Joachim Domaschk

Joachim Domaschk
Birth date	20 May 1914(1914-05-20)
Place of birth	Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, German Empire
Death date	21 June 1986 (aged 72)
Place of death	Hannover, Lower Saxony, West Germany
Allegiance	National Socialist Germany West Germany
Service/branch	Heer Bundeswehr
Rank	Major (Wehrmacht) Lieutenant Colonel (Bundeswehr)
Commands held	Panzergrenadierbataillon 13
Battles/wars	World War II Poland Campaign Western Campaign Balkans Campaign Operation Barbarossa
Awards	German Cross in Gold Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Joachim Domaschk (20 May 1914 – 21 June 1986) was a German officer of the Wehrmacht and the Bundeswehr as well as recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves in WWII. Although possible, a direct relation to economist and Knight's Cross recipient Major Erich Domaschk (1908–1974), who had organized the protection of the Airfield Pitomnik during the Battle of Stalingrad, could not be confirmed.

Life

Oak Leaves for Major Domaschk

Major Domaschk (OKH/PA/P 5a 1. Staffel) processed Oskar-Hubert Dennhardt's Oak Leaves nomination, among many others

Joachim was the son of craftsmen and master painter (Malermeister) Paul Domaschk and his wife Magdalena, née Köhler. After achieving his Abitur, possibly some time at university and with the compulsory RAD, he joined the Infanterie-Regiment 10 in his hometown of Dresden on 15 October 1935 and was commissioned in 1938.

WWII

At the start of WWII (subordinated to the 4. Infanterie-Division), he served as a platoon leader in the 14th (tank destroyer) Company/Infanterie-Regiment 10. On 29 January 1940, he was appointed adjutant of the I. (Jäger) Battalion. On 15 August 1940, the Infanterie-Regiment 10 was renamed to Schützen-Regiment 108. The motorized rifle regiment was subordinated to the 14. Schützen-Brigade/14. Panzer-Division with Domaschk still serving as battalion adjutant.

On 5 February 1942, 1st Lieutenant Domaschk was appointed commander of the 3rd Company/I. Battalion/Schützen-Regiment 108. As such he was severely wounded on 29 May 1942 and later served with the Replacement Battalion of his regiment. In the meantime, his regiment had been renamed to Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 108 on 5 July 1942, 13 days later the 14. Schützen-Brigade of the 14. Panzer-Division was renamed to 14. Panzer-Grenadier-Brigade. On 1 September 1942, Domaschk returned to his 3rd Company/Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 108. On 29 September 1942, he was delegated with the leadership of the I. Battalion/Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 108.

On 31 December 1942, during the Battle of Stalingrad he was once again severely wounded. This was a stroke of luck amidst misfortune, because he was among the last wounded to be flown out of the doomed pocket by the Luftwaffe. After hospitalization, recovery of health and light duty in Panzergrenadier Replacement Battalion 108, he was appointed commander of the II. Battalion of the Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 103, the sister regiment of Panzergrenadier Regiment 108. As such he was wounded for an 11th time, once again severely. That would mean the end of his front-line service (medically classified as only conditionally fit for military service).

• 25 July 1944 Commanded to the to the staff of the Deputy General Command IV Army Corps for preliminary training with the adjutant's office
• 23 August 1944 Transferred to the Panzergrenadier Replacement Battalion 108
• 26 October 1944 Commanded to the 17th course for higher adjutants (not completed due to the war situation)
• 1 November 1944 Commanded to the HPA (PA/P 5) for training as a Referent (consultant / specialist)
• 1 April 1945 Officially transferred to the HPA (OKH/HPA/P 5a) and appointed group head (Gruppenleiter)

He not only processed the award proposals (Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and German Cross in Gold) from various army staffs (Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine and Waffen-SS had their own departments), but also evaluated them and gave an opinion on whether he considered an award justified ("nomination recommended") or not ("nomination insufficient").

