Willy Tensfeld (27 November 1893 – 2 September 1982) was a German SS-'' Brigadeführer'' and ''

Generalmajor is the Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and Royal Danish Air Force. As a two-star ...

'' of the Police. He served in several SS and Police Leader positions in occupied

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

during the

Second World War 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 ...

Early life

Tensfeld was born in

Bornhöved Bornhöved () is a municipality in the '' Kreis'' (district) of Segeberg in Schleswig-Holstein, north Germany. It is situated some 16 km east of Neumünster. Bornhöved is part of the ''Amt'' (municipal confederation) of Bornhöved Bornh ...

in the

Segeberg Segeberg (; frr, Segebärj) is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by (from the southwest and clockwise) the districts of Pinneberg, Steinburg and Rendsburg-Eckernförde, the city of Neumünster, the districts of Plön, Osthol ...

district of

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...

. After school, Tensfeld joined the

German Imperial Navy The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Kaiser ...

in 1909 and was deployed during the

First World War 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 ...

with 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 role ...

service. After the end of the war he remained in the ''

Reichsmarine The ''Reichsmarine'' ( en, Realm Navy) was the name of the German Navy during the Weimar Republic and first two years of Nazi Germany. It was the naval branch of the ''Reichswehr'', existing from 1919 to 1935. In 1935, it became known as the ''K ...

'' under the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...

until being discharged in 1923. He was then employed at the

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...

until 1931. He joined the SS (SS number 14,724) on 1 September 1931 and the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

(membership number 753,405) in early December.

Peacetime SS career

Tensfeld first served with the 40th SS-''

Standarte In Nazi Germany, the ''Standarte'' (pl. ''Standarten'') was a paramilitary unit of Nazi Party (NSDAP), ''Sturmabteilung'', National Socialist Motor Corps, NSKK, National Socialist Flyers Corps, NSFK, and ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS). Translated literally ...

'' based in Kiel, eventually becoming a battalion

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

until August 1932. At that time, he was made Chief of Staff in ''

SS-Abschnitt Units and commands of the ''Schutzstaffel'' were organizational titles used by the SS to describe the many groups, forces, and formations that existed within the SS from its inception in 1923 to the eventual fall of Nazi Germany in 1945. The SS ...

'' (District) XIV in

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

until the end of November 1933. His next postings were as commander of the 17th SS-''Standarte'' in

Harburg-Wilhelmsburg Harburg-Wilhelmsburg was a city in the Prussian Province of Hanover briefly in existence from 1927 and 1937, resulting from the merger of the cities of Harburg, Hamburg, Harburg and Wilhelmsburg, Hamburg, Wilhelmsburg. In 1937, Harburg-Wilhelmsburg ...

(1 December 1933 to 16 March 1935) and the 19th SS-''Standarte'' in

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state distr ...

(16 March 1935 to 1 April 1936). From April 1936 to 1 January 1939 he was commander of SS-''Abschitt'' IX headquartered in Nuremberg (Würzburg from January 1938). From 1 January 1939 to 1 June 1942 he was Chief of Staff in the ''

SS-Oberabschnitt Units and commands of the ''Schutzstaffel'' were organizational titles used by the SS to describe the many groups, forces, and formations that existed within the SS from its inception in 1923 to the eventual fall of Nazi Germany in 1945. The SS ...

'' (Main District) "Northwest" (renamed "Nordsee" in April 1940) based in

Altona, Hamburg Altona (), also called Hamburg-Altona, is the westernmost urban borough (''Bezirk'') of the German city state of Hamburg, on the right bank of the Elbe river. From 1640 to 1864, Altona was under the administration of the Danish monarchy. Alto ...

Second World War

After the German invasion of the Soviet Union, Tensfeld was appointed the first SS and Police Leader (SSPF) " Charkov" in the

from 4 August 1941 to 19 May 1943, also serving as the temporary SSPF in " Shitomir" from April to May 1943 when the incumbent, SS-''

Gruppenführer __NOTOC__ ''Gruppenführer'' (, ) was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP), first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA. Since then, the term ''Gruppenführer'' is also used for leaders of groups/teams of the police, fire de ...

'' Otto Hellwig, was on leave. On 19 May 1943, Tensfeld was transferred to succeed SS-''Brigadeführer'' Hans Döring in the post of SSPF " Stalino- Donezgebiet," serving there until 4 September 1943. Tensfeld was next sent as an SSPF for special assignment under the Supreme SS and Police Leader in Italy, SS-'' Obergruppenführer''

Karl Wolff Karl Friedrich Otto Wolff (13 May 1900 – 17 July 1984) was a German SS functionary who served as Chief of Personal Staff Reichsführer-SS (Heinrich Himmler) and an SS liaison to Adolf Hitler during World War II. He ended the war as the Supre ...

, where he became the German liaison officer to the

fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

regime recently established as the

Italian Social Republic The Italian Social Republic ( it, Repubblica Sociale Italiana, ; RSI), known as the National Republican State of Italy ( it, Stato Nazionale Repubblicano d'Italia, SNRI) prior to December 1943 but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò ...

. Then on 23 January 1944, he was named SSPF "Oberitalien-West" (Upper Italy-West) with his headquarters at

Monza Monza (, ; lmo, label=Lombard language, Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po River, Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capit ...

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

. Tensfeld commanded a 3,200-strong German-Italian force, including the 15th SS Police Regiment, that defeated a much larger force of about 6,000 partisans in the recently proclaimed Republic of Ossola between 12 and 17 October 1944. For his actions, Wolff recommended Tensfeld for the German Cross in Gold, which he was awarded on 15 February 1945. Toward the end of the war, Tensfeld was captured by the British on 30 April 1945 in Monza, and was held as 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 wa ...

at the

Island Farm Island Farm, also called Camp 198, was a prisoner of war camp on the outskirts of the town of Bridgend, South Wales. It hosted a number of Axis prisoners, mainly German, and was the scene of the largest escape attempt by German POWs in Britain d ...

Special Camp XI in

Bridgend Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge ...

. He was indicted by a British military tribunal in

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

for war crimes against Italian partisans and for the murder of an escaped British POW but was acquitted in April 1947. Released from custody later that year, he returned to Germany and died in Hamburg in 1982.

Awards

Below is a partial list of Tensfeld's 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 est ...

1st class (September 1943) and 2nd class (March 1943) * German Cross in gold (February 1945) *

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 Merit ...

1st and 2nd class with Swords

References

Sources

* * * *

External links

Willy Tensfeld Profile at Special Camp XI

(in Polish)
Monza under the Nazi Occupation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tensfeld, Willy 1893 births 1982 deaths German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United Kingdom Imperial German Navy personnel of World War I People from Segeberg People indicted for war crimes People acquitted of international crimes Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Iron Cross (1939), 1st class Recipients of the Iron Cross (1939), 2nd class Recipients of the War Merit Cross SS and Police Leaders SS-Brigadeführer