Günther Krappe

Günther Krappe
Birth name	Günther Ernst Karl Krappe
Birth date	13 April 1893(1893-04-13)
Place of birth	Rittergut Schilde, Kreis Dramburg, Province of Pomerania, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Death date	31 December 1981 (aged 88)
Place of death	Altena, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany
Allegiance	German Empire Weimar Republic National Socialist Germany
Service/branch	Prussian Army Imperial German Army Freikorps Reichswehr Heer
Years of service	1912–1914 1914–1918 1919 1919–1935 1935–1945
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands held	61st Infantry Division X SS Corps
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Iron Cross Brunswick War Merit Cross War Merit Cross (1939) Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Relations	∞ 1920 Ingeborg Weÿland

Günther Ernst Karl Krappe (according to the marriage certificate Günter Karl Ernst; 13 April 1893 – 31 December 1981) was a German officer, finally Lieutenant General of the Wehrmacht, Waffen-SS corps commander and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in World War Two.

Life

Rittergut Schilde

Günther received his first tutoring at home where he had a wonderful youth on his father's estate. From Easter 1902 to Easter 1904, he attended the humanistic Gymnasium in Neustettin, and then afterwards the humanistic Gymnasium in Dramburg where he achieved his Abitur in March 1912. In April 1912, he enrolled at the University of Lausanne (Switzerland) and began studying law and philosophy. However, it wasn't long before he realized that the academic path wasn't for him. Since all Prussians were, of course, subject to military service, and he would soon have to begin his service, he decided to become a professional officer.

• 25 September 1912 Joined the Füsilier-Regiment "Königin Viktoria von Schweden" (Pommersches) Nr. 34 in Stettin
• 16 October 1912 Sworn-in
• March 1914 Commissioned in the 8th Company/II. Battalion/Füsilier-Regiment "Königin Viktoria von Schweden" (Pommersches) Nr. 34
• 7 September 1914 Fallen ill at the Western Front
• 30 September 1914 Transferred to the Replacement Battalion of the Regiment
• 14 October 1914 Transferred to the 2nd Machine Gun Battalion Liège
• 16 February 1915 Transferred to the Fortress Machine Gun Battalion Liège (by renaming)
• 23 July 1915 Appointed commander of the Machine Gun Company/Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 73
• 11 September 1916 Appointed Machine Gun Officer of the Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 73
• 18 December 1916 Fallen severely ill, military hospital, then transferred to a replacement unit
• 9 September 1917 Commanded to the War Ministry as Adjutant to the Chief of the War Office
• 1 April 1918 Transferred (presumably as leader) to the 2nd Replacement Machine Gun Company of the X. Army Corps
• 22 September 1918 Transferred (presumably as leader) to the 4th Replacement Machine Gun Company of the X. Army Corps
• 21 January 1919 Return to the Füsilier-Regiment "Königin Viktoria von Schweden" (Pommersches) Nr. 34 in Stettin for demobilization
• 13 February 1919 Joined the staff of the Volunteer Detachment Kraehe as appointed Machine Gun Officer
  • the Freikorps unit under Konrad Kraehe, the last commander of the "Pomeranian Victoria Fusiliers", was subordinated to the 3. Division/Generalkommando II. Armeekorps Stettin/Grenzschutz Ost
• 9 June 1919 Transferred to the staff of the Reichswehr-Schützen-Regiment 4 in Neustettin
  • October 1920/January 1921 renamed 4. (Preußisches) Infanterie-Regiment in Kolberg
• 23 September 1919 Newly sworn-in
• 2 April 1920 Received permission to marry
• 1 October 1920 8th (Machine Gun) Company/II. Battalion/4. (Preußisches) Infanterie-Regiment in Deutsch-Krone, shortly later in Kolberg
• 1 January 1923 Appointed adjutant of the II. Battalion
  • 10 to 28 July 1923 Northern journey on the ocean liner Hannover
• 1 October 1924 Appointed Machine Gun Officer in the staff of the 4. (Preußisches) Infanterie-Regiment
• 1 May 1926 Appointed commander of the 4th (Machine Gun) Company/4. (Preußisches) Infanterie-Regiment
• 1 January to 15 March 1930 Commanded to the Abwehr department of the RWM
• 12 September with effect from 15 October 1930 Commanded to the staff of the 2nd Division, there assigned to the test command (Versuchskommando)
• 14 October with effect from 1 November 1930 Administratively transferred to the 4. (Preußisch-Sächsisches) Artillerie-Regiment but still serving in the staff of the 3rd Division (Versuchskommando)
• 19 March with effect from 1 April 1931 Administratively transferred to the 15. (Preußisches) Reiter-Regiment but still serving in the staff of the 3rd Division (Versuchskommando)
• 1 May 1933 Officially transferred to the staff of the 2nd Division
• 15 October 1935 Appointed commander of the III. Battalion/Infanterie-Regiment 59 in Hannover
  • 25 November to 7 December 1937 Staff Officer Training Course in Kassel and Gießen
• 1 March 1937 Appointed commander of the III. Battalion/Infanterie-Regiment 73 in Hannover
  • the III. Battalion/IR 59 had been re-designated III. Battalion/IR 73
• 9 June with effect from 12 June 1939 Commanded to the staff of the General Command I Army Corps

