Danish W-SS POW executed by British forces 11 April 1945 River Gera, Germany
I have in my collection a W-SS Soldbuch for a W-SS soldier named Svend Gustav Jensen, date of birth (Danish nationality) 19 Dec 1909. He Joined the W-SS a a volunteer 1 July 1941 and served in the SS ''Freikorps Danmark'' and subsequently Rgt 24 ''Danmark'' on the eastern front until 5 March 1945 when, after being wounded, he was hospitalised 5-12 March 1945 at the Lazarett in Stettin, North East of Berlin during the heavy fighting in the eastern part of Germany. He had mainly served as a truck driver during the entire period 1941-45 with the Danish W-SS front line units and only served on the Eastern Front with ''regular'' fighting units. After being hospitalised he was transferred to the SS-Driving school at Weimar-Buchenwald. Buchenwald was of course a KZ-camp at the time, but also a military garrison and KTL (Driving school) for SS-personnel. The Allied troops moved in from the west during early April 1945, and the latest eyewitness report for this particular volunteer is from the night of 10 April 1945 when he was captured during a Britsh night attack at the River Gera (east Germany) by British Forces. On the following 11 April 1945 day he was executed together with a few other W-SS volunteers and the civilians were ordered to let the bodies lay on the ground i.e. no burial, but on 15 April 1945 they decided to bury the executed W-SS soldiers. Svend Gustav Jensen is today buried at the common grave at Gispersleben b. Thür, Germany.
Does anybody know where/how to find further details of the above incident? It is of course not common good or acceptable practice to execute POWs irrespectve if this is done by Germans or Allied troops, but in this particular case I would appreciate if anybody has any knowledge about the reason. It appears to be a real tragedy to survive 4 years on the eastern front fighting the Soviets and when finally captured by British troops then the fate is execution, not on the date of capture, but on the following day....!!!
My own theory is the Soldbuch contained the stamp ''Buchenwald'' - he was unfortunate enough to be posted there for drivers training and on/about 11 April 1945the Buchenwald KZ-camp was liberated by US troops and possibly every German connected, even those staying at the driving schools, on the front or similar were executed whereever they were found if they had the word ''Buchenwald'' in the Soldbuch irrespective of the reason they were posted at Buchenwald. Any assistance/information to solve this question would be appreciated.
I attach the first page of the Soldbuch so you can put a face on the history.
Danish W-SS POW executed by British forces 11 April 1945
Danish W-SS POW executed by British forces 11 April 1945
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Info appreciated
Yes, indeed a tragic incident.
Would appreciate any information from Forum members or a hint to where I could possibly try to find more info about this event.
Would appreciate any information from Forum members or a hint to where I could possibly try to find more info about this event.
Info required
Hello
It is correct the SS was judged to be a criminal orginasation at the Nuremberg trials, this is not the question - that is a historical fact.
My reason for posting this thread was I try to find out WHY this particular individual was summarily executed the day after being captured by Allied troops - there may or may not have been a reason, that is what I am trying to establish, I am not trying to promote anything.
It is correct the SS was judged to be a criminal orginasation at the Nuremberg trials, this is not the question - that is a historical fact.
My reason for posting this thread was I try to find out WHY this particular individual was summarily executed the day after being captured by Allied troops - there may or may not have been a reason, that is what I am trying to establish, I am not trying to promote anything.
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David Thompson
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prorege1 -- The story is interesting, but not familiar to me. It appears from your account that British troops took Svend Gustav Jensen prisoner on the night of 10 Apr 1945, and he was executed with others the next day -- 11 Apr 1945. Do you mind giving your source(s)?
US troops liberated KL Buchenwald on 11 Apr 1945 (I haven't been able to find out the hour), and within several days word of the horrible conditions in the camp was spread by newspaper and radio reports from allied war correspondents. It is possible that this news reached the British troops on the River Gera by radio or courier the same day Jensen was killed, but it is also possible that Jensen was already dead by the time the British troops heard the stories.
The fact that Jensen was buried in a common grave at Gispersleben bei Thür, Germany, suggests that this location is probably very close to where he was killed. I think your best bet for finding more information on Jensen's death is to try to identify the British unit involved in the night attack at that time and place. Battle maps should allow you to identify the unit, working down from corps and division level to regiment or battalion. If you can identify the unit, it shouldn't be to hard to find out what WWII unit histories, memoirs, etc., discuss its combat actions. You can also see if there is a veterans' association for the unit, which has reunions and the like. One of these sources may help you with the information you seek.
