Oskar-Hubert Dennhardt

Oskar-Hubert Dennhardt
Born(1915-06-30)30 June 1915
Markranstädt, Amtshauptmannschaft Leipzig, Kingdom of Saxony, German Empire
Died19 June 2014(2014-06-19) (aged 98)
Schmalfeld, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
Allegiance Weimar Republic
Nazi Germany
West Germany
BranchReichswehr
Army
Bundeswehr
Service years1934–35
1935–45
1955–71
RankMajor (Wehrmacht)
Brigadegeneral (Bundeswehr)
CommandsGrenadier-Regiment 11
Grenadier-Regiment 1141
Grenadier-Regiment 1143
Panzergrenadierbrigade 16 (BW)
ConflictsWorld War II
AwardsKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Relations∞ 1943 Christel Neubauer; 1 son[1]
Other workPolitician

Oskar-Hubert Heinrich Dennhardt (30 June 1915 – 19 June 2014) was a German Major in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany. Wounded and seriously ill, he was evacuated from Königsberg to Schleswig on one of the last ships. In June 1945, POW Dennhardt was released from captivity directly from a military hospital in Schleswig.

Dennhardt served in the Landtag of Schleswig-Holstein as a Christian Democratic Union politician after World War II.[2] He rejoined the military service in the West German Bundeswehr on 16 December 1955, retiring on 30 June 1971 holding the rank of Brigadegeneral. He commanded the Panzergrenadierbrigade 16 from 1 November 1965 to 31 March 1968 and was deputy commander of the 6th Panzergrenadier Division.

Awards and decorations

Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves

On 11 April 1945, Colonel Felix Becker, deputy commander of the 561st Volksgrenadier Division, nominated Major Dennhardt, delegated as of 8 April 1945 with the leadership of Grenadier-Regiment 1143,[7] for the Oak Leaves. This nomination was directly transmitted from the division command post to the Personnel Office of the OKH.

Major Joachim Domaschk (OKH/PA/P 5a 1. Staffel), who processed the nomination at the Heerespersonalamt (HPA—Army Staff Office) from the troop (received and stamped on 19 April 1945), had sent a message to the AOK Ostpreußen under Dietrich von Saucken on 28 April 1945 requesting a statement (Stellungnahme) from the XXVI Army Corps (Wehrmacht) and the Army High Command East Prussia by telex. Further processing appears not to have taken place due to the chaos of the final battles, an approval was never received before the end of hostilities.

Oskar-Hubert Dennhardt is not listed in the book for the "nominations for the higher grades of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross" nor in the nomination book for Knight's Cross (starting with Nr. 5100). According to the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR) the award was presented in accordance with the Dönitz-decree. This is illegal according to the Deutsche Dienststelle (WASt) and lacks legal justification. Military historians, on the other hand, state that awards by Reichspräsident Karl Dönitz are in fact justified. The sequential number "870" and the presentation date 9 May 1945 were assigned by the AKCR. Dennhardt was a member of the AKCR.[8] Dennhardt never claimed to have been awarded the Oak Leaves; even his Bundeswehr ribbon bar only shows the ribbon of the Knight's Cross, not the Oak Leaves.

Sources

  • German Federal Archives: BArch PERS 6/301702 and RW 59/2894

References

Citations

  1. ^ Dennhardt's only son, Bundeswehr officer and later businessman (BRUXBURG GmbH, Hamburg) Arnim Horst Dennhardt (21 March 1944 – 23 November 2017) died only three years after his father.
  2. ^ Das braune Schleswig-Holstein, Die Zeit, 26 January 1990
  3. ^ a b c d e f Thomas & Wegmann 1998, p. 217.
  4. ^ Thomas 1997, p. 114.
  5. ^ Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 82.
  6. ^ Scherzer 2007, p. 269.
  7. ^ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 103.
  8. ^ Scherzer 2007, p. 126.

Bibliography

  • Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
  • Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
  • Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
  • Thomas, Franz (1997). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 1: A–K [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 1: A–K] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2299-6.
  • Thomas, Franz; Wegmann, Günter (1998). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Deutschen Wehrmacht 1939–1945 Teil III: Infanterie Band 4: C–Dow [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the German Wehrmacht 1939–1945 Part III: Infantry Volume 4: C–Dow] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2534-8.
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