Hans-Georg von Friedeburg (15 July 1895 – 23 May 1945) was a German admiral, the deputy commander of the
U-boat
U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...
Forces of
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
and the second-to-last
Commander-in-Chief of the Kriegsmarine. He was the only representative of the armed forces to be present at the signing of the
German instruments of surrender
The German Instrument of Surrender (german: Bedingungslose Kapitulation der Wehrmacht, lit=Unconditional Capitulation of the "Wehrmacht"; russian: Акт о капитуляции Германии, Akt o kapitulyatsii Germanii, lit=Act of capit ...
in
Luneburg Heath on 4 May 1945, in
Reims on 7 May and in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
on 8 May 1945. Von Friedeburg committed suicide shortly afterwards, upon the dissolution of the
Flensburg Government.
Early life
Hans-Georg von Friedeburg was born in
Strassburg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label= Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the E ...
in the German Imperial Territory of
Alsace-Lorraine (''Elsass-Lothringen''), the son of
Prussian
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...
officer Karl von Friedeburg (1862–1924).
Military career
On 1 April 1914 he joined the
Imperial Navy as a ''
Seekadett
''Seekadett'' (short SKad or SK; ,Langenscheidt´s Encyclopaedic Dictionary of the English and German language: „Der Große Muret-Sander“, Part II German-English, Second Volume L–Z, 8th edition 1999, ; p. 1.381 ) is a military rank of the B ...
''. After the outbreak of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, von Friedeburg, promoted to the rank of ''
Fähnrich zur See
''Fähnrich zur See'' (Fähnr zS or FRZS) designates in the German Navy of the Bundeswehr a military person or member of the armed forces with the second highest Officer Aspirant (OA – german: Offizieranwärter) rank. According to the salary ...
'' (Officer Aspirant) served on the dreadnought and took part in the 1916
Battle of Jutland against the British
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
's
Grand Fleet
The Grand Fleet was the main battlefleet of the Royal Navy during the First World War. It was established in August 1914 and disbanded in April 1919. Its main base was Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands.
History
Formed in August 1914 from the F ...
. Elevated to ''
Leutnant zur See
''Leutnant zur See'' (''Lt zS'' or ''LZS'') is the lowest officer rank in the German Navy. It is grouped as OF1 in NATO, equivalent to an Ensign in the United States Navy, and an Acting Sub-Lieutenant in the British Royal Navy.
The rank was int ...
'', he joined the
U-boat
U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...
forces as naval officer on from June to November 1918.
A prominent German naval officer of the post-war period, he was appointed Deputy Commander of the German U-boat fleet in September 1941. Overseeing German
U-boat
U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...
training and deployment of the U-boat bases in France, he later organised U-boat picket lines in the mid-Atlantic to find and attack Allied
convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...
s. Promoted to rear admiral in 1942, von Friedeburg assumed command of the German U-boat fleet in February of the following year. He was awarded the ''
Ritterkreuz des Kriegsverdienstkreuzes mit Schwertern'' on 17 January 1945. He succeeded Grand Admiral
Karl Dönitz as Commander-in-Chief of the Kriegsmarine when Dönitz became Reich President upon Hitler's suicide (and per Hitler's last will), and was promoted to
general admiral on 1 May 1945.
In early May 1945, von Friedeburg was ordered by Dönitz to negotiate the surrender to the Western Allied forces. Arriving at Field Marshal
Bernard Montgomery's headquarters in
Lüneburg
Lüneburg (officially the ''Hanseatic City of Lüneburg'', German: ''Hansestadt Lüneburg'', , Low German ''Lümborg'', Latin ''Luneburgum'' or ''Lunaburgum'', Old High German ''Luneburc'', Old Saxon ''Hliuni'', Polabian ''Glain''), also called ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
he was informed that an unconditional surrender to all Allied forces was necessary and not negotiable. Upon receiving permission from Dönitz, he signed an
instrument of surrender of all German armed forces in the Netherlands, northwest Germany and Denmark on 4 May 1945. On 7 May 1945, he was present at the first signing of the
German Instrument of Surrender
The German Instrument of Surrender (german: Bedingungslose Kapitulation der Wehrmacht, lit=Unconditional Capitulation of the " Wehrmacht"; russian: Акт о капитуляции Германии, Akt o kapitulyatsii Germanii, lit=Act of capi ...
by General
Alfred Jodl in
Reims.
Von Friedeburg was in Berlin on 8 May 1945 for the second signing of the
German Instrument of Surrender
The German Instrument of Surrender (german: Bedingungslose Kapitulation der Wehrmacht, lit=Unconditional Capitulation of the " Wehrmacht"; russian: Акт о капитуляции Германии, Akt o kapitulyatsii Germanii, lit=Act of capi ...
