Bruno Streckenbach as a Divisons commander

[Phil Nix]

Has anyone any comments of the military ability of Streckenbach who seems to have done well leading the 19th SS Divison being well thought of was Walter Krüger.He does not seem to have had much military training before 1942 being heavily involved in Security Polioce duties. His records show he was only trained as a Feldwebel during the 30's. So where di he get his leadership training
Phil Nix

[jv]

Mark Yerger provides an in depth description of Bruno Streckenbach's capabilities as a commander in his publication Waffen SS Commanders. In the last paragraph of the biography he speaks highly of Streckenbach as a commander. Streckenbach of course was a controversial figure who "miraculously" managed to escape justice (and therefore scrutiny) due to "ill health". Streckenbach (photo from Der Spiegel in 1974) spent the last years of his life in blissful retirement. jv

[Rob - wssob2]

In the last paragraph of the biography he speaks highly of Streckenbach as a commander.

Commander of the SS Stürm in Hamburg? As an RSHA commander? Or commander the Generalgouvernment Police forces?

Streckenbach did command the 8th SS division circa Jan - April 1944, but his career seems to be mostly SS and Police work.

Most 19th SS troops came from the schuma police battalions - maybe he was well suited for that kind of troops.

Does anybody have details on the mutiny of 19th SS troops in Dec 1944 Kurland? I'd like to see how that situation played into Streckenbach's reputation as an efficient military commander.

[Phil Nix]

In the last paragraph of the biography he speaks highly of Streckenbach as a commander.

Commander of the SS Stürm in Hamburg? As an RSHA commander? Or commander the Generalgouvernment Police forces?

Streckenbach did command the 8th SS division circa Jan - April 1944, but his career seems to be mostly SS and Police work.

Most 19th SS troops came from the schuma police battalions - maybe he was well suited for that kind of troops.

Does anybody have details on the mutiny of 19th SS troops in Dec 1944 Kurland? I'd like to see how that situation played into Streckenbach's reputation as an efficient military commander.

He speaks highly of his military prowess because Streckenbach superiors also thought highly of him and I have a letter from Arturs Sigailis who also speaks highly of him. This was a man however who seemed to have no formal military training and he did spend the years fron 1943 to the end as a military commander
Phil Nix

[jv]

In the last paragraph of the biography he speaks highly of Streckenbach as a commander.

Commander of the SS Stürm in Hamburg? As an RSHA commander? Or commander the Generalgouvernment Police forces?

Streckenbach did command the 8th SS division circa Jan - April 1944, but his career seems to be mostly SS and Police work.

Most 19th SS troops came from the schuma police battalions - maybe he was well suited for that kind of troops.

Does anybody have details on the mutiny of 19th SS troops in Dec 1944 Kurland? I'd like to see how that situation played into Streckenbach's reputation as an efficient military commander.

He speaks highly of his military prowess because Streckenbach superiors also thought highly of him and I have a letter from Arturs Sigailis who also speaks highly of him. This was a man however who seemed to have no formal military training and he did spend the years fron 1943 to the end as a military commander
Phil Nix

This admiration for Streckenbach was certainly not shared by the German prosecution. The Streckenbach Case was 13 years in the making and produced dossier after dossier of indictments. To no avail. Justice Senator Seele called it "loathsome". Streckenbach, in spite of all the admiration, died a controversial individual. Implicated in his role of organizing the Einsatzgruppen, he claimed after the war that he had fallen out with Himmler over the executions of the Jews in 1942 and was forced to join the Waffen SS on front duty. (Sure, pull the other one...) The case against Streckenback started in 1957 and was picked up again in 1961. In spite of hundreds of witnesses and volumes of indictment, Streckenbach got off for "medical reasons" in 1973. The Streckenbach case was so important that consideration was given to having the trial procedure planned day by day. This was eventually rejected and thus Streckenbach escaped justice. jv

[Michael Miller]

Well it's no surprise that the team assigned to prosecute him would not show much admiration for the man. The question is, how did he do as a military commander, and his Chief of Staff, Silgailis- a man generally regarded as quite honorable- seems to have thought highly of him in that regard (the criminal activities as an RSHA-type for which Streckenbach is better known to most of the world occurred prior to Silgailis' involvement with him, and likely would not have colored his perceptions much in any case; the situation in Latvia, 1944/45, probably didn't allow one much leisure to make moral judgments regarding past conduct).

