Ernst Schacht (russian: Эрнст Генрихович Шахт; 14 April 1904 – 23 February 1942), a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

origin, emigrated to the

Soviet Russia The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

in 1922 when he was 18 years old. Enlisting in the Soviet air force, he headed the Soviet bomber squadron which, on 7 November 1936, bombed

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

forces during the

siege of Madrid The siege of Madrid was a two-and-a-half-year siege of the Republican-controlled Spanish capital city of Madrid by the Nationalist armies, under General Francisco Franco, during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). The city, besieged from Octo ...

Biography

Schacht was born on 14 April 1904, in

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. From 1918 to 1921 he worked as apprentice painter and apprentice electrical engineer. In 1918 he started his political activity with being a member of Communist Union of Youth of Switzerland. From July to November 1921 Schacht was technical secretary of the Central Committee of Communist Union of Youth. In November 1921 he became the representative of Central Committee of Communist Union of Youth of Switzerland at Berlin bureau of

Young Communist International The Young Communist International was the parallel international youth organization affiliated with the Communist International (Comintern). History International socialist youth organization before World War I After failed efforts to form an i ...

. In April 1922 Ernst Schacht emigrated to USSR because of political reasons. In 1922-1923 Schacht worked as an electrical engineer in Moscow, in the International Workers' Committee for Help for Starving. He enlisted in the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

in May 1923, and in 1924 he graduated from

Borisoglebsk Borisoglebsk (russian: Борисогле́бск) is a town in Voronezh Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Vorona River near its confluence with the Khopyor. Population: 65,000 (1969). History Borisoglebsk was founded in 164 ...

Military Aviation School for pilots, in 1925 - from Higher School of Aerial Gunnery and Bombardment in

Serpukhov Serpukhov ( rus, Серпухов, p=ˈsʲɛrpʊxəf) is a city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Oka and the Nara Rivers, south from Moscow ( from Moscow Ring Road) on the Moscow—Simferopol highway. The Moscow— T ...

. From 1925 to 1926 he served as pilot in the 1st Light Bomber Aviation Squadron named after

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...

, based in the

Moscow Military District The Order of Lenin Moscow Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010 it was merged with the Leningrad Military Di ...

. From December 1926 to December 1931, Ernst Schacht was deployed in the

Central Asian Military District The Red Banner Central Asian Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces, which existed in 1926–1945 and 1969–1989, with its headquarters at Tashkent (1926–1945) and Almaty (1969–1989). By USSR Order No.304 of 4 ...

to fight

Basmachi Movement The Basmachi movement (russian: Басмачество, ''Basmachestvo'', derived from Uzbek: "Basmachi" meaning "bandits") was an uprising against Russian Imperial and Soviet rule by the Muslim peoples of Central Asia. The movement's roots l ...

as squad commander in 35th Aviation Detachment and 37th Aviation Squadron. In 1929 he was awarded the

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of th ...

for his valour and heroism during these combat missions. In 1931 Schacht graduated from courses of improvement of command personnel at

Zhukovsky Air Force Academy Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy () – is a higher military educational institution for training and retraining of engineers for the Russian Air Force. The academy trains specialists – engineers, research engineers in the following sp ...

. Since December 1931, he served as commander of Squadron for Special Objectives, based on Moscow Central Airport, which was tasked with carrying the commanders of the Red Army. In May 1936 he was awarded the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...

for high results in flight training. From September 1936 to February 1937 Ernst Schacht participated in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

. At first he was training Spanish Republican pilots at

Alcalá de Henares Alcalá de Henares () is a Spanish city in the Community of Madrid. Straddling the Henares River, it is located to the northeast of the centre of Madrid. , it has a population of 193,751, making it the region's third-most populated Municipalities ...

Airbase, in October he assumed command of 1st Bomber Squadron. His first combat sortie in Spain was at 28 October 1936 - it was an airstrike on Tablada airbase near

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

. During the war Ernst Schacht has made several dozens sorties in

Tupolev SB The Tupolev ANT-40, also known by its service name Tupolev SB (russian: Скоростной бомбардировщик – ''Skorostnoi Bombardirovschik'' – high speed bomber) and development co-name TsAGI-40, was a high speed twin-engined ...

. On 31 December 1936, Schacht was awarded the title of

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

and Order of Lenin for his performance in the

. In June 1937, he became the chief of Lipetsk Higher Flight-Tactical School. In August 1939, Ernst Schacht was made the head of Ryazan Higher Courses of Advancement of the Air Force. In 1940 he graduated from the Higher Academical Courses of Military Academy of the General Staff. In April 1940 he took command of 167th Reserve Aviation Regiment in Ryazan, in which methods for "blind" flights were developed. In November 1940 he became deputy commander of the Air Force of

Orel Military District The Orel Military District ( rus, Орловский военный округ (ОрВО), r=Orlovskiy voyennyy okrug (OrVO), p=) was a military district of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and the Soviet Union. Established in 1918 ...

, responsible for high education. On 30 May 1941, Ernst Schacht was arrested as "German spy and participant of anti-Soviet military conspiracy, who provided Germans with data about Soviet aviation industry". He was executed by firing squad on 23 February 1942 by the orders of

Lavrentiy Beria Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria (; rus, Лавре́нтий Па́влович Бе́рия, Lavréntiy Pávlovich Bériya, p=ˈbʲerʲiə; ka, ლავრენტი ბერია, tr, ; – 23 December 1953) was a Georgian Bolshevik ...

.Associated Press
Flying Ace was Short (sic) on Orders from Beria
Florence Times, 22 November 1964 He was posthumously rehabilitated in 1955. His place of his burial is unknown, but a

cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...

to him is located at the Moscow

Vvedenskoye Cemetery Vvedenskoye Cemetery ( rus, Введенское кладбище, p=vʲːɪˈdʲenskəjə) is a historic cemetery in the Lefortovo District of Moscow in Russia. Until 1918 it was mainly a burial ground for the Catholic and Protestant communitie ...

Awards

* Hero of the Soviet Union (1936) * Order of Lenin (twice, both 1936) * Order of the Red Banner (1929)

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schacht, Ernst 1904 births 1942 deaths Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Soviet major generals Soviet Air Force generals People executed by the Soviet Union by firing squad Soviet people of the Spanish Civil War Soviet people of German descent Swiss people executed abroad Swiss people of German descent German emigrants to the Soviet Union Swiss emigrants People from Basel-Stadt

Biography

Awards

See also

References

Bibliography