Oberstleutnant d.R. Erich Killinger (1893-1977)

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R.M. Schultz
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#31

Post by R.M. Schultz » 21 Sep 2005, 04:36

In his book“THE NAZI DICTATORSHIP, A STUDY IN SOCIAL PATHOLOGY AND THE POLITICS OF FASCISM,” (Alfred A. Knopf, N.Y.C., second, revised edition, 1936), Frederick L. Schuman makes a cryptic reference to a “Killinger” who was arrested and released during the Blood Purge. Could this be Erich Killinger?

Larry D.
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#32

Post by Larry D. » 21 Sep 2005, 16:39

R.M. Schultz wrote:In his book“THE NAZI DICTATORSHIP, A STUDY IN SOCIAL PATHOLOGY AND THE POLITICS OF FASCISM,” (Alfred A. Knopf, N.Y.C., second, revised edition, 1936), Frederick L. Schuman makes a cryptic reference to a “Killinger” who was arrested and released during the Blood Purge. Could this be Erich Killinger?
Extremely doubtful. "Our" Killinger appears to have been apolitical and comfortably employed at the time of the Blood Purge. He was a Luftwaffe guy, in his forties and not into street thugery.


David Layne
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Re: Erich Killinger

#33

Post by David Layne » 25 Jul 2013, 16:09

I have just come across this thread and found it most useful in my own research into my father's time at Dulag Luft. I can see that I am going to have to alter my records.

In his book "Prisoners Of The Reich" David Rolf states on page 24 "Flight -Lieutenant S.... was one prisoner who received invitations to drinking parties at the house of Rumpel, the Kommandant.

From reading the thread Rumpel was obviously not the Kommandant so who was he? Is there a listing of all of the Interrogating Staff to be seen?

Regards, David.

hermithill
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Re: Erich Killinger

#34

Post by hermithill » 26 May 2023, 01:16

Thought I would share with you a letter I have in my collection that was written by Eric Killinger in 1948 and was sent to Air Vice Marschall Ronald Ivelaw Chapman who during the war was captured and tortured by the Gestapo and was imprisoned for the duration under Killinger's jurisdiction. The letter is fascinating as he goes onto explain the pressures of the Gestapo who were placed in his prison to keep an eye on him and staff as there was a perception of them being too kindly to the POW's..i will try and translate the whole letter to Chapman.


Chapmans Story is fascinating in itself:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... l-him.html
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VtwinVince
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Re: Oberstleutnant d.R. Erich Killinger (1893-1977)

#35

Post by VtwinVince » 26 May 2023, 17:50

That is a very interesting letter, sort of confirms the scenario portrayed in The Great Escape. I recently found out from my aunt that a direct descendant of Killinger lives here in western Canada.

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#36

Post by Tamari » 26 May 2023, 20:20

Larry D. wrote:
21 Sep 2005, 16:39
R.M. Schultz wrote:In his book“THE NAZI DICTATORSHIP, A STUDY IN SOCIAL PATHOLOGY AND THE POLITICS OF FASCISM,” (Alfred A. Knopf, N.Y.C., second, revised edition, 1936), Frederick L. Schuman makes a cryptic reference to a “Killinger” who was arrested and released during the Blood Purge. Could this be Erich Killinger?
Extremely doubtful. "Our" Killinger appears to have been apolitical and comfortably employed at the time of the Blood Purge. He was a Luftwaffe guy, in his forties and not into street thugery.
The Killinger who was arrested during the Blood Purge was the former member naval officer and member of Organisation Consul Manfred von Killinger.

https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manfred_von_Killinger

Best regards
Robert

hermithill
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Re: Oberstleutnant d.R. Erich Killinger (1893-1977)

#37

Post by hermithill » 29 May 2023, 01:26

I have tried my best to read the old-style script of his letter, i have highlighted in bold any words I'm not sure about...but I hope this helps to paint a picture of the events going on behind the scenes from a German commandants' perspective.




Eric Killinger
Lusenhof
(16) Oberursel / Taunos
Germany

5th December 1948

After my arrival here today, I feel impelled to write my first letter to you, to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you have done for my comrades and myself during the past years and months.

I know that the premature end of our captivity was not only due solely to your unifying and energetic interventions, but also that your courageous and magnanimous action in Wuppertal saved us from much worse consequences. And to think that you have done all this in my case, for a man whose conduct towards you personally could not but offend you gravely during your captivity!

From a merely military point of view I, being so much junior in rank to you, should have considered it my duty to visit you personally, to convince myself of your recuperation by repeated visits and to comply with your wishes, not to mention the human and social side that should have been imperative for me to see you.

However I hope that today , when we have all gained a certain distance from the events of the past, you will better understand my explanation for my behaviour then and that you will pardon me, the more so because this has been lying heavily on my conscious and has been worrying me all the time as you were bound to see me in the wrong light.

When you were captured I, like my friends who were apposed to N.S, was quite convinced that as the then practically lost war was continued, the hatred of the leading Nazis would increase in an alarming way and turn not only against all P.O.W.’s but also – and perhaps in an increased manner – against all those who had no affiliations with that system.

This Gestapo official had been commanded to my unit, their duty was to find stool pigeons amongst my men to procure the necessary evidence against me and my men A.I too friendly treatment of the P.OW’s, called “favouring the enemy” the final aim was of the Gestapo was to remove us and to take over the office.

If I had been defeated in this struggle, which was only known to my intimate friends, just those things would have happened and to scarcely imaginable extent. – with which we were charged by the prosecution. I do not want to consider.

I do not want to consider what would most likely have occurred to me and my friends then. Today I think I must be thankful to our lord that allowed me to succeed, that objective, right to the bitter end, remained the only P.O.W camp of the whole German armed forces which defied the influence of the Gestapo and was thus successful in having spared the worst to its inmates.

I was therefore forced to keep myself aloof even at the risk of being misunderstood by you sir, for a visit to you would have deprived me, if need be, of every possibility to defend myself successfully against the repeated efforts of charging me with favouring the enemy.

I as the commandant was responsible for my comrades as it was I who gave the order to “gather informations” as I am passionately fond of playing bridge I would have been only too pleased to join my two friends instead of spending those lonely nights and wretched evenings at Buchenbule!

I do hope that I may be granted an opportunity of telling you more about this personally which is not apt to be put into a letter, and I should like to prove to you that you have not wasted your help on an unworthy one who is so very grateful to you also on behalf of his family

Yours most obediently Erich Killinger

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Re: Oberstleutnant d.R. Erich Killinger (1893-1977)

#38

Post by askropp » 04 Dec 2023, 01:24

The study "Dulag Luft / Auswertestelle West. Vernehmungslager der Luftwaffe für westalliierte Kriegsgefangene im Zweiten Weltkrieg" by Stefan Geck (Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften Peter Lang GmbH, Frankfurt / Main 2008) examines Killinger and his camp. Geck concludes that Killinger was "a lot less worse than he could have been" and that the interrogation methods were almost identical to those used by the US forces until today. I cannot tell whether this is the case, but I have certainly heard of worse methods than overheating cells. In any case, Killinger claimed that he never ordered the heat treatment, and there are indications it was administered by some eager subordinates.
There are times in history when staying neutral means taking sides.

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