"General Konrad Heidenreich" KIA in Slovenia in 1945?

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G. Trifkovic
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"General Konrad Heidenreich" KIA in Slovenia in 1945?

#1

Post by G. Trifkovic » 23 Nov 2010, 23:25

Greetings,

OSS operative in Slovenia Franklin Lindsay described the incident in his book ("Beacons in the Night: With the OSS and Tito's Partisans in Wartime Yugoslavia", p.326) when partisans captured "General Konrad Heidenreich" in early spring of 1945 and shot him:

http://books.google.com/books?id=U_Ln3j ... ns&f=false

I tried searching for a general named Konrad Heidenreich, but to no avail. Konrad Heidenreich I did find was alive and able to testify in front of NMT in August 1947:

http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?p=577120

My questions therefore are:is the aforementioned incident known to someone? Could it be Lindsay misspelled the name? Were there any high-ranking casualties in Slovenia at that time?

Thanks in advance,

G.

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Re: "General Konrad Heidenreich" KIA in Slovenia in 1944?

#2

Post by JC » 23 Nov 2010, 23:48

G.

Keilig, in "Die Generale des Heeres" lists no Heidenreich as having been a General, and MacLean in "Quiet Flows the Rhine", about German General Officer casualties, lists no Generals killed in Slovenia... sorry.

BR.............JC


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OT-Frontführer Prof. Konrad Robert Heidenreich KIA

#3

Post by K.Kocjancic » 15 Jul 2014, 14:17

Hi!

Found this info: on 16 April 1945 2nd Btl. of Bračičeva Brigade set an ambush on road Maribor-Celje (Marburg-Cilli) at hemlet/village Preloge and they captured TODT-Generalmajor Prof. Dipl.Ing. Konrad Heidenreich (with driver). He was interrogated, but wouldn't speak (acted civil and loyal in 14. Part. Div. Stab), so he was condemned 1945 to death and shot.

Regards,
K

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Re: "General Konrad Heidenreich" KIA in Slovenia in 1944?

#4

Post by G. Trifkovic » 15 Jul 2014, 15:04

K.Kocjancic wrote:Hi!

Found this info: on 16 April 1945 2nd Btl. of Bračičeva Brigade set an ambush on road Maribor-Celje (Marburg-Cilli) at hemlet/village Preloge and they captured TODT-Generalmajor dipl. ing. prof. Konrad Heidenreich (with driver). He was interrogated, but wouldn't speak (acted civil and loyal in 14. Part. Div. Stab), so he was condemned to death and shot.

Regards,
K
Hi Klemen, and thanks for the update. I found the mention of the ambush in Zbornik/VI/19, but nothing on the killing of the general (whose surname is spelled "Heudenreich" by the editors). What is your source for his execution?

Thanks again,

G.

P.S. Lindsay wrote that the Germans had hanged 99 hostages in reprisal; did you find anything on this claim?

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Re: "General Konrad Heidenreich" KIA in Slovenia in 1945?

#5

Post by filigranofil » 17 Jul 2014, 01:43

Hello,

Dr.-Ing. Konrad Robert Heidenreich (1912-1945) was architect and he was planing Berlin forest stage ("Waldbuehne").

Image

link: Wikipedia: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berliner_Waldb%C3%BChne

Die Geschichte Berlins
"The two friends Heidenreich and Michel died before the outbreak of the Second World War, from which their sons did not return, who would be able to continue the common architectural firm. It must be mentioned that Conrad Heidenreich jun. (1912-1945) two and a half years belonged to the staff of Werner March, when the stadium was planned with its associated buildings and built. The forest stage for which design he had done studies in Greece, is based on plans by Conrad Heidenreich. In 1939 he received his doctorate with a thesis on the amphitheater in Xanten on the Rhine at the Technical University Berlin. His descendants now live in Canada. "

link:
http://translate.google.de/translate?hl ... nrad-.html



Hello G.,
hanging of 99 hostages in reprisal has no connection with Heidenreich death.This tragic occurrence was happened at 12.2.1945 nearby Frankolovo, Slovenia.


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Darko

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Re: "General Konrad Heidenreich" KIA in Slovenia in 1945?

#6

Post by Heimatschuss » 08 Aug 2014, 09:30

Hello,

Konrad Heidenreich was married with Cynthia Walker from Canada, a granddaughter of Sir Byron Edmund Walker who'd played an important role in the history of Canada. Presumably Konrad had a sufficient command of English to make him interesting for U.S. intelligence. His widow returned to Canada after WWII with their children.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byron_Edmund_Walker
http://tinyurl.com/qdlobbw
http://www.diegeschichteberlins.de/gesc ... nrad-.html

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Torsten

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Re: "General Konrad Heidenreich" KIA in Slovenia in 1944?

#7

Post by K.Kocjancic » 14 Aug 2014, 12:38

G. Trifkovic wrote:Hi Klemen, and thanks for the update. I found the mention of the ambush in Zbornik/VI/19, but nothing on the killing of the general (whose surname is spelled "Heudenreich" by the editors). What is your source for his execution?

Thanks again,

G.

