Oberleutnant () is the highest lieutenant officer rank in the German-speaking armed forces of Germany (Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the Swiss Armed Forces. Austria Germany In the German Army, it dates from the early 19th century. Trans ...

Stefan Herdt, also known as Heinz Herdt, was German Representative in

Sark Sark (french: link=no, Sercq, ; Sercquiais: or ) is a part of the Channel Islands in the southwestern English Channel, off the coast of Normandy, France. It is a royal fief, which forms part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, with its own set of l ...

from 4 July 1940 to October 1942, and commander of the German garrison. Born in 1915, he was trained as a teacher before being called up in 1939. Selected for officer training, he served in Poland and Belgium before coming to the Channel Islands, as commander of Company 6 Infantry Regiment 583. He took office the day after the German occupation, deposing

Sibyl Hathaway Dame Sibyl Mary Hathaway ( Collings, formerly Beaumont; 13 January 1884 – 14 July 1974) was Dame of Sark from 1927 until her death in 1974. Her 47-year rule over Sark, in the Channel Islands, spanned the reigns of four monarchs: George V, Ed ...

as the most senior authority in the island with the title ''Inselkommandant Sark''. During his tenure,

Operation Basalt Operation Basalt was a small British raid conducted during World War II on Sark during the German occupation of the Channel Islands. The objective of the raid was of offensive reconnaissance and capturing prisoners. 1st Attempt The original ...

took place, in which three prisoners were killed by British

commando Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin">40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured A commando is a combatant, or operativ ...

s, in one case because the prisoner began shouting to alert nearby German soldiers, and in the other cases the prisoners were killed while attempting to escape during an attack by German forces. Nazi propaganda obscured the details of the event and portrayed it as the execution of prisoners. Herdt was replaced as commander in Sark and reportedly Herdt was to face a

court martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

but for the reaction by

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...

to the deaths. The raid prompted Hitler to issue an order calling for all British commandos to be summarily executed. Herdt returned as commander in Sark after the death of Johann Hinkel in March 1943.

References

Sark German Army officers of World War II 1915 births Year of death missing {{Guernsey-stub