Bernhard Rogge

Bernhard Rogge (4 November 1899 – 29 June 1982) was a German naval officer who, during World War II, commanded a merchant raider. Later, he became a Konteradmiral in West Germany's navy.

Bernhard Rogge
Born(1899-11-04)4 November 1899
Schleswig
Died29 June 1982(1982-06-29) (aged 82)
Reinbek
Allegiance German Empire (to 1918)
 Weimar Republic (to 1933)
 Nazi Germany
 West Germany
Service/branchImperial German Navy
Reichsmarine
Kriegsmarine
West German Navy
Years of service1915–45
1957–62
RankVizeadmiral (Kriegsmarine)
Konteradmiral (West German Navy)
Commands heldSSS Niobe (in deputize)
SSS Gorch Fock
SSS Albert Leo Schlageter
Auxiliary cruiser Atlantis
Battles/warsWorld War I
World War II
AwardsKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
Great Cross of Merit

Rogge became a Vizeadmiral (vice-admiral) by the end of World War II, and, when the West German navy was established after the war, returned to service as a Konteradmiral (rear-admiral). He also was one of the few German officers of flag rank who was not arrested by the Allies after the war. This was due to the way he had exercised his command of Atlantis.

Early life

Rogge was born in Schleswig, the son of a Lutheran minister, and was himself devoutly religious.[1]

Military career
  • 1915 — joins the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial German Navy) as a volunteer
  • After World War I — serves on various cruisers
  • Mid-1930s to 1939 — commander of the sail training ship SSS Albert Leo Schlageter
  • September 1939 — assigned to the German auxiliary cruiser Atlantis
    • Mid-December 1939 — Atlantis is formally commissioned
    • 31 March 1940 — Atlantis sets out to sea
    • 22 November 1941 — Atlantis is sunk by HMS Devonshire
    • 15 Apr 1942- Chief of Staff to Inspector of Training Affairs
    • 1 March 1943- promoted to Konteradmiral and Inspector of Training Affairs
    • 20 Sept 1944- Cdr Fleet Training Formations
    • 1 March 1945- promoted to Vizeadmiral
  • After World War II — discharged
  • 1 June 1957 — enters the post-World War II West German Bundesmarine with the rank of Konteradmiral
    • 1 June 1957 – 29 September 1957 — delegated with the Command of Military Area Command I
    • 30 September 1957 – 31 March 1962 — Commander of Military Area Command I
    • 15 April 1958 – 31 March 1962 — at the same time, NATO Commander of Land Forces in Schleswig-Holstein (COMLAND-SCHLESWIG)
  • 31 March 1962 — retires from the German Bundesmarine as a Konteradmiral

Assessment
Atlantis

J. Armstrong White, captain of the British merchant ship City of Bagdad, which Atlantis sank in July 1941, stated, "His treatment of prisoners left respect, instead of hatred". White later wrote the foreword to Atlantis, the Story of a German Surface Raider, written by U. Mohr & A. V. Sellwood.

Admiral Karl Dönitz, who was prosecuted for war crimes at the Nuremberg Trials, cited his own support of Rogge, who had a Jewish grandparent, in an effort to clear himself of the charge of being antisemitic.[2]

Rogge confirmed the death sentence of the 21-year-old sailor Johann Christian Süß. Süß was sentenced to death on 10 May 1945, two days after the German capitulation, for "undermining the discipline" and "disruptive speeches" based on paragraph 5 numeral 2 of the Kriegssonderstrafrechtsverordnung (KSSVO—Special War Criminal Regulation). Süß was executed by firing squad on 11 May 1945.[3]


Awards

Works
  • Rogge, Bernhard, and Wolfgang Frank. Under Ten Flags. New York: Ballantine, 1960; which is a translation of Schiff 16.[8]

References

Citations
  1. Gossage & Levitt 2012, p. 21.
  2. Leon Goldensohn. The Nuremberg Interviews. Vintage Books. New York. 2004. ISBN 1-4000-3043-9.
  3. "BORDGERICHT: S. Zt. erschossen". Der Spiegel. 28. 1965-07-07. Retrieved 2017-10-21.
  4. Thomas 1998, p. 222.
  5. Dörr 1996, p. 180.
  6. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 362.
  7. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 56.
  8. Rogge, Bernhard, and Wolfgang Frank. Under Ten Flags. New York: Ballantine, 1960. OCLC 14954520

Bibliography
  • Dörr, Manfred (1996). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Überwasserstreitkräfte der Kriegsmarine—Band 2: L–Z [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Surface Forces of the Navy—Volume 2: L–Z] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2497-6.
  • Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
  • Gossage, Carolyn; Levitt, Peter (2012). The Accidental Captives: The Story of Seven Women Alone in Nazi Germany. I.B.Tauris. ISBN 978-1-84885-991-3.
  • Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
  • Thomas, Franz (1998). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2: L–Z [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 2: L–Z] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2300-9.
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