US troops liberated KL Buchenwald on 11 Apr 1945 (I haven't been able to find out the hour), and within several days word of the horrible conditions in the camp was spread by newspaper and radio reports from allied war correspondents. It is possible that this news reached the British troops on the River Gera by radio or courier the same day Jensen was killed, but it is also possible that Jensen was already dead by the time the British troops heard the stories.
The fact that Jensen was buried in a common grave at Gispersleben bei Thür, Germany, suggests that this location is probably very close to where he was killed. I think your best bet for finding more information on Jensen's death is to try to identify the British unit involved in the night attack at that time and place. Battle maps should allow you to identify the unit, working down from corps and division level to regiment or battalion. If you can identify the unit, it shouldn't be to hard to find out what WWII unit histories, memoirs, etc., discuss its combat actions. You can also see if there is a veterans' association for the unit, which has reunions and the like. One of these sources may help you with the information you seek.
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Somosierra
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It is your choice Marcus – you are here the boss, but in my opinion those deleted posts were very interesting ones, and better is to be convinced by interlocutor than deleted by him, don’t you think so?Marcus Wendel wrote:Several posts adding nothing of value to the thread was deleted.
/Marcus
Regards,
Somosierra.
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Somosierra
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OK, Marcus.Marcus Wendel wrote:Somosierra,
The posts I deleted ended up with insults, and rather than just delete a few of the posts, risking to give unfair advantage to one side of the argument, I decided to delete the whole argument, including my own posts.
/Marcus
As I said OK, but I must add just for every user - my person was insulted (of course not by you, but by someone else). I am just afraid if some reader thinks that I insulted someone, what never happened in the past, and will never happen in the future.
Regards,
Somosierra.
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Somosierra
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As I wrote – your choice.Marcus Wendel wrote:Actually, that is not 100% true considering that you have recieved your final warning for your behaviour in the forum.Somosierra wrote:I am just afraid if some reader thinks that I insulted someone, what never happened in the past, and will never happen in the future.
/Marcus
Danish SS POW
Hello David
Thank you for your friendly input - I have indeed tried to research the internet for further info of the armies that were engaged in battles at the River Gera - most units I have found were U.S.Army and none of the internet sources have mentioned anything specific about SS men being capture/executed at the River Gera. I have never visited the place, but from maps I noticed the River Gera is situated west of the Buchenwald Camp close to Erfurt where he is buried today, so at some stage, probably March or early April 1945, he was transferred to the frontline west of the Buchenwald driving school.
The background for my search of this particular individual's history was that I found his Soldbuch some years ago - in France! The previous French owner originally obtained the Soldbuch in Germany, but had no further background or history. I became curious since the Soldbuch's last entries were dated March 1945 and would of course like to find out if he survived the war etc. Bundesarchiv in Germany had nothing on file. I searched the Danish Nazi party members list for the wartime period and found he entered the party in 1939. The next search showed he left Denmark for the SS Standarte ''Nordwest'' on 1 July 1941 whereafter he was transferred to the ''Freikorps Danmark'' when that unit was created later in 1941. He was trained as a truck driver and served with ''Freikorps Danmark'' until the unit was dissolved in 1943 then transferred to Pz Gr. Rgt 24 ''Danmark'' in 1943 and remained with this unit until wounded close to Stettin in March 1945. The full history from 1941 until March 1945 and subsequent transfer to the drivers training school at Buchenwald is documented in the Soldbuch - but thereafter nothing. I then obtained some old magasines from the Danish frontfighters association from the 1950's and to my surprise I noticed that this individual was actively seached by his ex comrades until 1955, but suddenly in 1955 no further notices were posted in the old magasines and no details of his fate was mentioned, so that did not clarify anything. I recently learned that his ex comrades had searched locally in Germany for information and they (about 1955) found local German eyewitnesses who described the incident on 10-11 April 1945 including their burial of the bodies on 15 April 1945.
