SS General Jakob Sporrenburg

Jakob Sporrenburg was born the son of a gardener in Düsseldorf on September 16, 1902. He lost a brother killed and one seriously wounded in World War I. While training as a mechanic in 1919 he joined the Freikorps and served for 1 l/2years. He joined the NSDAP in 1922 and was arrested by the French for sabotage activities in the Ruhr for which he was in jail from March, 1924, to August, 1925. After his release he worked as a telephone installer in Düsseldorf. He joined the SA on August 25, 1925, and rejoined the NSDAP on December 15, 1925. As an SA-Truppführer he served with SA-Standarte 39 until late September, 1930. He also joined the Hitler Youth on August 1, 1929 and was the Hitler Youth leader for Düsseldorf for the remainder of 1929. On October 1, 1930, he joined the SS and was commissioned as an SS-Sturmführer on December 15, 1930. He then took command of SS-Sturm 54 until being promoted to SS-Sturmbannführer on November 21, 1931. After commanding the l./20.SS-Standarte from November, 1931 to early July, 1932, he took command of the entire Standarte until July, 1933, and was promoted to SS-Standartenführer on November 9, 1932. From September, 1933 to September, 1936. he commanded Abschnitt XX and also commanded the SS garrison in Kiel (November, 1933 to September, 1936) as well as holding a seat in the Reichstag from April / 938 until the end of the war. Promoted to SS-Oberführer on November 9, 1933, and to SS-Brigadeführer on January 30, 1936, during the autumn of 1935 he served as a reserve Leutnant in the Army with Infanterie-Regiment 26. Reassigned to the RSHA. from the start of 1937 to September, 1 939, he was Inspector of the Sipo and SD for Königsberg and was head ofSD Oberabschnitt "Nordost. " From September, 1939, to July, 1940, he led Oberabschnitt "Rhein " (see " Rhein-Westmark ") and was HSSPF "Rhein "from October, 1939, to July, 1940. Promoted to SS-Gruppenfuhrer on January 1, 1940, he led Oberabschnitt "Nordost" and was HSSPF "Nordost" from mid-June 1940 to the start of May, 1941. After training with the Ordnungspolizei and the RSHA he was assigned as SSPF "Weißruthenien" during July and August 1941 then became a special assignments officer to Gauleiter Erich Koch until mid-March 1943. Given the rank of Generalleutnant der Polizei on July 7, 1943, he was next with the HSSPF "Rußland-Mitte" and the anti-partisan command until mid-August 1943 when he became SSPF "Lublin" and held that posting until November 1944. In November, 1944 he was attached to the staff of Oberabschnitt "Ost" then held a transitional staff posting for two weeks with Oberabschnitt "Nord. " At the end of November 1944 he took the newly created post of SSPF "Süd-Norwegen " and held that assignment until the end of the war. He was awarded the Gold Party Badge on January 30, 1942, the Iron Cross 2nd class (June 20, 1941) and also the first class (November 30, 1944), both classes of the War Service Cross with Swords in 1943, The NSDAP Long Service Award in Gold on January 30, 1942, the Gold Hitler Youth Honor Badge, the SA Sports Badge in Gold and the Reich's Sports Badge in Silver. His involvement with Einsatzgruppen operations caused him to suffer from depression and have a breakdown in 1941. Despite this fact he was active in executions throughout 1943 and won high accolades from HSSPF Curt von Gottberg and Wilhelm Koppe. He was tried in Warsaw in 1950 and hanged there on December 6, 1952.

Source :
"Allgemeine-SS: The Commands, Units and Leaders of the General SS" by Mark C. Yerger

SS General Hans-Adolf Prützmann

Hans-Adolf Prützmann was born on August 31, 1901, in Tollkemit, East Prussia. He worked as a farmer and entered local politics, serving as a senator for East Prussia. On August 12, 1930, he joined the SS and first served with SS-Sturm 24. Commissioned as an SS-Sturmführer on November 10, 1930, he became adjutant of the 30.SS-Standarte in late March 1931 and was promoted to SS-Sturmbannführer on August 3, 1931. In August, 1931, he moved to the 19.SS-Standarte as administrative officer then took command until early September, 1932 during which time he was promoted to SS-Standartenführer on January I, 1932. From late August, 1932, to mid-December, 1933, he commanded the 18.SS-Standarte and was promoted to SS-Oberführer on June 26, 1933, and to SS-Brigadeführer on November 9, 1933. He was a member of the Reichstag from April, 1938, until the end of the war and also led Abschnitt X from mid-July to mid- November, 1933. Prützmann took command of Oberabschnitt "Südwest" in mid-November, 1933, and left that command at the end of February, 1937, during which he was promoted to SS-Gruppenführer on February 28, 1934. He commanded Oberabschnitt "Nordwest" (which became "Nordsee") and was HSSPF "Nordsee" from June, 1938, to May, 1941. He was then officially HSSPF "Nordost" and commander of the area Oberabschnitt until the end of the war but was in Russia and his duties were undertaken by substitutes. In Russia he served as the HSSPF "Rußland-Nord" from June to November, 1941, and then changed posts with Friedrich Jeckeln and became the HSSPF "Rußland-Süd" until mid-March, 1944. Becoming a Generalleutnant der Polizei on April 1, 1941, and promoted to SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Polizei on November 9, 1941, from October, 1943, to September, 1944 he was the also the HöSSPF "Ukraine." In June, 1944, he became Himmler's liaison officer with the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (Armed Forces High Command) and for all of 1945 he also was Inspector of special guerrilla units ("Wehrwolf"). He became a General der Waffen-SS on July 1. 1944, and during the final weeks of the war served with the Dönitz government as Himmler's representative. He was awarded the Gold Party Badge, the Iron Cross 2nd class in 1941, the Iron Cross 1st class in 1943, both classes of the War Merit Cross with Swords and the German Cross in Gold on June 16, 1944 for leading Kampfgruppe "Prützmann" in Russia (composed of Ordnungspolizei and foreign units under his command). His German Cross recommendation was personally submitted by Himmler. Prützmann was cultured, creative, a talented organizer, and was feared by subordinates. His command in Russia was also brutal and resulted in the deaths of more than 360,000 people from August to October, 1942 alone, more than the totals for several of the Einsatzgruppen in Russia. Captured by the British, he committed suicide on May 21, 1945.

