Georg von Unold
| Georg von Unold | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Birth name | Georg Sigmund von Unold |
| Birth date | 23 December 1905 |
| Place of birth | Tettau, Upper Franconia, Kingdom of Bavaria, German Empire |
| Death date | 18 October 1946 (aged 40) |
| Place of death | Tuskulėnai (Vilnius), Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic |
| Allegiance |  Weimar Republic National Socialist Germany
|
| Service/branch | .png){kind=small} Reichswehr  Heer
|
| Years of service | 1924–1945 |
| Rank | Oberst i. G. |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards | Iron Cross German Cross in Gold Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross |
| Relations | ∞ 1931 Antonie Brodführer |
Georg Sigmund von Unold (23 December 1905 – 18 October 1946) was a German officer of the Reichswehr and the Wehrmacht, at last Colonel and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during WWII.
Contents
Military career (chronology)
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- 10.4.1924 Joined the 7. (Bayerisches) Pionier-Bataillon in München
- 1.2.1928 Commissioned in the 2nd Company/7. (Bayerisches) Pionier-Bataillon
- Rank List 1933 Staff Officer in the 7. (Bayerisches) Pionier-Bataillon
- 1.10.1934 Pionier-Bataillon Ingolstadt A
- This pioneer battalion was formed by division of the 7th (Bavarian) pioneer battalion. It was renamed Pionier-Bataillon 10 on 15 October 1935 and relocated to Regensburg.
- 1.10.1935 Attended the War Academy in Berlin
- 1.8.1937 Officer in the 6th Department (Quartermaster Department) of the Army General Staff in Berlin
- 4.1.1941 Chief of Operations (Ia) in the General Staff of the 10th Infantry Division
- 10.5.1942 Führerreserve (Leader Reserve)/OKH (HPA)
- 1.6.1942 Chief/Senior Quartermaster in the Central Command Office of the Army General Staff (Oberquartiermeister im Stab der Befehlsstelle Mitte des Generalstabes des Heeres)
- 10.9.1942 Chief/Senior Quartermaster of the Army Group Center (Heeresgruppe Mitte)
- 30.11.1944 Führerreserve (Leader Reserve)/OKH (HPA)
- 8.12.1944 Tasked with leading the Pionier barrier brigade (Sperr-Brigade 1) of Army Group A
- 1945 temporarily deputy commander of the 252nd Infantry Division under Lieutenant General Paul Drekmann
- 24./25.3.1945 to May 1945 Tasked with the leadership of the 252nd Infantry Division
- 9 May 1945 POW
Bornholm, May 1945
As a result of separate surrender negotiations with British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery on 4 May 1945, a partial surrender of Denmark and Schleswig-Holstein came into effect on 5 May, which enabled British troops to occupy Bornholm without resistance. But the British never came, because the Red Army also wanted Bornholm, which Captain at Sea Gerhard Kurt von Kamptz (1902–1998), commandant of the island since April 1945, rejected. From 4 to 6 May 1945, small parts of the IX Army Corps was evacuated to Bornholm, as was parts of the 252nd Infantry Division. 16,000 German Soldiers and c. 30,000 German refugees from the east were now on the island. The commander of the Grenadier-Regiment 7 wrote in his post-war memoirs:
- We were moved eastwards across the Vistula and expected to be deployed against the Russians attacking on the spit. On 5 May 1945, during a reconnaissance of the expected battle area, the regimental commanders were ordered to the division commander (von Unold), who asked: "What do you want: stay here, go to Hela or further away?" We thought he was joking. But it was serious: we were ordered to load up in Nickelswalde at 8 p.m. to Hela, destination Bornholm. This would not have gained much, but it would have taken us a little further west. Only the 252nd Artillery Regiment had to stay behind and was deployed soon after. Years later we heard that our artillery had fired its last shells at the Russians up until one minute before the ceasefire began. We were only allowed to take our small arms, including light machine guns, with us. All other equipment and the horses were left behind [...] The completely overloaded ferry barges of the Kriegsmarine set off in the dark. When it got light, we arrived in Hela and had to leave the quays as quickly as possible because of the constant danger of Russian air attacks. The commanding general (General of Artillery Rolf Wuthmann), division commanders and regimental commanders heard from the German Navy how things should proceed. It was said that the overloaded barges could not be sailed across the open sea, and part of the division had to remain behind in Hela for the time being. Then Colonel von Unold finally said to me: "You will stay here with your regiment. It should not look as if I favor the home regiment. Make sure that you follow as soon as possible with your regiment and all other parts of the division." All other units were the divisional fusilier battalion, the engineers, tank destroyer, signal department, and finally the supply troops of the supply regiment, all together almost two thirds of the division [...] Towards evening (6 May 1945) warships, three destroyers and the auxiliary cruiser Hansa, arrived in the roadstead off Hela. It was actually possible to accommodate all the remaining units of the division on them, and a few more that had sneaked in between [...] On the high seas I was called to the commandant, who told me that the convoy had been given a new destination: no longer Bornholm, but Copenhagen. These units escaped Soviet captivity. Corps staff, division staff (with Colonel von Unold) and all units of the 252nd Infantry Division that had landed on Bornholm were taken prisoner here by the Soviets. Colonel von Unold is said to have died there in 1953 [...] What the division was actually supposed to do on Bornholm without any heavy weapons was never discovered. No archive has any files from the last days of the war that could say anything about this.