I would like, if possible, to have the eyewitess report reconfirmed from other source(s) as well. Hopefully somebody somewhere could provide further info or a place to search. As mentioned the Bundesarchiv in Germany have no records on file. Any help would be appreciated
Thank you for your friendly input - I have indeed tried to research the internet for further info of the armies that were engaged in battles at the River Gera - most units I have found were U.S.Army and none of the internet sources have mentioned anything specific about SS men being capture/executed at the River Gera. I have never visited the place, but from maps I noticed the River Gera is situated west of the Buchenwald Camp close to Erfurt where he is buried today, so at some stage, probably March or early April 1945, he was transferred to the frontline west of the Buchenwald driving school.
The background for my search of this particular individual's history was that I found his Soldbuch some years ago - in France! The previous French owner originally obtained the Soldbuch in Germany, but had no further background or history. I became curious since the Soldbuch's last entries were dated March 1945 and would of course like to find out if he survived the war etc. Bundesarchiv in Germany had nothing on file. I searched the Danish Nazi party members list for the wartime period and found he entered the party in 1939. The next search showed he left Denmark for the SS Standarte ''Nordwest'' on 1 July 1941 whereafter he was transferred to the ''Freikorps Danmark'' when that unit was created later in 1941. He was trained as a truck driver and served with ''Freikorps Danmark'' until the unit was dissolved in 1943 then transferred to Pz Gr. Rgt 24 ''Danmark'' in 1943 and remained with this unit until wounded close to Stettin in March 1945. The full history from 1941 until March 1945 and subsequent transfer to the drivers training school at Buchenwald is documented in the Soldbuch - but thereafter nothing. I then obtained some old magasines from the Danish frontfighters association from the 1950's and to my surprise I noticed that this individual was actively seached by his ex comrades until 1955, but suddenly in 1955 no further notices were posted in the old magasines and no details of his fate was mentioned, so that did not clarify anything. I recently learned that his ex comrades had searched locally in Germany for information and they (about 1955) found local German eyewitnesses who described the incident on 10-11 April 1945 including their burial of the bodies on 15 April 1945.
I would like, if possible, to have the eyewitess report reconfirmed from other source(s) as well. Hopefully somebody somewhere could provide further info or a place to search. As mentioned the Bundesarchiv in Germany have no records on file. Any help would be appreciated
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David Thompson
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prorege1 -- What an interesting story! I'll poke around through what I've got and if I find anything that may be helpful, I'll post it.
Some additional details:
My battle maps don't show any British troops in the area of the River Gera on 10-11 Apr 1945. The US VIII and XX Corps of Patton's 3rd Army operated in the area, and were just west of Erfurt on 9 Apr 1945. By 18 Apr they had driven east along a route running through Weimar and Jena to a point NE of Chemnitz (Karl-Marx-Stadt) (US XX Corps) and through Arnstadt to Plauen (US VIII Corps).
On 4 Apr 1945 US troops overran a sub-camp of KL Buchenwald at Ohrdruf, south of Gotha and the troops in Patton's command were angered by the scene. This may have given them an attitude about SS troops. (see attached New York Times article).
As for Buchenwald, at 10:15 AM on 11 Apr 1945 the commandant of KL Buchenwald, SS-Oberfuehrer Hermann Pister, told senior camp inmate Hans Eiden that the camp would be turned over to his control. The SS guards fled at about 3:00 PM, and the inmates seized control of the camp at 3:15 PM. The first Americans -- a couple of guys in a jeep -- didn't enter the camp until about 5:30 PM. The US Army took over administration of the camp on 13 Apr 1945, and news reporters didn't visit the place until 25 Apr 1945 (Buchenwald Report pp. 4-6, 12).
Some additional details:
My battle maps don't show any British troops in the area of the River Gera on 10-11 Apr 1945. The US VIII and XX Corps of Patton's 3rd Army operated in the area, and were just west of Erfurt on 9 Apr 1945. By 18 Apr they had driven east along a route running through Weimar and Jena to a point NE of Chemnitz (Karl-Marx-Stadt) (US XX Corps) and through Arnstadt to Plauen (US VIII Corps).
On 4 Apr 1945 US troops overran a sub-camp of KL Buchenwald at Ohrdruf, south of Gotha and the troops in Patton's command were angered by the scene. This may have given them an attitude about SS troops. (see attached New York Times article).