P.S. Lindsay wrote that the Germans had hanged 99 hostages in reprisal; did you find anything on this claim?
It was either: Fajdiga's "Bračičeva brigada na Štajerskem, Koroškem in Gorenjskem. Del 2" or Kiauta's "Bračičeva brigada".

K

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Re: "General Konrad Heidenreich" KIA in Slovenia in 1945?

#8

Post by G. Trifkovic » 19 Aug 2014, 13:11

Thank you all.

Cheers,

G.

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Re: "General Konrad Heidenreich" KIA in Slovenia in 1945?

#9

Post by Heathland78 » 06 Nov 2014, 19:30

I inherited the letters and papers of Dr. Ing. Konrad Heidenreich from his widow Mrs. Cynthia (Walker) Heidenreich. They will be deposited at the Bundesarchiv in Freiburg. What follows is from these documents.
Last rank of Konrad Robert Heidenreich (KH) was given on August 25, 1944, signed by Dr. Albert Speer: Einsatzleiter [General Ingenieur] Dr. Ing. Konrad Heidenreich, OT Hochbau - Einsatz “Heidenreich,” Ruβland Süd. After the war (Oct. 1945 to Dec. 1948) Mrs. Heidenreich (born 1910 in Toronto, Canada) worked for the British Mil. Gov. (Kreis Eutin, Schleswig Holstein) as a “Refugee Social Worker” to help house, feed and clothe the thousands of refugees who were streaming in from the Russian occupied areas. Following a “denazification” process (28.10.1947), both Mrs. and Dr. Heidenreich were cleared of having been involved in the Nazi Party. Following this process the British Mil. Gov. tried to help locate her missing husband along with other agencies, but all were unsuccessful. We did not know his ultimate fate until reading it on Axis History Forum.
Before reading Axis History Forum we knew the following about KH:
- Since Sept. 1941, he was active in Russia, Ukraine, Rumania, Hungary and Slovakia.
- By late 1944, KH was stationed in Pistyan (Pieštany) Slovakia (Feldpostnummer 42779), and in Vienna at “Haus der OT”, # 3 Dr. Karl Lueger Platz.
- On April 15, 1945 he was ordered by his superior Dipl. Ing. Vogl OT-Einsatzgruppenleiter, Einsatzgruppe Südost, to Agram (Zagreb) to join Heeresgruppe “F“, apparently to organize the retreat of the OT units out of Yugoslavia. He left Vienna in a Schwimmkübel (amphibious vehicle) driven by his chauffeur.
- On April 20, German prisoners were released by Slovenian Partisans from a camp in the Pohorje Mountains. They reported to Vienna that KH had been captured near Preloge on April 16, the day after he left Vienna, and that the Partisans wanted to bargain for his release.
- On May 2, 1945, Hauptbauführer Kofler (Adjutant to KH) and Bauleiter, Aust (Stellvertreter to KH) left Vienna in an attempt to contact the Partisans. They were “gute Kameraden” with KH since early 1944 in the Ukraine.
- Kofler and Aust drove to Preloge where they met some villagers and boys who had witnessed the capture at a railway crossing near Preloge where the Partisans were waiting to ambush a cattle train. They confirmed the story Kofler had heard from the returned prisoners. The villagers described KH as “the tall man with the yellow stripes on the pants;” that he was wounded on the upper right shoulder; his leather coat was taken and his wound treated with English bandages; that he was bound on an ox with his chauffeur and taken to a camp in the Pohorje Mountains. They also said that his capture was announced on the radio by the Partisans: “that they were happy to have captured a “General” who was a “Techniker;” that he spoke English; that his wounds were not serious; and that his technical expertise could be useful to them.” Kofler was told that the Partisans who captured him were from the “13th or 14th Slovenian Brigade: Scherzer” (probably Šercer which Germans would pronounce “Scherzer”). The villagers put Kofler and Aust in touch with the Partisans. Bargaining over his release took place over May 7 and May 8, when Kofler and Aust heard that the war was over and they could no longer bargain. They were lucky to get back to Vienna, but were sure that if the war had lasted longer they could have secured his release.
- Mrs. Paula Heidenreich, Mother of KH, left a note in her files saying that: “Konrad wurde nach St. Martin gebracht” (“KH was brought to St. Martin”). Was this the beautiful Church of St. Martin in Bled? There is no confirmation for this statement.
- After the capture nothing more was heard of his fate until we read about his death a month ago on “Axis History Forum.”
We find the reference to these events in the book by Franklin Lindsay, Beacons in the Night (Stanford Univ. Press, 1993: 326), confusing and with some inaccuracies.
- How can Lindsay, an OSS agent in Yugoslavia in 1944-45, confuse the execution of Konrad Heidenreich with the assassination of the notorious Nazi Anton Dorfmeister on Feb. 2nd? The massacre by the Nazis at Frankolovo for Dorfmeister’s death took place on Feb. 13, 1945, when KH was still in Slovakia, long before his capture on April 16.
- KH was driving south into Slovenia, toward Zagreb, not north.
- We can assume KH was still alive the first week in May or there would have been no bargaining. By that time he was already with the Partisans for three weeks and some of the Partisans were still waiting for the exchange of prisoners. One would assume questioning to begin right after capture, not three weeks later resulting in execution before bargaining was completed.
- Where there two Partisan groups present that had opposing aims, one that arrived in May with OSS agent Bob Plan; or was there disagreement among those who captured him?
- Lindsay implies that Dušan Kveder was commander of the unit that captured KH, because he was involved in bargaining for an exchange. Dušan Kveder was an important person. Who could have over-ruled him and ordered an execution? Was he even there?
- There are no dates given by Lindsay when any of this took place. Are there any dated documents that explain what really happened?
- Comment: As you stated in Axis History Forum, Post #3, KH was a “civil” person and he was “loyal.” His loyalty was to his OT men not the Nazi regime which he never joined. In over 200 letters to his wife he consistently worried about the welfare of his men. He would not have given his captors any information that would endanger them.
Any corrections and answers to questions are welcome. I will answer any questions you have of me. Thank you from the Heidenreich family for writing what happened to KH.