The first Soviet air raids on the island took place on 7 and 8 May 1945. The Soviet air raids caused severe damage to the towns of Rønne (90% destruction) and Nexö, 6 ships and 20 fishing boats sunk. 3,000 people each lost their homes in Rønne and Nexø. 10 Danes and an unspecified number of Germans and refugees from the Baltic states were killed. Only the evacuation of Rønne and Nexø by the Germans on 6 May 1945 prevented a Russian mass murder of civilians. The Soviets landed around 10,000 soldiers on the island on 9 May 1945. They justified this by saying that the Danish island of Bornholm was east of the Allied demarcation line. The Western Allies did not react to Stalin's breach of the treaty: according to the agreement, all of Denmark was to be occupied by the British until the German troops were disarmed. The Germans, but also the Danes, were betrayed by the British, just like they betrayed the Cossacks at Lienz. The reason for the Soviet occupation of Bornholm was the island's important strategic location at the entrance to the Baltic Sea. Stalin wanted to control this at all costs.
The end of the Soviet occupation of Bornholm on 5 April 1946 was due to the guarantee of the Western powers to grant the Soviet Union free access to the Baltic Sea and was initiated by a letter from Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov, who promised a Soviet withdrawal in the event of absolute Danish sole control of Bornholm.
Death
The Volksbund (VdK) has 18 October 1946 as the murder/execution date for Georg Sigmund von Unold. It can be assumed that the death date was not known until after 1990. The Vermisstenbildlisten "VBL" des DRK-Suchdienstes (missing person picture lists from the German Red Cross Tracing Service) have him as missing near Danzig as of March 1945. He is also listed there as an inmate of the Krasnygorsk prison camp in December 1949. Soldatische Tradition in Schlesien 1241–1945 has his death date 1953 as a Soviet POW.
Torture center Tuskulėnai Manor, Vilnius
From 1944 to 1947, the murderous Soviet secret police carried out 767 death sentences (among them 559 Lithuanians, 18 Latvians, 9 Ukrainians and 38 Germans) in the basement cells of the NKVD/MVD prison in the former Gut Tuskulenai. The remains of the victims were buried in mass graves on the territory of the park. They were only discovered during archaeological excavations in 1994 and buried in an urn hall.[1]
Commemoration
As of November 2024, von Unolds remains could not be identified. The church of St. Sixtus is located in the municipality of Schliersee on the Schliersee. In the cemetery next to the church is the cemetery chapel of St. Nicholas, which dates back to the 15th century. The chapel now houses simple plaques with the names of the fallen of both world wars. On the outside, the chapel is marked as a memorial with a large cross. At the initiative of the family, Colonel von Unold is also honored there by name.
Family
Georg Sigmund was the son of chief forestry master (Oberforstmeister) Georg Ferdinand von Unold (b. 14 April 1861 in Ottobeuren; d. 29 April 1932 in München) and his wife Eleonore, née von Bally (1876–1971). Both buried in Waldfriedhof München (alter Teil or old part). His grandfather was city and country judge (Stadt- und Landrichter) Georg von Unold (1818–1907), his uncle was was the jurist and regional court director (Landgerichtsdirektor), later chief magistrate (Oberamtsrichter) in Memmingen Sigmund von Unold (1864–1958), from 1917 to 1945 chairman of the German Alpine Club (Memmingen Section).
He had four siblings, his sister Eleonore "Lore" von Unold (1907−1980) married the later Brigadegeneral of the Bundeswehr Max Josef Ibel.
Marriage
On 1 July 1931, 1st Lieutenant von Unold married his fiancée Antonie Brodführer. They had (at least) two children:
- Christiane (b. 4 January 1933 in München)
- Peterjörg (b. 29 December 1933 in Würzburg)
It is not known, how and if Ulf Renatus von Unold (b. 4 August 1934 in München) and Erlgard Ludwiga von Unold (b. 7 November 1938 in München; d. 20 March 2015 in Saint-Herblain) are related.
Promotions
- 1.2.1928 Leutnant (2nd Lieutenant)
- 1.4.1931 Oberleutnant (1st Lieutenant)
- 1.8.1935 Hauptmann (Captain)
- 1.12.1940 Major i. G. (Major in General Staff)
- later received new Rank Seniority (RDA) from 1 March 1940
- 1.4.1942 Oberstleutnant i. G. (Lieutenant Colonel in General Staff)
- 1.4.1943 Oberst i. G. (Colonel in General Staff)
Awards and decorations
- Wehrmacht Long Service Award (Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung), 4th to 3rd Class (12-year Service Cross)
- Iron Cross (1939), 2nd and 1st Class
- 2nd Class on 31 May 1940
- 1st Class on 30 July 1940
- Infantry Assault Badge (Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen) in Silver
- Winter Battle in the East 1941–42 Medal
- German Cross in Gold on 7[2] or 9[3] October 1942
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 20 March 1945
