Heinz Neukirchen (13 January 1915 – 8 December 1986) was an officer of the

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...

in World War II, and a ''

Vizeadmiral (abbreviated VAdm) is a senior naval flag officer rank in several German-speaking countries, equivalent to Vice admiral. Austria-Hungary In the Austro-Hungarian Navy there were the flag-officer ranks ''Kontreadmiral'' (also spelled ''Kont ...

'' in the People's Navy (

Volksmarine The ''Volksmarine'' (VM, ; en, People's Navy) was the naval force of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1956 to 1990. The ''Volksmarine'' was one of the service branches of the National People's Army and primarily performed a coastal d ...

) of the

German Democratic Republic 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 **Ger ...

as well as President of the East German Directorate of Maritime and Port Industries. He was the author of several maritime books. Neukirchen was born in

Duisburg Duisburg () is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine and the Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruhr Region, Duisburg is the 5th largest city in Nor ...

, Germany, the son of a small farmer and vegetable dealer. After graduation from high school he worked an internship from 1931 to 1932, then one year as a freelancer for the Düsseldorfer News. Neukirchen began service in

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 ...

's ''

'' in 1935. As a crewmember of the

German cruiser Köln ''Köln'' was a light cruiser, the third member of the that was operated between 1929 and March 1945, including service in World War II. She was operated by two German navies, the ''Reichsmarine'' and the ''Kriegsmarine''. She had two sister s ...

Neukirchen served 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 ...

and received the

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 ...

. From 1939 to 1940, holding the rank of a boatswain, he was a harbor protection commander. Following several warrant officer courses, Neukirchen served from 1943 to 1944 as a watch officer on a mine ship. In the last year of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he was a Lieutenant and commander of

Submarine chaser A submarine chaser or subchaser is a small naval vessel that is specifically intended for anti-submarine warfare. Many of the American submarine chasers used in World War I found their way to Allied nations by way of Lend-Lease in World War II. ...

stationed in Norway. In addition to this duty he became a ''National-Socialist guidance officer'' in 1944Siegfried Breyer, Peter Joachim Lapp: ''Die Volksmarine der DDR. Entwicklung – Aufgaben – Ausrüstung.'' Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Koblenz 1985, and served in 1945 as a battery commander of

Naval infantry Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

. From 1945 to 1949 he was in Soviet captivity. He joined the

National Democratic Party of Germany The National Democratic Party of Germany (german: Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands or NPD) is a far-right Neo-Nazi and ultranationalist political party in Germany. The party was founded in 1964 as successor to the German Reich Part ...

(NDPD) in 1949, and worked until 1950, as a manager of the NDPD political department in

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label=Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin ...

. After one year he became the Deputy Chairman of the Board of the NDPD for the

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

district. Neukirchen joined the

Main Administration Sea Police The Main Administration Sea Police (''Hauptverwaltung Seepolizei (HVS)'') was an East German maritime organization established with support of the Soviet Navy on June 16, 1950. It was an armed organization of the East German Ministry of the Inter ...

(Hauptverwaltung Seepolizei (HVS)) on 1 March 1951. From 1954 to 1956, Neukirchen was Chief of Staff of the Sea Police. He was appointed to the rank of rear admiral on 1 October 1952. In 1956 he attended the Soviet

Naval Academy A naval academy provides education for prospective naval officers. See also * Military academy A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally pro ...

. Upon his return, he served until 1961 as Deputy Chief of the People's Navy (Seestreitkräfte/Volksmarine) and as Chief of Staff of the People's Navy command. In 1959, he married Irmgard Neukirchen, a mother of 6 children from a previous husband. He commanded the People's Navy (Volksmarine) from 1961 to 1963, while Wilhelm Ehm attended the Soviet Naval Academy. After Ehm's return, he served again as a Deputy Chief of the People's Navy and Chief of Staff of the People's Navy command until his retirement from active service on 30 November 1965. On 1 March 1964 he was promoted to vice admiral. After 1965, Neukirchen served as the President of East Germany's Directorate of Maritime and Port Industries. From 1965-67 he also served as the first chairman of the Football Club

FC Hansa Rostock FC Hansa Rostock () is a German association football club based in the city of Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The club is also called as "the cog" because of its club crest. They have emerged as one of the most successful clubs from the forme ...

. Neukirchen died in 1986 in Rostock, GDR.

Neukirchen's publications

* ''Krieg zur See'' (Deutscher Militärverlag, Berlin 1966) * ''Handbuch Seeverkehr. Bd. 1'' (1969) * ''Handbuch Seeverkehr. Bd. 2.'' Collective authors: Reinhold Dopatka u.a. Head Author: Günter Babst; (Editor) Reinhold Dopatka und Heinz Neukirchen (1970) * ''Handbuch Seeverkehr. Bd. 3.'' Head author: Gottfried Schulze; Lothar Uhlig; (Editor) Gottfried Schulze und Heinz Neukirchen (1970) * ''Seefahrt gestern und heute'' (Transpress, Berlin 1970) * "Häfen und Schiffe" (Transpress, Berlin 1974) * ''Piraten - Seeraub auf allen Meeren'' (Transpress, Berlin 1977) * "Geusen - Lieber ertrunken als gefangen" (Transpress, Berlin 1980) * "Klar vorn und achtern - Auf einem Schaukelpferd zum Rio de la Plata" (Transpress, Berlin 1983) * "Mit ungewissem Kurs" (Transpress, Berlin 1985) * ''Seemacht im Spiegel der Geschichte'' (Transpress, Berlin 1982) * ''Seefahrt im Wandel der Jahrtausende'' (Transpress, Berlin 1985) * ''Seelord Gerry oder Wiedersehen mit Afrika'' (Transpress, Berlin 1989) His books have been translated into many languages.

References

* Klaus Froh, Rüdiger Wenzke: ''Die Generale und Admirale der NVA. Ein biographisches Handbuch.'' 4. Auflage. Ch. Links, Berlin 2000,

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Neukirchen, Heinz 1915 births 1986 deaths Military personnel from Duisburg People from the Rhine Province National Democratic Party of Germany (East Germany) politicians Members of the 1st Volkskammer Kriegsmarine personnel German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union Vice admirals of the Volksmarine German military personnel of the Spanish Civil War Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in gold N. G. Kuznetsov Naval Academy alumni