WW2CroatianNewsreel wrote:Who is that person on the left in the first picture, and he's in the second one as well.
Where did he serve?
Ernst Gustav Heimert Nolcken was born 13. March 1899 (by old russian calendar 1.of March) in Estonia, manor house of Kudjape (Rittergut Kudjapäh [knight manor]) located on the eastern outskirt of Arensburg (today Kuressaare) on the island of Saaremaa (Ösel). Entry in the church book about baptizing of him notes names of his father and mother – Johann Gustav baron Nolcken (owner of manor Kudjape) and Eidoksia Helene Lucia Eva baroness Nolcken. As everybody can see he was born in german noble family in Estonia. But it doesn’t mean that he was fully German and has nothing to do with Estonians. Just the opposite, he spoke good estonian and feel as citizen of Estonia. When Estonian Independence War begun, he join Estonian army but not Baltic Landeswehr as many estonian germans did. After the war he continues serving Estonian Army. All the time between the two wars he was serving cavalry regiment of Estonian army. At the same time he was an excellent sportsman in equestrian sport. He won many of championships.
Before WWII, by agreement between Hitler and Stalin ethnical Germans in Estonia got possibility to move to the Germany. Most of the Germans went to the Germany at the first change, but not Nolcken. He left Estonia by the last change, when Russians were already occupied Estonia, his brother (former policeman) was already executed in the prison of Tartu and German embassy in Estonia picked out leftover ethnic Germans from Estonia (even from the soviet prison, as they did with colonel Paul Bassen-Spillar).
In Germany he joins the Wehrmacht and got rank of Hauptman. First unit he serves was Kavallerie-Regiment 18, later Aufklärungs-Abteilung 35. Was involved in the western campaign. In the beginning of the eastern campaign he was commander of Aufklärungs-Abteilung 268. In February 1942 he took back from Russians airfield of Juhnov near Serpuhov and was awarded with EK1. Later he was commanding Aufklärungs-Abteilung 32 in Demjansk.
In autumn of 1943 he got call from Helmuth von Pannwitz to command Kosaken-Kavallerie-Regiment. As fanatic cavalry officer he did not think a minute. That was a kind of job he was dreaming. Actually he had to start forming Sibirisches Kosaken-Reiter-Reigment 2 in Millau and later as commander of this regiment he battle in Yugoslavia.
He died 8. of February 1960 in Heidelberg Germany.
At the time of living in Estonian Republic between two great wars, he was not using any noble titles as baron or von. Those titles had a bad sonance in Estonia. Later in Germany he used form of name Nolcken Freiherr von, Heimert. Way Freiherr? Actually his family was not an old German knight family. They came to Estonia from Neddersassen without any title. In year 1726 son of the owner of manor Haeska (Hasik) on the same Estonian island of Saaremaa Erich Matthias von Nolcken (1694–1755) got title of Swedish nobleman from Swedish king Frederik I and 1727 this family was immatriculated to the Swedish nobility as knight (nr.1806 -
http://books.google.ee/books?id=9bIDAAA ... -PA1406,M1 ). 1747 this family got also Swedish title Freiherr.
