg on 10 May 1940 as a reserve of the 7th Army under Friedrich Dollmann and took part in the Battle for France as of 9 June 1940 as part of the XVII. Armee-Korps at the Canal de l'Oise à l'Aisne. On 14 June 1940, his regiment was able to capture an important bridge during battles in the Argonne Forest. As so often, Schulze fought in the front line. From 2 August 1940 to June 1941, the SS-Polizei-Division remained as an occupying force in the Paris area.

From mid-June 1941, the division was transferred to East Prussia. On 30 June 1941, the division crossed the Lithuanian border and followed the army units north-east. On 14 July 1941, the Düna was crossed at Dryssa. On the night of 24 July 1941, the division crossed Ostrow. In August 1941, during the Operation Barbarossa, the division was tasked with the capture of the city of Luga and the surrounding area (which lay on the road to Leningrad), and the assault began on the 10th of that month. The battle turned into a very bloody fight for the division, with many of its soldiers falling in the battle including the divisional commander, SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Polizei Arthur Ferdinand August Mülverstedt. Finally, the division was ready to attack Luga itself on 23 August 1941. Schulze’s regiment attacked right down the middle towards the city centre, with Schulze himself leading from the front. When his regiment had to cross the main bridge over the river Luga, Schulze went so far as to remove some of the demolition charges on the bridge personally. By the evening of the second day, his regiment had completed the capture of parts of the city. It is presumed that his Knight’s Cross stemmed from this action. To avoid being surrounded, the Red Army fled the city on 1 September 1941. Up to this point, the SS-Polizei-Division had suffered around 1,000 dead and 2,000 wounded. The division was then placed under the 50th Army Corps. On 9 September 1941, the battle for Krasnogwardeisk at the gates of Leningrad began. On 13 September 1941, the division had captured the city, but Christian Schulze would not live to experience this day.

Death

On 11 September 1941 (some sources state 9 September), SS-Standartenführer und Oberst der Polizei Schulze was severly wounded during the house to house fighting for Krasnogwardeisk (1929-44; 1923-29 Trotzk, after 1944 Gatchina/Gattschina), strategically important for the advance towards Leningrad. It was a nasty stomache wound, and he was taken the the Army Field Hospital (Feldlazarett) 1/522 in Nikolajew (Nikolayev/Nikolajewka). Ironically, the same day he was wounded, Schulze was approved for the Knight's Cross for his personal bravery and leadership during the combats for Luga, simultaneously being promoted to SS-Oberführer. During that fighting he was at the head of his regiment during an assault and disarmed the explosives set by the enemy to destroy a vital bridge. The day after being wounded, he was promoted to SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Polizei.

Hans Christian Schulze died of his wounds (ᛣ⚔) on 13 September 1941, probably unaware of his award or promotion. Major der Schutzpolizei Max Schimmelpfennig, commander of the III. Bataillon, succeeded Schulze as regimental leader, then SS-Obersturmbannführer Fritz Freitag on 15 December 1941. After breaking through the Russian defenses, the regiment took part in the encirclement of Leningrad and then remained in the Leningrad area.

Promotions

• Fahnenjunker in August 1912
• Fähnrich (Officer Cadet) on 18 April 1913
• Leutnant (2nd Lieutenant) on 22 March 1914
• Charakter als Oberleutnant a. D. (retired 1st Lieutenant) on 1 October 1919

Police

• Polizei-Oberleutnant on 1 October 1919
• Polizei-Hauptmann in 1921
• Polizei-Major on 1 January 1925
• Polizei-Oberstleutnant (Landespolizei) on 6 April 1934
• Major of the Wehrmacht on 15 October 1935 with Rank Seniority (RDA) from 1 January 1935
• Oberstleutnant der Schutzpolizei on 1 May 1938
• Oberst der Schutzpolizei on 30 January 1940

SS

• SS-Mann on 20 April 1940 with effect from 1 January 1940
• SS-Standartenführer und Oberst der Polizei on 20 April 1940 with effect from 1 January 1940
• SS-Oberführer und Oberst der Polizei on 11 September 1941
• SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Polizei on 15 September 1941 (posthumously) backdated to 12 September 1941
  • other sources state, Christian Schulze was officially promoted to SS-Oberführer on 11 September 1941 and to SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Polizei on 12 September 1941 (therefore not posthumously) for earning the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914), 2nd and 1st Class
• Prussian Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords on 15 June 1918
• Hanseatic Cross of Lübeck (LübH/LüH) on 30 August 1918
• Wound Badge (1918) in Black
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 with Swords
• Wehrmacht Long Service Award (Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung), 4th to 1st Class (25-year Service Cross)
• Hungarian Order of Merit, Knight's Cross on 24 August 1938
• Repetition Clasp 1939 to the Iron Cross 1914, 2nd and 1st Class
  • 2nd Class on 13 June 1940
  • 1st Class on 14 June 1940
• Totenkopfring der SS
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 11 September 1941 as SS-Standartenführer and Oberst der Schutzpolizei (Colonel) as well as Commander of the Polizei-Schützen-Regiment 2/SS-Polizei-Division