1. Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke was a German general of paratroop forces during World War II.
31 Facts About Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke
1. 2.
Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke led units in Crete, North Africa, Italy, the Soviet Union and France, and was captured by American forces at the conclusion of the Battle for Brest in September 1944.
3.
Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds, one of only 27 people in the German military so decorated.
4.
Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke was an ardent Nazi who committed war crimes in Crete and France.
5.
In 1951 Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke was convicted of war crimes against French civilians during the Battle for Brest, but was released after three months, since he had already spent nearly five years in prison.
6.
Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke fought in the West with the Marine-Infanterie, mainly in the area of Flanders.
7.
In 1919 Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke fought against the Bolshevik forces in the Baltic region as a member of the "Russian Army of the West", composed mostly of German veterans.
8.
Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke continued to serve in the new Wehrmacht, attaining the rank of Oberstleutnant in 1937.
9.
On 19 July 1940, Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke was transferred to the 7th Flieger Division under the command of General Kurt Student and was promoted to Oberst.
10.
Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke was promoted to Generalmajor on 22 July 1941.
11.
Rather than surrender, Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke led his troops out of the British trap and headed west, losing about 450 men in the process.
12.
Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke was sent back to Germany, where he was awarded the Oak Leaves to the Knights Cross personally by Adolf Hitler.
13.
Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke led his division in an assault on Italian Army units near Rome, and captured the city two days later.
14.
Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke was badly injured when an Italian aircraft ran his car off the road, and was medically evacuated to Germany.
15.
Also in 1943, Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke completed a memoir entitled From Cabin Boy to Paratroop General.
16.
The German forces in the region fell back on Brest, and Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke assumed command of the garrison, now known as Festung Brest.
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Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke was determined to carry out this order, and justified doing so on the grounds that continuing the resistance at Brest would divert Allied forces away from Germany.
18.
Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke deployed the paratroopers to strengthen positions held by poorly trained and equipped units, including the 343rd Infantry Division, who made up most of the garrison.
19.
Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke ordered the destruction of all facilities in Brest which could be used by the Allied forces for any purpose.
20.
When US Brigadier General, Charles Canham, who was at the time the deputy commander of the 8th Infantry Division, arrived to accept the surrender of German troops in Brest, Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke asked the lower-ranking man to show his credentials.
21.
The American officer judged that Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke was "an egotistical, conceited Nazi" and "a firm believer in Hitler and greatly inclined to the [Nazi] Party".
22.
Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke was then transferred to the Trent Park facility for captured senior German officers in London.
23.
Von Choltitz believed that Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke's actions constituted a war crime.
24.
Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke was later moved to the United States as a prisoner of war.
25.
Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke was later transferred to a camp at Luneburg and gave evidence in Student's war crimes trial.
26.
From 1946 Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke was held in French custody awaiting trial for war crimes relating to the fighting at Brest.
27.
Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke was released after three months' imprisonment either on account of his age or due to having already been held in French captivity for five years before the verdict.
28.
At a rally of SS veterans in October 1952 Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke gave a lengthy speech critical of the Western Allies, during which he claimed that they were the real war criminals.
29.
In November 1952, Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke told a group of former SS men attending a HIAG meeting they should be proud of being blacklisted, while stating that in the future their blacklist would instead be seen as a "list of honor".
30.
Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke's remarks caused a furor in Germany; even the former SS General Felix Steiner distanced himself from them.
31.
Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke published two autobiographies, one during the war and the other in 1951.