Seems this Streckenbach was a strange combination of highly decorated (RK m. EL, DKiG, Nahkampfspange in Bronze) and genuinely brave military man and desk murderer. However, and I think it's been pointed out elsewhere on this forum, his role in setting up the 1941 Einsatzgruppen MIGHT have been exaggerated by the defendants in the U.S.M.T. Nürnberg's "Einsatzgruppe" Case as his absence from the dock (spent 1945 - 1955 in Soviet captivity) made him a convenient scapegoat. There is no doubt, however, that he commanded an Einsatzgruppe in the Polish Campaign and played a key role in the AB-Aktion against the Polish intelligentsia in 1939/40, not to mention the overall organization and development of the SD.

I recall that in the fictional "The Odessa File" by Fredrick Forsyth it is suggested that Streckenbach's prosecution by the Hamburg courts was hindered somewhat by the fact that numerous members of the law enforcement community in the city had once been subordinates of the defendant. Don't know if there's any truth to this, but it seems quite plausible.


Best wishes,
~ Mike

[Mark C. Yerger]

The inquiry is regards his divisional command leadership, not his others posts though not to avoid those negative facts. His superiors and men who served with him, such as Silgailis who I much admire, bear fact as to ability. Period comments are more relevant than post-war hindsight. He seems to have been a natural combat commander and as mentioned was personally brave. So he seems to be the exception to the rule of non-professionally trained SS higher commanders or police commanders. I consider Krüger an exceptional higher echelon commander so his commentary is noted.

Mark C. Yerger

[jv]

I agree to disagree. Let's separate the military leadership role from the other posts (although we are now reminded almost daily in current conflicts that there can be no separation when it comes to positive and negative military activities). Let me quote a bit more regarding the Streckenbach case: the legal case was marred by lack of organisation in the prosecution with lots of legal technicalities which ended up with the case being temporarily postponed by the Hamburger justiz. Justice Senator Seele (only in the job since 1973): "A lot happened then, for which one cannot find excuses". This led to parliamentary enquiries in Hamburg which nearly cost another justice senator his job. The Streckenbach case (Justice Senator Seeler: "I loathe it.") was revived again and the pre-trial enquiry lasted 13 years. Because of Streckenbach's health the case was reviewed in 1973. The case against Streckenbach (don't forget he was at the time the highest ranking SS General with direct involvement in the Holocaust) was so strong that the medical staff initially considered to have him on trial on a daily basis - for 15 minutes a day in the company of a doctor! The case was finally dismissed on "medical" grounds in 1974. Senator Seeler: "One cannot prove it, but I have a feeling that there are still forces that are trying to play down such a case." The pre-trial enquiry went down in German legal history as one of the longest lasting. The indictment covered 450 pages. jv

[Phil Nix]

jv I fully share your view on his prosecution but my question was how did such a man with his background prove to be such a good divisional commander considering his lack of training and I think this aspect can be divorced from his overall career
Phil Nix

[Michael Miller]

jv, I hate to have to point this out but your posts are off the current topic. The question does not concern Streckenbach's morality or lack thereof, nor anything relating to his involvement in war crimes. The question does concern his suitability as a military commander. The fact that a man is of poor moral stature, even an outright criminal, does not necessarily detract from his ability to lead troops or to demonstrate courage in the field.

~ Mike

[John P. Moore]

I am in complete agreement with Mark Yerger and Mike Miller. Too often on this forum when a man's name is mentioned in a military context, it is not long before someone jumps in and attempts to establish a linkage to war crimes or the Holocaust. There is another section on AHF where those topics can be discussed. That's one reason that I participate less on this forum and more on another forum where we don't get into those subjects, instead referring people to the AHF where David Thompson does such as excellent job of moderating such topics.

John

[jv]

I understand that my postings have caused some distraction from the initial posting on Streckenbach's capabilities as a military leader and the admiration it appears to have generated. I introduced the additional German information to add a perspective (I am one of those dreadfully educated Continental Europeans that has mastered 5 foreign languages fluently so I tend to research outside the monolingual square of translated sources). I will desist in posting anything anymore that may be construed as being "off the topic". A good way to end the year with a new year's resolution. jv

[Michael Miller]

No problem, jv.

As for me, I'm still trying to master my own language, being one of those dreadfully undereducated Continental North Americans who can only research inside "the monolingual square of translated sources".



~ Mike