Ewald Lindloff (27 September 1908 – 2 May 1945) was a

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...

officer during

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 opposing ...

, who was present in the '' Führerbunker'' on 30 April 1945, when Hitler committed suicide. He was placed in charge of disposing of Hitler's remains. Lindloff was later killed during the break-out on 2 May 1945 while crossing the

Weidendammer Bridge The Weidendammer Bridge is a bridge where the Friedrichstraße crosses the Spree river in the central Mitte district of Berlin, Germany. It is notable for its ornate wrought iron railings, lanterns, and Imperial eagles. History In 1685, ...

under heavy fire 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 ...

Biography

Ewald Lindloff was born in Stuba near Danzig (now Stobna,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

). Lindloff attended engineering college during the years 1928 to 1933. He joined the ''

Schutzstaffel The ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS; also stylized as ''ᛋᛋ'' with Armanen runes; ; "Protection Squadron") was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe duri ...

'' (SS) on 1 May 1932. On 15 July 1933, Lindloff was accepted into the ''Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler'' (LSSAH). He married Ilse Borchert, a secretary for Hitler's staff officers on 4 February 1938. He was promoted to the officer rank of SS-''

Untersturmführer (, ; short: ''Ustuf'') was a paramilitary rank of the German ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) first created in July 1934. The rank can trace its origins to the older SA rank of ''Sturmführer'' which had existed since the founding of the SA in 1921. ...

'' on 30 January 1941. From 20 October 1942 until 10 May 1943, Lindloff was on active combat duty with the LSSAH. He was promoted to the rank of SS-''

Obersturmführer __NOTOC__ (, ; short: ''Ostuf'') was a Nazi Germany paramilitary rank that was used in several Nazi organisations, such as the SA, SS, NSKK and the NSFK. The rank of ''Obersturmführer'' was first created in 1932 as the result of an expa ...

'' on 9 November 1941; and promoted to SS-''Hauptsturmführer'' (captain) on 30 January 1945.

Berlin

By April 1945, he was a member of the ''Leibstandarte'' (LSSAH) Guard Battalion and '' Führerbegleitkommando'' (Führer Escort Command; FBK), which was assigned to guard Hitler in Berlin. Lindloff was present in the ''Führerbunker'' on the afternoon of 30 April 1945, when Hitler and

Eva Braun Eva Anna Paula Hitler (; 6 February 1912 – 30 April 1945) was a German photographer who was the longtime companion and briefly the wife of Adolf Hitler. Braun met Hitler in Munich when she was a 17-year-old assistant and model for his ...

committed suicide. Afterwards, Lindloff, Hans Reisser,

Peter Högl Peter Högl (19 August 1897 – 2 May 1945) was a German officer holding the rank of SS-''Obersturmbannführer'' (lieutenant colonel) who was a member of one of Adolf Hitler's bodyguard units. He spent time in the ''Führerbunker'' in Berlin at ...

and

Heinz Linge Heinz Linge (23 March 1913 – 9 March 1980) was a German SS officer who served as a valet for the leader of Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler, and became known for his close personal proximity to historical events. Linge was present in the ''Füh ...

carried Hitler's blanket-wrapped corpse up the stairs to ground level and through the bunker's emergency exit to the bombed-out garden behind the

Reich Chancellery The Reich Chancellery (german: Reichskanzlei) was the traditional name of the office of the Chancellor of Germany (then called ''Reichskanzler'') in the period of the German Reich from 1878 to 1945. The Chancellery's seat, selected and prepared ...

. The lifeless bodies of Hitler and Braun were doused with petrol. After the first attempts to ignite the petrol failed, Linge reentered the bunker and then returned with a thick roll of papers. Martin Bormann lit the papers and threw the torch onto the bodies. As the two corpses caught fire, a small group, including Otto Günsche, Bormann, Högl, Linge, Lindloff, Reisser, Erich Kempka and Joseph Goebbels raised their arms in Nazi salute as they stood just inside the bunker doorway. After the salute, the men reentered the bunker complex. Approximately 30 minutes later, SS-''

Sturmbannführer __NOTOC__ ''Sturmbannführer'' (; ) was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank equivalent to major that was used in several Nazi organizations, such as the SA, SS, and the NSFK. The rank originated from German shock troop units of the First World War ...

'' Günsche ordered Lindloff to go and see how far the cremation had progressed and to bury the remains in the Chancellery garden; thus attempting to keep Hitler’s remains from being captured by the Soviet

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, afte ...

. Lindloff went out and checked on the situation. He reported back to Günsche that the bodies were "already charred and torn open". The corpses "were in a horrible condition" in no small part due to the detonation of Soviet artillery and the shrapnel produced from the explosions. On and off during the afternoon the Soviets shelled the area in and around the Reich Chancellery. SS guards brought over additional cans of petrol to further burn the corpses. Just after 18:30 hours, Lindloff reported to Günsche that he had carried out his orders as to the disposal of the remains with the aid of fellow FBK member, SS-''

'' Hans Reisser. By 30 April 1945, the Soviet Army was less than 500 metres from the bunker complex. In one of Hitler's last orders, he had given permission for the Berlin forces to attempt a breakout of the Soviet encirclement after his death. General

Helmuth Weidling Helmuth Otto Ludwig Weidling (2 November 1891 – 17 November 1955) was a German general during World War II. He was the last commander of the Berlin Defence Area during the Battle of Berlin, and led the defence of the city against Soviet forc ...

, commander of the Berlin Defence Area, and SS-''

Brigadeführer ''Brigadeführer'' (, ) was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) that was used between the years of 1932 to 1945. It was mainly known for its use as an SS rank. As an SA rank, it was used after briefly being known as ''Untergruppenf ...

Wilhelm Mohnke Wilhelm Mohnke (15 March 1911 – 6 August 2001) was one of the original members of the SS-Staff Guard (''Stabswache'') "Berlin" formed in March 1933. From those ranks, Mohnke rose to become one of Adolf Hitler's last remaining generals. He joi ...

, the (''Kommandant'') Battle Commander for the centre government district, devised a plan to escape out from Berlin to the Allies on the western side of the Elbe or to the German Army to the North. Mohnke split up the Reich Chancellery and ''Führerbunker'' soldiers and personnel into ten main groups. Lindloff left the Reich Chancellery as part of one of the groups attempting to break out. After midnight on 2 May 1945, Lindloff was part of a large group of German soldiers and civilians who crossed the

while under heavy fire from Soviet tanks and guns. Lindloff and Högl were both killed during the crossing of the bridge. Lindloff was aged 36.

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* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lindloff, Ewald 1908 births 1945 deaths People from Nowy Dwór Gdański County People from West Prussia SS-Hauptsturmführer Waffen-SS personnel German military personnel killed in World War II

Biography

Berlin

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