As for Buchenwald, at 10:15 AM on 11 Apr 1945 the commandant of KL Buchenwald, SS-Oberfuehrer Hermann Pister, told senior camp inmate Hans Eiden that the camp would be turned over to his control. The SS guards fled at about 3:00 PM, and the inmates seized control of the camp at 3:15 PM. The first Americans -- a couple of guys in a jeep -- didn't enter the camp until about 5:30 PM. The US Army took over administration of the camp on 13 Apr 1945, and news reporters didn't visit the place until 25 Apr 1945 (Buchenwald Report pp. 4-6, 12).
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michael mills
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This thread raises some interesting questions.
What is the evidence that the individual concerned was executed by a British unit? Is it purely the German eyewitnesses who say that they saw the execution of a group of SS-men and afterwards buried the bodies?
If such an execution did take place, as the German eyewitnesses claim, what is the evidence that this individual was among them, given that the entries in his Soldbuch end in March 1945?
What is the evidence that this individual is buried in the common grave mentioned? Is there a list of names of the individuals buried in that grave, with his name on it? Is the common grave the place where the German eyewitnesses claim they buried the executed SS-men on 15 April, or is it another place to which the bodies were transferred?
Is it known how the Soldbuch of this individual came to be in France? If he was indeed executed on 11 April, then presumably it was removed from his body (unless it had been taken from him previously). If the original post-war possessor of the Soldbuch could be traced, it might answer some of these questions.
What is the evidence that the individual concerned was executed by a British unit? Is it purely the German eyewitnesses who say that they saw the execution of a group of SS-men and afterwards buried the bodies?
If such an execution did take place, as the German eyewitnesses claim, what is the evidence that this individual was among them, given that the entries in his Soldbuch end in March 1945?
What is the evidence that this individual is buried in the common grave mentioned? Is there a list of names of the individuals buried in that grave, with his name on it? Is the common grave the place where the German eyewitnesses claim they buried the executed SS-men on 15 April, or is it another place to which the bodies were transferred?
Is it known how the Soldbuch of this individual came to be in France? If he was indeed executed on 11 April, then presumably it was removed from his body (unless it had been taken from him previously). If the original post-war possessor of the Soldbuch could be traced, it might answer some of these questions.
Danish W-SS POW
Thank you David & Michael for your help and questions.
The info was gathered by some of the Danish ex W-SS volunteers in the mid 1950s from German eyewitnesses - they could be wrong with repect to the nationality of the Allied troops, but they specifically mentioned ''British troops. I have not been able to locate any specific incidents around the River Gera - the present grave is a common grave in the vicinity of Erfurt where the bodies have been moved after 1945, it is not the same place as the original grave of 15 April 1945 i.e. the place of execution at River Gera. I can only trace the Soldbuch to France from where I got it. The French owner obtained it at a Militaria Show in Germany so there is no further traceable background, but the Soldbuch, which was only found a few years ago, confirmed the movement of this individual soldier until March 1945 incl the arrival at the Buchenwald driving school i.e. the same general area pointed out during the investigation some 45 years earlier. The very stained appearance of the Soldbuch (see the photo above) could indicate it had been subject to bad weather or similar for a prolonged period, but if the Soldbuch was kept by one of the eyewitnesses from 1945 I do not know, unfortunately.
Another solution for me could be to make a search in the local German archives in Erfurt, but I still hope something may turn up via this Forum - thanks a lot for your help.
The info was gathered by some of the Danish ex W-SS volunteers in the mid 1950s from German eyewitnesses - they could be wrong with repect to the nationality of the Allied troops, but they specifically mentioned ''British troops. I have not been able to locate any specific incidents around the River Gera - the present grave is a common grave in the vicinity of Erfurt where the bodies have been moved after 1945, it is not the same place as the original grave of 15 April 1945 i.e. the place of execution at River Gera. I can only trace the Soldbuch to France from where I got it. The French owner obtained it at a Militaria Show in Germany so there is no further traceable background, but the Soldbuch, which was only found a few years ago, confirmed the movement of this individual soldier until March 1945 incl the arrival at the Buchenwald driving school i.e. the same general area pointed out during the investigation some 45 years earlier. The very stained appearance of the Soldbuch (see the photo above) could indicate it had been subject to bad weather or similar for a prolonged period, but if the Soldbuch was kept by one of the eyewitnesses from 1945 I do not know, unfortunately.
Another solution for me could be to make a search in the local German archives in Erfurt, but I still hope something may turn up via this Forum - thanks a lot for your help.