His approval was almost always considered mandatory, only superseded by the Dönitz decree or the decision of corps, army and army group generals after Hitler's suicide. Contemporary nomination records for Knight's Cross awards from March through early May 1945 consistently refer to him as Major while he processed those approvals in the OKH personnel office. Post-war claims, he was promoted to Oberstleutnant i. G. (Lieuenant Colonel in General Staff) in the last days of the war are not documented.

Bundeswehr

Major Domaschk joined the Bundeswehr 1955/56 and was appointed commander of the Panzergrenadierbataillon 13 in Schleswig. Through extensive training activities under the command of Battalion Commander Domaschk, the Panzergrenadier Battalion quickly reached an enormous personnel strength of 28 officers, 129 non-commissioned officers and 334 enlisted personnel, and was subsequently intended as the basis for the establishment of a planned brigade.

On 6 September 1956, Panzergrenadier Battalion 13 was established in Schleswig. It was subordinate to Combat Group C 3 (Unna), which in turn belonged to the 3rd Panzer Division (Buxtehude). In 1957, the battalion relocated from Schleswig-Holstein to North Rhine-Westphalia and moved into the Panzer Barracks in Hemer (rail transport from 11 to 12 January 1957). Effective 16 March 1959, the subordination of this battalion changed from the 3rd Panzer Division to the 7th Panzergrenadier Division Lippstadt. On 1 April 1959, the army was reorganized, and brigades replaced the combat groups. Therefore, Panzergrenadier Battalion 13 was renamed Panzergrenadier Battalion 203.

DUI

After his promotion to lieutenant colonel, there was a small celebration. Domaschk was reportedly stopped by the police while driving his official car and was said to be (slightly drunk). On 12 November 1956, he was relieved of his command and transferred to Munsterlager. He was succeeded by Major (shortly later Lieutenant Colonel) Vilmar. Domaschk is said to have served until 1970, however, his further military career cannot be documented, and there is also no record of him being promoted to colonel.

Joachim Domaschk, 42, a lieutenant colonel in the German Federal Armed Forces and commander of Panzergrenadier Battalion 13 (based in Schleswig), was relieved of his post and transferred to Munsterlager (Lüneburg Heath) to serve with the Panzergrenadier Training Battalion there, after being sentenced to one month in prison (suspended) and a fine of 200 Deutsche Marks. In November 1956, Domaschk, who in 1944, as a major and battalion commander, had received the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross for bravery and decisiveness after being wounded eleven times, drove his car so erratically after a promotion ceremony that the police stopped him. Domaschk's boisterous bluff, "You are interrupting an official journey of the Federal Armed Forces and thus violating the Basic Law," was unsuccessful. – Due to civil service regulations, the Federal Ministry of Defense will automatically initiate disciplinary proceedings against Domaschk because he committed a criminal offense.

Promotions

Wehrmacht

• 1 October 1938 Leutnant (2nd Lieutenant)
• 1 November 1940 (60) Oberleutnant (1st Lieutenant)
• 1 November 1942 (130) Hauptmann (Captain)
• 1 December 1943 (67) Major

Bundeswehr

• 1955/56 Major
• November 1956 Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel)

Awards and decorations

• DRL/Reich Sports Badge (Deutsches Reichssportabzeichen) in Bronze on 27 January 1935
• Sudetenland Medal with the Prague Castle Bar
• Iron Cross (1939), 2nd and 1st Class
  • 2nd Class on 24 June 1940
  • 1st Class on 1 October 1940
• Wound Badge (1939) in Black, Silver and Gold
  • Gold on 6 March 1943
• Panzer Battle Badge in Bronze on 15 August 1942
• Winter Battle in the East 1941–42 Medal on 29 August 1942
• German Cross in Gold on 29 April 1942 as 1st Lieutenant and Commander of the 3rd Company/Schützen-Regiment 8
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 12 October 1943 as 1st Lieutenant and Leader of the I. Battalion/Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 108
  • 496th Oak Leaves on 11 June 1944 as Major and Commander of the II. Battalion/Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 103

Gallery

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Sources

• German Federal Archives: BArch PERS 6/301720