WWII

• 26 August with effect from 1 September 1939 Commanded to the Group “Eberhardt” (Gruppe „Eberhardt“) as a regimental commander
  • The "Eberhardt" Group in Danzig consisted of volunteers, primarily from state police regiments, which were fully formed in August 1939 and incorporated into the Wehrmacht on 1 September 1939 as infantry regiments (according to other sources, officially renamed Infantry Regiments 243 and 244 only on 18 October 1939) for the Polish campaign. On 15 October 1939, the "Eberhardt" Group became the 60th Infantry Division. The leader and commander of the combat group was Major General Friedrich-Georg Eberhardt, commander of Infantry Regiment 44 (Bartenstein in East Prussia) of the 11th Infantry Division.
• 16 October 1939 Führerreserve (OKH)/Army High Command Leader Reserve
• 21 October with effect from 25 October 1939 Appointed Military Attaché at the German Embassy in Budapest
• 18 June with effect from 1 July 1941 Führerreserve (OKH)/Army High Command Leader Reserve
• 20 September with effect from 1 October 1941 Appointed Military Attaché at the German Embassy in Madrid
• 21 November with effect from 1 December 1942 Führerreserve (OKH)/Army High Command Leader Reserve
• 20/21 March 1943 Delegated with the leadership of the 61. Infanterie-Division
• 13 July with effect from 5 May 1943 Appointed commander of the 61. Infanterie-Division
  • 15 May 1944 granted 28 days leave, represented by Hellmuth Reymann
  • 14 September 1944 Suffering from joint and muscle rheumatism, the doctor recommended 4 to 6 weeks of recovery, represented by Colonel Werner Frotscher and Colonel Rudolf Wulf
  • October 1944 renamed 61. Volks-Grenadier-Division
    • In October 1944, the division retreated to Courland and fought defensive battles near Vainode. The division was then shipped to Libau and transported to Gotenhafen. There, it was refitted and renamed the 61st People's Grenadier Division. After the renaming, the division was deployed in the Gumbinnen area. Defensive battles followed near Insterburg, Trakehnen, along the Masurian Canal near Allenstein, Preussisch Eylau, Rosenwalde, and Mehlsack.
• 11 December 1944 Führerreserve (OKH)/Army High Command Leader Reserve; Lieutenant General Rudolf August Friedrich Georg Sperl (1898–1981) took over the division.
• 5 January to 1 February 1945 Commanded to the 3. Course for Commanding Generals together with Dr. Ing. h. c. Albert Wilhelm Otto Kurt Waeger, Hellmuth Reymann, Martin Gareis, and others
• 1 February 1945 Commander of the Pomeranian Staff/Oder-Korps/Korps "Oder" in Prenzlau
  • the order was from 2 February with effect from 1 February. He arrived at headquarters on 3 February at 2235 hours. He officially took over command on 4 January 1945 at 0000 hours.
• 10 February 1945 Delegated with the leadership of the General Command X. SS Army Corps

Oder Corps

In February 1945, Lieutenant General Krappe was tasked "with the authority of a Commanding General" with establishing the Pomeranian Staff or Corps, which would soon be renamed the "Oder Corps" (subordinate to the 11th SS Panzer Army under SS-Obergruppenführer Felix Steiner in the Army Group Vistula or Heeresgruppe Weichsel under Heinrich Himmler). The Oder Corps (including naval infantry, Fallschirmjäger, artillery, Flak units, assault guns, SS Combat Group "Skorzeny", SS paratroopers and the "Klossek" Group, which eventually merged into the "Wellmann" Group) served as a replacement for the "Hörnlein" Corps (renamed the XXXII Army Corps under Friedrich-August Schack in March 1945 in the 3rd Panzer Army/Army Group Vistula). With effect from 10 February 1945 (some sources state that he arrived on 15 or even 17 February), SS-Obergruppenführer and General of Police Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski took over command of the Oder Corps, while Krappe took over command of the X. SS Army Corps (in March 1945 still with the 5th Jäger Division and the 163rd Infantry Division), which had been quickly bled dry during Operation "Sonnenwende" and the fighting for the Schneidemühl fortress.