. He signed on behalf of the
Kriegsmarine, along with
Colonel General Hans-Jürgen Stumpff
__NOTOC__
Hans-Jürgen Stumpff (15 June 1889 – 9 March 1968), was a German general during World War II and was one of the signatories to Germany's unconditional surrender at the end of the war.
Military career
Stumpff joined the army in 190 ...
for the
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
and
Generalfeldmarschall
''Generalfeldmarschall'' (from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; en, general field marshal, field marshal general, or field marshal; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several ...
Wilhelm Keitel
Wilhelm Bodewin Johann Gustav Keitel (; 22 September 188216 October 1946) was a German field marshal and war criminal who held office as chief of the '' Oberkommando der Wehrmacht'' (OKW), the high command of Nazi Germany's Armed Forces, duri ...
for the
Heer and
OKW.
Marshal Georgy Zhukov
Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov ( rus, Георгий Константинович Жуков, p=ɡʲɪˈorɡʲɪj kənstɐnʲˈtʲinəvʲɪtɕ ˈʐukəf, a=Ru-Георгий_Константинович_Жуков.ogg; 1 December 1896 – ...
and
Air Chief Marshal Arthur William Tedder signed for the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
and
SHAEF
Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF; ) was the headquarters of the Commander of Allied forces in north west Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the commander in SHAEF ...
respectively.
Death
On 23 May 1945, the same day that members of the
Flensburg Government were arrested, von Friedeburg became a
prisoner of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...
of the British Army in
Plön
Plön (; Holsatian: ''Plöön'') is the district seat of the Plön district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, and has about 8,700 inhabitants. It lies right on the shores of Schleswig-Holstein's biggest lake, the Great Plön Lake, as well as o ...
, and committed suicide by swallowing poison. His body was buried at Adelby Cemetery near
Flensburg.
Personal life
His son
Ludwig von Friedeburg
Ludwig von Friedeburg (21 May 1924, in Wilhelmshaven – 17 May 2010, in Frankfurt am Main) was a German politician and sociologist. He served as Minister for Education for the state of Hesse from 1969 until 1974. During that period he forced th ...
(1924–2010) became a sociologist and later a politician, serving from 1969 and 1974 as Minister for Culture in the state of
Hesse
Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Dar ...
.
Awards
*
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia es ...
(1914)
** 2nd Class
** 1st Class
*
Knight's Cross Second Class of the Order of the Zähringer Lion with Swords
*
Knight of the Order of St. John
*
Cross of Honour
*
Wehrmacht Long Service Award
The Wehrmacht Long Service Award () was a military service decoration of Nazi Germany issued for satisfactory completion of a number of years in military service.
History
On 16 March, 1936, Adolf Hitler ordered the institution of a service awar ...
4th to 1st Class
*
Spanish Cross
The Spanish Cross (german: Spanien-Kreuz) was an award of Nazi Germany given to German troops who participated in the Spanish Civil War, fighting for nationalist general, later Spanish caudillo, Francisco Franco.
History
With the outbreak o ...
in Silver with Swords
*
Clasp to the Iron Cross
The Clasp to the Iron Cross (Spange zum Eisernen Kreuz) was a white metal medal clasp displayed on the uniforms of German Wehrmacht personnel who had been awarded the Iron Cross in World War I, and who again qualified for the decoration in World W ...
(1939)
** 2nd Class
** 1st Class
*
War Merit Cross
The War Merit Cross (german: Kriegsverdienstkreuz) was a state decoration of Nazi Germany during World War II. By the end of the conflict it was issued in four degrees and had an equivalent civil award. A " de-Nazified" version of the War Meri ...
with Swords
** 2nd Class
** 1st Class
*
German Cross
The War Order of the German Cross (german: Der Kriegsorden Deutsches Kreuz), normally abbreviated to the German Cross or ''Deutsches Kreuz'', was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941. It was awarded in two divisions: in gold for repe ...
in Silver on 6 June 1942 as ''
Kapitän zur See
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The rank is equal to the army rank of colonel and air force rank of group captain.
Equivalent ranks worldwide include ...
'' and 2nd admiral of the U-boats
[Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 541.]
*
Knight's Cross of the War Merit Cross (17 January 1945)
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
* Borgert, Heinz-Ludwig (1998): ''Generaladmiral Hans-Georg von Friedeburg''. In:
Gerd R. Ueberschär (ed.): ''Hitlers militärische Elite. 68 Lebensläufe''. Frankfurt am Main: Primus Verlag, 2011 (second edition).
*
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Friedeburg, Hans-Georg Von
1895 births
1945 deaths
20th-century German people
U-boat commanders (Kriegsmarine)
German untitled nobility
General admirals of the Kriegsmarine
Military personnel from Strasbourg
People from Alsace-Lorraine
German military personnel of the Spanish Civil War
Imperial German Navy personnel of World War I
Reichsmarine personnel
German people of the Spanish Civil War
Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class
Recipients of the Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross
German military personnel who committed suicide
Suicides by poison
Suicides in Germany