Thierenberg massacre

The Thierenberg massacre (German: Massaker von Thierenberg) in February 1945 was one of countless war crimes of the Red Army in Eastern Germany during and after WWII.

History

In Thierenberg, Samland District, East Prussia, 21 German soldiers who had been deported there from the home for disabled veterans near Sorgenau were murdered by members of the 91st Russian Guards Rifle Division. Elisabeth Homfeld was raped and killed with a shot in the head along with her brother-in-law, as was Wilhelmine "Minna" Kottke, who had tried to defend herself from the rape, and the vicarage tenant's son, Ernst Trunz. A hand grenade thrown into a shed killed three women, a man and seriously injured several people. While they were prisoners of war, Soviet officers and soldiers later confessed to having sexually assaulted women and even underage girls constantly and in an “animalistic manner.”

Thierenberg had been conquered by the Russians after hard fighting on 1 February 1945 and was liberated by units of the 95. Infanterie-Division under Major General Joachim-Friedrich Lang on 6 February 1945 after heavy fighting around the badly damaged church. The mill, which was fiercely defended by the Russians, could only be recaptured on 7 February 1945 by the regiment of Major Pollmann. Heinrich Wilhelm Büsing, as battalion leader, received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and division adjutant Major Ottmar Anton Pollmann the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for the liberation of the German town.

Final battle

On 13 April 1945, the Russians attacked Norgau near Thierenberg. Hundreds of enemy tanks rolled on, the German infantry had no chance. But they had luck, at least for the next hours. Four Tiger II Panzers from the 511th German heavy tank battalion had been ordered to the front the evening before. At the road triangle at Thierenberg train station with heights 53, 55 and 71, 1st Lieutenant Rinke secured with his and his support tank, the combat group 1. Senior Sergeant (Feldwebel) Kerscher rolled his second tank to the right to reach the high ground in the Klein Norgau – Norgau – Pojerstieten triangle. Sergeant (Unteroffizier) Baresch was the commandant of the second Tiger tank here, the combat group 2. When only enemy tanks could be seen in an area of ​​500 to 800 m, the unequal battle began at dawn. Both Tigers of combat group 2 fired grenade after grenade from the barrels in a matter of seconds. The surprising fire of destruction had a devastating effect after just a few minutes. More than 20 burning and exploding Russian tanks robbed their still intact comrades of any overview and reason. They had no idea that there were only two Tiger tanks facing them. Then the Russian assault guns also cleared the battlefield.

This meant that the first Russian tank attack was repelled with heavy losses for the attacker. Since Unteroffizier Baresch's weapon was defective, he had to go back to Thierenberg. He handed Kerscher the remaining ammunition. Kerscher changed position and rolled forward to the height of an earth wall that ran parallel to the road to Norgau. From here, his gunner Schmidt shot down a tank. Now Kerscher took the initiative. He slowly rolled towards the village. Suddenly there was a closely packed column of Russian tanks on the road that ran across the street in front of the German fighting vehicle. Only the free village square separated this enemy tank mass from Kerscher's single Tiger. Schmidt swung the cannon to the right towards the last enemy tank. Kerscher instructed the crew. He began counting the enemy tanks. When it reached 15, Schmidt's first shell hit the last enemy tank. The work of destruction took place quickly and precisely. None of the enemy tanks fired. From close range, every Tiger shot was a death sentence for the targeted opponent. That day the Russians had lost almost 12 assault guns and 35 tanks in three attack attempts near Norgau. As the enemy troops pushed more and more into Norgau, followed by more and more Soviet tanks, Kerscher found himself on the morning of 14 April 1945 forced to back up his Panzer a few kilometers and try to connect with his own troops in Fischhausen to the southwest. On the evening of that day, Thierenberg was also lost. Many German civilians were killed, men, women, and children. Those, that had survived, were deported to Berlin 1947.

Sources

• Joachim Hoffmann / Manfred Kehring: Stalins Vernichtungskrieg 1941–1945. Planung, Ausführung und Dokumentation, Verlag für Wehrwissenschaften, 1995

External links

• Russian war crimes in East Prussia by district (Archive)