His military files show that he was missing in action ("vermisst") in March 1945, officially recorded as such from 28 March 1945. Only later was it discovered, that he hat been captured by the Red Army on 6, 8 or 9 March 1945, depending on the source, in an area approximately 20 kilometers (12 mi) north of Dramburg. He was released as a Soviet POW on 1 March 1949 and repatriated.

Family

Günther as the son of Protestant lord of the manor (Rittergut Schilde) Major (Ret.) Erich Krappe (b. 11 August 1859; d. 6 December 1940) and his wife Gertrud, née Lüdtke (d. 8 June 1930 in Berlin). The estate with an area of ​​227 ha had been in the hands of the family since 1811, when Karl-Friedrich Krappe leased it and then formally bought it in 1818. When Karl-Friedrich died, Günther's grandfather Ernst Krappe inherited the estate, his uncle Franz "1863–1900) inherited the estate Vorwerk Charlottenhof. Erich inherited the estate from his father Ernst, Günther inherited it when his father gave it up due to age and health reasons. The Krappe family's labor-intensive but profitable mill was leased to Erich Wirth. He died in 1939, and his son Paul continued to run the mill until the expulsion of the Germans.

Siblings

Günther had two known siblings:

• Luise Edith (1 August 1890 – 9 November 1972); ∞ Schilde 27 February 1915 Fedor Richard Constantin von Stechow (1869-1924), 2 children
  • daughter Edith Alexandra Auguste Annemarie Konstanze von Stechow (b. 1915)
  • son Alexander Joachim August Dietrich Konstantin von Stechow (b. 29 August 1917 in Berlin-Charlottenburg) joined the Luftwaffe and became a fighter pilot serving with the Jagdgeschwader 27. Either on 22 December 1944 (grave cross inscription) or 1 January 1945 (Operation Bodenplatte), 2nd Lieutenant Joachim von Stechow was ⚔ when his Messerschmitt Bf 109 K-4 (Red 5) was shot down and crashed east of Sleeuwijk, Netherlands. He was buried at the Ysselsteyn German War Cemetery (Block CS, Row 9, Grave 216).
• Kurt Erich (15 July 1899 – 25 October 1969); ∞ 18 February 1926 Rose Matthaei, 1 daughter and 4 sons

Brother Kurt volunteered for WWI on 30 November 1915 and became a 2nd Lieutenant of the Reserves in the Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 73 on 30 July 1917. In August 1918, he was temporarily commanded to the Fliegertruppe, but his observer training was cut short due to the end of the war. In January 1919, he was transferred to the Füsilier-Regiment "Königin Viktoria von Schweden" (Pommersches) Nr. 34, the regiment of his brother. It can be assumed that he, like his brother, fought in the Freikorps. On 31 October 1919, he was discharged from the Preliminary Reichswehr. He returned to Schilde Estate to learn farming and agribusiness from his father until 15 March 1924. He then worked for the Pommernwerk Aktiengesellschaft until 31 July 1925, returned to Schilde and was appointed Senior 1st Official of the estate. Early 1928, he relocated with his wife and daughter Rosemarie to Tanganyika, the former German East Africa, where he bought a large coffee plantation. His sons Rolf, Kurt-Henning and Klaus were born in Africa, son Peter, the last child, was born on 7 December 1938 in Itzehoe, Germany (and later emigrated to California).

In the summer of 1935, the family returned to the German Reich, was employed by the Wehrmacht as of 1 October 1935 (probationary period) and became a Captain and supplementary officer (Ergänzungsoffizier) on 1 April 1936. He served with the Military Registration Office (WMA) in Itzehoe until January 1939, then in Mährisch-Trübau and in Zwittau. On 1 August 1940, he was promoted to Major, attended a battalion commander course in Hirschberg, was commanded to the Division Nr. 78 and in 1942 to the Sonderstab F of the Abwehr. On 1 September 1942, he was commanded to the Legion „Freies Indien“, was appointed an active officer on 1 March 1943 (with rank seniority as Major from 1 August 1940), was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on 1 April 1943 and was appointed commander of the volunteer Indian Legion on 1 July 1943.