Source :
"Allgemeine-SS: The Commands, Units and Leaders of the General SS" by Mark C. Yerger

U-995 Crew Now and Then

Surviving U-995 crew, now and then. German submarine U-995 is a Type VIIC/41 U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine. She was laid down on 25 November 1942 by Blohm & Voss in Hamburg, Germany, and commissioned on 16 September 1943. During the war U-995's commanders were: Kapitänleutnant Walter Köhntopp (16 September 1943 to 9 October 1944) and Oberleutnant zur See Hans-Georg Hess (10 October 1944 to 8 May 1945). At the end of the war, on 8 May 1945, U-995 was stricken at Trondheim, Norway. She was surrendered to the British and then transferred to Norwegian ownership in October 1948. In December 1952 U-995 became the Norwegian submarine Kaura and in 1965 she was stricken from service by the Royal Norwegian Navy. She then was offered to the German government for the ceremonial price of one Deutsche Mark. The offer was refused; however, the boat was saved by the German Navy League, DMB. U-995 became a museum ship at Laboe Naval Memorial in October 1971.

Source :
"After the Battle Nr.36 - Walcheren"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_submarine_U-995

German Actor and a Luftwaffe Pilot Hannes Stelzer

This is a movie picture of the Austrian actor Hannes Stelzer (1910-1944). He played a highly decorated war pilot hero in the 1941 movie 'Stukas'. By 1943 the meanwhile jobless Hannes is forced to enlist in the German Army. He becomes a fighter pilot at the Luftwaffe, and between film roles he took on combat missions in World War II! On 27 December 1944, Stelzer died in a plane crash over the village of Zemné, Slovakia (not in Hungary as is often stated) in a snowstorm, according to a Wehrmacht report. He was 34 years old. His wife actress Maria Bard - who was married twice before - committed suicide earlier earlier at Berlin on April 1944.

Source :
http://www.germanfilms.net/hannes-stelzer/

German Soldiers Surrender at Vilnius

German soldiers surrender to the Red Army in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, 11 July 1944. The picture was taken by Fyodor Kislov. During the battle for the city, the Soviet 5th Army and 5th Guards Tank Army engaged the German garrison of Fester Platz Vilnius (consisting of Grenadier-Regiment 399 and Artillerie-Regiment 240 of the 170. Infanterie-Division, Grenadier-Regiment 1067, a battalion from the Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 16, the anti-tank battalion of the 256. Infanterie-Division, and other units under the command of Luftwaffe Generalmajor Rainer Stahel. The Soviet 35th Guards Tank Brigade initially took the airport, defended by the battalion of paratroopers; intense street-by-street fighting then commenced as the Soviets attempted to reduce the defence. While the German aim of holding Vilnius as a Fester Platz or fortress was not achieved, the tenacious defence made a contribution in stopping the Red Army's drive west for a few precious days: most importantly, it tied down the 5th Guards Tank Army, which had been instrumental in the initial successes of the Red Army during Operation Bagration. This delay gave German forces a chance to re-establish something resembling a continuous defence line further to the west. Hitler recognised this achievement by awarding Stahel the 76th set of the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross awarded during the war. Nevertheless, the outcome fell far short of what the German command had hoped for, and the continuous frontline that was established only held for a short time. Without the traffic network based on Vilnius, the German position in the southern Baltics was untenable. By the end of July, the 3rd Belorussian Front was ordered to conduct the Kaunas Offensive Operation to further extend the gains of Operation Bagration.

Source :
http://albumwar2.com/german-soldiers-surrender-in-vilnius/
https://heroesandgenerals.com/forums/topic/92943-add-vilnius-on-the-map/

Russian Sniper Captured by the SS

Soviet Union, 1942: Waffen-SS soldiers captured a Russian sniper and dragged him from his hole (one of them smashes his rifle). There is little chance that this sniper would come out alive, because any sniper never fares very well when captured by the enemy, but captured by the SS? It's the worst scenario! BTW, The SS soldier on the left wears a Soviet padded Telogreika/Vatnik, a warm cotton wool-padded jacket.

Source :
https://www.reddit.com/r/HistoryPorn/comments/4a3wy4/waffenss_captured_a_russian_sniper_one_of_them/

A Pack-Mule Unit Takes a Much Needed Respite

The arduous terrain in which the German Gebirgsjäger (mountain troops) advanced into Poland in September 1939 can well be imagined and, as a consequence, sapped the strength from many of the men participating in the long march. In this photograph, a pack-mule unit takes a much needed respite.

Source :
"Images of War: Hitler's Mountain Troops 1939-1945" by Ian Baxter

Gebirgsjäger Cleaning Their Weapons

German Gebirgsjäger (Mountain troops) have occupied a village somewhere in southern Poland in September 1939, and are seen cleaning their weapons. This was known to the soldiers as, ‘Clean and patch hour’, which was a period of time allowed in order to clean weapons and repair clothes before resuming operations.

Source :
"Images of War: Hitler's Mountain Troops 1939-1945" by Ian Baxter