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Re: "General Konrad Heidenreich" KIA in Slovenia in 1945?

#10

Post by G. Trifkovic » 22 Nov 2014, 03:49

We did not know his ultimate fate until reading it on Axis History Forum.
:welcome: Glad we could be of help.
- How can Lindsay, an OSS agent in Yugoslavia in 1944-45, confuse the execution of Konrad Heidenreich with the assassination of the notorious Nazi Anton Dorfmeister on Feb. 2nd? The massacre by the Nazis at Frankolovo for Dorfmeister’s death took place on Feb. 13, 1945, when KH was still in Slovakia, long before his capture on April 16.
Memoires are notoriously unreliable as far as exact dates are concerned, especially if they are written decades after the events (as in this case). Lindsay probably unwittingly merged two events which happened over a relatively short period of time. Maybe the fact that the same Partisan unit had been involved in both incidents contributed to the confusion.

Mirko Fajdiga devoted several pages to the incident in the second volume of his book "Bračičeva brigada na Štajerskem, Koroškem, in Gorenjskem" (Maribor, 1994, pp. 588-592). In short, he found out the following:

1.) The ambush on Heidenreich's car was carried out by the 2nd Battalion of the 13th Slovenian People's Liberation Assault Brigade (abbr. SNOUB) "Mirko Bračič", around 0830h on 16 April 1945.

2.) Heidenreich's driver was captured immediately; the general attempted to escape, and was hit in the left shoulder by Lojze Dolničar, assistant political commissar of the 2nd Battalion. The wound was treated on the spot by a Partisan medic.

3.) The general spent the next two days with the brigade, during which he was operated by Dr. Herbert Zaveršnik. The political commissar of the 2nd Battalion, Boris Požar, guarded the general, "kept him company", and interrogated him (Požar could speak German well). He found the general to be "cultured" and "loyal". After this brief spell, Heidenreich was sent to the HQ of the 14th Division [NOTE: I am not sure if the HQ of the 4th Operational Zone was in the same area as the 14th Division; Fajdiga does not mention the HQ of 14th Division in the context of Heidenreich's subsequent interrogation].

4.) On 19 April 1945, the HQ of the 4th Operational zone informed the Main HQ for Slovenia that the general was uncooperative, and that he would not divulge any information of military value (probably the "loyalty" Požar referred to). They did not believe his claims that he knew nothing of the organization of three German armies (2nd, 4th, and 8th) he worked with as a high OT-official. Consequently, they requested the Main HQ's opinion on what they should do with Heidenreich ("a veteran Hitlerite"). Their answer, Fajdiga adds, could not be found.

5.) What happened next is not clear:

-according to Matevž Hace, political commissar of the 4th Zone, Heidenreich was shot while trying to escape near the banks of the Sava River; the party was headed to Dolenjska region .

-according to several local inhabitants/Partisans, Heidenreich was brought to the village of Gornja Ponikva (now: Ponikva pri Žalcu), tried and executed. He was allegedly also buried there.

Fajdiga found a report of the 4th Zone which confirms Hace's version. The author adds that the document was dated 21 May 1945. However, in the footnotes, the last cited report is dated 2 May 1945 ["18., 19., 20., 21. 4. 1945 in 2. 5. 1945, AINZ, f. 46/11, 86/11, 333."].

In my opinion, the Main HQ for Slovenia had every reason to keep Heidenreich alive; apart from Kveder's cousin, the Partisans wanted to exchange other important prisoners precisely at that same time. In these circumstances, I don't believe the Zone's HQ would dare to execute him on their own, although they had a motive (useless/"Hitlerite"). A breakdown in communications with the Main HQ or approaching enemy patrol could have made them take such course of action. At the same time, the proximity of German outposts may have induced the general to try to escape (his wound was obviously not serious, and he had already tried to escape once).

Why the Partisans kept negotiating the general's exchange even after he had been shot is unclear; maybe they wanted to keep the Germans at the negotiating table and thus buy time for the exchange of other prisoners.

Cheers,

G.

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