The "Tiger Legion" transferred from the Wehrmacht to the volunteer Waffen-SS in August 1944. Kurt Krappe was also transferred to the Waffen-SS in December 1944, presumably as SS-Standartenführer or SS-Oberführer. He had not only been awarded both classes of the War Merit Cross (1939) with Swords but also the "Vir-e-Hind" (Hero of India), the Star of the Order of Azad Hind, the "Sardar-e-Jang" (Leader in War), 1st Class Star of the Order of Azad Hind and on 27 September 1944 the "Sher-i-Hind" (Tiger of India), Grand Star of the Order of Azad Hind (the only person awarded). All these awards were approved by Arathil Candeth Narayanan Nambiar, Minister of State (Staatsminister) of the Provisional Government of Free India in Berlin. Kurt Krappe became a POW and spent c. 18 months in a prison close to Bordeaux while awaiting consideration of alleged war crimes charges by French military tribunal relating to the allegations concerning the Indian Legion retreat in France during 1944 after the Invasion of Normandy. In 1950, the Court of Appeal in Bordeaux dismissed the case through lack of evidence, no war crimes were committed. On the contrary, many Indians and German officers were murdered by partisans, but also by Allied troops after their capture.

• 

  Brother Kurt Erich Krappe with Subhas Chandra Bose and other officers of the Legion „Freies Indien“

• 

  Erwin Rommel with Hermann Meyer-Rabingen (right) and Kurt Krappe (left)

• 

  Nephew Joachim von Stechow

Marriage

Son Hasso (1921-2015)

On 29 April 1920 in Stettin, 1st Lieutenant Krappe married his fiancée Ottilie Christiane Elisabeth Paula Ingeborg Weÿland (b. 17 July 1898), daughter of a building councilor (Baurat). They would have three children:

• Erich Rudolf Hasso (b. 15 August 1921 in Stettin; d. 19 December 2015 in Meinerzhagen), veteran of the Panzergrenadier-Regiment 73 (experienced the Warsaw Uprising, which he wrote about post-war) in WWII, businessman and Chairman of the German Society for Military Music
• Ingeborg "Inge" (b. 23 March 1925 in Kolberg)
• Hans Jürgen (b. 28 May 1933 Stettin), Dr. phil. nat., nuclear physicist and author

Promotions

• 25 September 1912 Fahnenjunker (Officer Candidate)
• 27 January 1913 Fahnenjunker-Unteroffizier (Officer Candidate with Corporal/NCO/Junior Sergeant rank)
• 20 May 1913 Fähnrich (Officer Cadet)
• 22 March 1914 Leutnant (2nd Lieutenant) with Patent from 23 March 1912
• 20 May 1917 Oberleutnant (1st Lieutenant)
• 1 February 1925 Hauptmann (Captain)
  • 1 April 1931 re-designated Rittmeister
  • 1 May 1933 re-designated Hauptmann
• 1 April 1934 Major
• 2 August 1936 Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel) with effect from 1 August 1936
• 31 March 1939 Oberst (Colonel) with effect and Rank Seniority (RDA) from 1 April 1939
• 16 October 1942 Generalmajor (Major General) with effect and RDA from 1 November 1942
• 1 October 1943 Generalleutnant (Lieutenant General)

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914), 2nd and 1st Class
  • 2nd Class on 25 October 1914
  • 1st Class on 30 June 1917
• Brunswick War Merit Cross, 2nd Class (BrKr2/BrK2) on 26 February 1918
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 with Swords on 30 October 1934
• Hungarian World War Commemorative Medal (Ungarische Kriegs-Erinnerungs-Medaille) with Swords and Helmet on 25 April 1936
• Wehrmacht Long Service Award (Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung), 4th to 1st Class
  • 2nd Class on 2 October 1936
  • 1st Class on 30 September 1937
• Repetition Clasp 1939 to the Iron Cross 1914, 2nd and 1st Class
  • 2nd Class on 16 September 1939
  • 1st Class on 5 October 1939
• Danzig Cross, 1st Class (Danziger Kreuz, I. Klasse)
• War Merit Cross (1939), 2nd Class with Swords on 30 January 1943
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 11 April 1944 as Lieutenant General and Commander of the 61. Infanterie-Division

Writings (excerpt)

• Foreword to 61. Infanterie-Division – Kampf und Opfer ostpreußischer Soldaten by Oberleutnant der Reserve (Ret.) Prof. Dr. phil. Carl Walther Hubatsch, Kiel 1952

Sources

• German Federal Archives: BArch PERS 6/686 and PERS 6/300054