Heinz Rothhardt
| Heinz Rothhardt | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Birth date | 11 February 1921 |
| Place of birth | Erfurt, Kreis Weißensee, Province of Saxony, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire |
| Death date | 8 August 2011 (aged 90) |
| Place of death | Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany |
| Allegiance |  National Socialist Germany
|
| Service/branch |  Heer
|
| Rank | Feldwebel (Staff Sergeant)[1] |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards | Iron Cross Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross |
| Relations | ∞ 19 August 1944 Gertrud Seeberg; 2 daughters |
Heinz Rothhardt (often wrongly written Rothardt; 11 February 1921 – 8 August 2011) was a German NCO of the Wehrmacht, finally Feldwebel (Staff Sergeant) of the Panzerwaffe (Armoured Arm) and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II.
Life
Heinz was the son of Willy Rothhardt, a postal secretary (Postsekretär). He grew up in Hochheim, which would only become a part of Erfurt on 1 April 1938. In addition to school and then apprenticeship, he, like his older brother, was also an enthusiastic athlete. He was a member of the Turnerschaft (gymnastics association) in Hochheim and the National Socialist League of the Reich for Physical Exercise. From 1939 to 1940, he completed his one year compulsory Reich Labour Service (RAD). Afterwards, he was drafted into the Wehrmacht and trained to be a field orderly and bearer (Krankenträger).
WWII
In the summer of 1941, at the begin of Operation Barbarossa, he was deployed to the Eastern Front. In the meantime, he had volunteered for the German paratroopers (Operation Weserübung, Battle of France, Operation Merkur), but this was rejected for unknown reasons. At the first opportunity, he volunteered for the motorcycle rifle units (Kradschützen), the army's motorized, lightly armed and highly mobile infantry units. Their daring missions on motorcycles at the front and even behind enemy lines impressed him. After a short but intensive training, he was transferred to the Kradschützen-Bataillon 61 of the 11. Panzer-Division
During the Battle of Moscow, he was wounded as Gefreiter (corporal) for the first time on 18 November 1941 in the 2nd Company/Kradschützen-Bataillon 61. In the summer of 1942, because of his excellent suitability, he was commanded to a Unterführerlehrgang (NCO course), which he completed with "good performance". On 10 January 1943, now a NCO promoted to Unteroffizier (sergeant), he was wounded for a second and on 23 February 1943 for a third time, but asked to be allowed to stay with the troops. On 24 July 1943, he was wounded for the fifth time, receiving the wound badge in gold. In the summer of 1943, he and many of his comrades were captured by the Russians. It was six agonizing days, several comrades had already been tortured to death. However, his plan to deceive the Bolshevik commissar worked and he was able to escape with a few of his comrades. He reached the German front with them again, driving a stolen truck filled with prisoners. For this "hussar coup" (Husarenstreich) he received the Iron Cross 1st Class. In September 1943, the Kradschützen-Bataillon 61 was renamed "Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 11".
At the time of the awarding of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for his heroic actions during the battle northwest of Kharkiv on 11 September 1943, Sergeant Rothhardt, who had been once again severly wounded (7th known wound at the front) on 20 September 1943 (head wound due to headshot with brain injury), was in the military hospital in Krakau (Reserve-Lazarett V [Studentenheim]), which his parents (Erfurt-Hochheim, Auf dem Löser 1), finally found out, when they received his letter on 14 October 1943, replying the same day full of joy with a telegram. Even the Commander-in-Chief of the 8th Army, General der Infanterie Otto Wöhler, who wanted to congratulate, wrote Rothhardt's company, the company's leader, 1st Lieutenant Bruchlos, then wrote the parents on 25 October 1943, and asked them to send the congratulations of the 8th Army, but also of the 2. Kompanie, to their son, since company headquarters itself did not know where exactly the new Knight's Cross recipient was being treated.
From Krakau, he was later transported to the Municipal Hospital (Städtisches Krankenhaus, Reserve-Lazarett II) in Erfurt. This is were the award ceremony (Ritterkreuzverleihungszeremonie) took place on 9 December 1943, performed by Generalmajor Wolfgang von Holwede (1893–1969), at the time Wehrmacht Commandant in Erfurt. The Reichssportführer Arnold "Arno" Breitmeyer, like so many others, also wrote to him on 27 January 1944, congratulating him in the name of all members of the Reichsbund.
In 1944, he was promoted to Feldwebel and married his fiancée Gertrud Seeberg. The mayor of Erfurt also congratulated on the occasion and promised to help the family find an apartment. It seems, because of the brain injury, he was not again deployed to the war front, but stayed in uniform at the home front.
Post-war
After the war and possibly a time as prisoner of war, Rothhardt and his family lived in Essen (Buddestraße 9, later possibly Kastanienallee 60). On 3 March 1951, he became member of the Sonderorganisation der Hirnverletzten des Bundes hirnverletzter Kriegs- und Arbeitsopfer (BHKA) for the Rhineland in Bonn ("Special Organization for Brain Injuries of the Association of Brain-Injured Victims of War and Work"). On 17 October 1951, he received his truck license over 7.5 t (Führerscheinklasse 2), this suggests that he subsequently worked in the trucking / shipping industry.
He received the Honour Badge (Ehrenzeichen) of the Association of Brain-Injured Victims of War and Work on 3 March 1971 for 20 years of membership. His Knight's Cross document legacy, where most of this article information comes from, was sold in 2023 for 16,000 € by "Suitner Trave-Militaria" (Lübeck).
Awards
- DLRG basic certificate (Grundschein) of the German Life Saving Association (Abzeichnen der Deutschen Lebens-Rettungs-Gesellschaft) on 17 March 1939
- Reich Sports Badge (Deutsches Reichssportabzeichen) in Bronze
- Wound Badge (Verwundetenabzeichen 1939) in Black, Silver and Gold
- Black on 28 July 1942
- Silver on 10 March 1943
- Gold on 14 August 1943
- Eastern Front Medal on 15 August 1942
- Iron Cross (1939), 2nd and 1st Class
- EK II on 7 January 1943
- EK I on 3 September 1943
- Panzer Badge (Panzerkampfabzeichen des Heeres) in Bronze on 20 April 1943
- Close Combat Clasp, 2nd Grade (Silver) on 16 Oktober 1944
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 30 September 1943 as Unteroffizier and Zugführer (platoon leader) in the 2nd Company/Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 11/11. Panzer-Division/III. Panzerkorps/8. Armee/Army Group South (Heeresgruppe Süd)
Gallery
Further reading
- Walther-Peer Fellgiebel: Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile (in German), Podzun-Pallas, Wölfersheim 2000, ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6
- English: The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches, expanded edition, 2000
- Veit Scherzer: Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 – Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives (in German), Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag, Jena 2007, ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2
References
- ↑ Feldwebel is a German military rank which has existed since at least the 18th century with usage as a title dating to the Middle Ages. The word Feldwebel is usually translated as sergeant being rated OR-6 in the NATO rank comparison scale, equivalent to the British Army Sergeant and the US Army Staff Sergeant. The rank of Feldwebel also exists in a number of higher grades, such as Oberfeldwebel (also OR-6), Hauptfeldwebel, Stabsfeldwebel (also OR-8) and Oberstabsfeldwebel. These last three are rated OR-7 to OR–9, equivalent to the higher grades of Sergeant (US) and of Sergeants-Major (British).
