Scharnhorst survivors

[Eddieq]

Hi All

Has anyone ever come across (either in literature or on the net) a list of the names of the 36 Scharnhorst survivors. I’ve searched and haven’t managed to locate anything apart from a few odd names.

Cheers

[Fritz]

Yes, Siegbert Bielefeld from Hamburg-Wandsbek was on board the Scharnhorst and survived the sinking. I knew him personally, he had a very lame leg for the rest of his life. He ran the Hotel Pension am Husarendenkmal in Wandsbek.
Unfortunately I don't have any more information on him.
You can try the Deutsches Marine Forum on internet, they have a list of all personnel of the Kriegsmarine during WW2, however, these are individual entries, very comprehensive but not guaranteed complete.

https://www.historisches-marinearchiv.de/projekte/crewlisten/ww2/ausgabe.php?where_value=32386&lang_cl=1

 

 

[Eddieq]

Hi

Thanks for the information, I will follow the lead up, I’m particular looking for someone called  Karl Leonhard.

it must have been great to have known someone connected to such an event. 

I had the fortune of knowing someone called Wilhelm ‘Bill’ Kohrs (not sure of the spelling). He was an actual member of the Fuhrerbegleitkommando who, after internment in the Uk for a number of years, lived his life out as a farm labourer in Derbyshire. He never really talked about anything during the war even though he enjoyed many a pint and was a great story teller, but always said that he would tell his story before he died. He never got the chance as he died in his late seventies, fairly swiftly of cancer. Just before he died, and aware of my interest, he gave me a pair of glasses in a case that were left at a conference by Theodore Eicke, they even have the equivalent of a prescription certificate in the case to prove their provenance.

Whatever your view on the situation you can’t help wondering what aspects of history these people experienced.

 

e

[Lance Shippey]

I have done much research on the survivors of Scharnhorst. My interest stems from my father having served at Royal Marine on board HMS Duke of York during the sinking of Schlachtschiff Scharnhorst on 26th.Dec.1943. My father became friends with survivor Johnny Merkle, who spoke fluent English, having grown up in Canada. Johnny was in the Scharnhorst boxing team, and my father in the boxing team of HMS Duke of York. My father was responsible for also escorting the 36 survivors from Scapa Flow to Latimer house (Near Chesham) for interrogation. It was at Latimer house that Churchill asked my father what the survivors had been given to eat whilst on board HMS Duke of York. {They had been given rations for survivors rather than rations for P.O.W.s.

 

Siegbert Bielefeld was NOT one of the survivors of Scharnhorst when sunk on 26th. Dec. 1943.

Karl Leonhard was not shown as a crew member of Scharnhorst.

You can read some of the history of the survivors I have posted on German website Forum Marinearchiv.de Scharnhorst ueberlebenen.

or Lance Shippey Scharnhorst ueberlebenen (written in German and English)  and search Lance Shippey Scharnhorst survivors, which should bring up several forum sites I have posted information on in English.

 

Lance Shippey

Cheshire, U.K.

[Fritz]

Sigbert Bielefeld told me in the late 1970s that he had survived the sinking of the Scharnhorst. He had already been on board the Bismarck, but was transferred elsewhere before it set sail. The crew lists of the archive are by no means complete, but may be added to from time to time.

[Eddieq]

I have these two awards for Karl Leonhard (or Leonhardt), one of which mentions the Scharnhorst - hence my original question.

Regards

E

[Fritz]

Have you managed to decypher the signatures on the documents?  Would not be difficult to find out.

[Eddieq]

Hi

The signature on the Iron Cross document is Generaladmirale Wilhelm Marschall - I’m not sure about the signature on the War Merit Cross doc.

E

[Survivors]

Hi, I found this card in my grandfathers effects - I believe it has signatures of all 36 survivors

 

[Kenny Andrew]

Hi Survivors could you post a picture please 

[Eddieq]

Yes that would be great!

[NilsCalvin]

This topic is a bit older, but here is a list of the 36 survivors picked up by the RN destroyers after Scharnhorst's sinking at North Cape:

MaschOGfr Johann Achilles

MtrOGfr Wilhelm Alsen

MtrOGfr Helmut Backhaus

MtrGfr Rudi Birke

MtrOGfr Günther Bohle

MtrGfr Helmut Bökhoff

MaschOGfr Helmut Feifer

OMaat Wilhelm Gödde

MtrOGfr Heinz Grönewond

MtrGfr Fritz Hager

MtrHGfr Wilhelm Hövedesbrunken

OBtsm Johann Kastenholz

MtrGfr Wilhelm Köster

SteurmnGfr Wilhelm Kruse

MaschOGfr Franz Laiß

MtrGfr Gerhard Lobin

Btsm Heinrich Löffelholz

Mtr Günther Lorke

MaschOGfr Franz Marko

MechGfr Johann "Johnny" Merkle

MtrOGfr Heinz Pfeil

MtrHGfr Max Rauschert

MechGfr Ernst Reimann

MtrOGfr Max Schäfer

MaschOGfr Paul Schaffrath

Maat Franz Scherer

MtrOGfr Hermann Schütz

MaschHGfr Hans Steiniganz

MtrOGfr Günter Sträter

MtrOGfr Hans Trzebiatowski

ZimOGfr Martin Wallek

MtrOGfr Nikolaus Wiebusch

MechGfr Johann Wiest

MtrOGfr Hubert Witte

MaschHGfr Rolf Zanger

MechGfr Horst Zaubitzer

 

Sources are: historisches-marinearchiv.de, Eric Grove's German Surface Raiders 1942-1944 from Scharnhorst to Tirpitz, and corroborating photos online of the signature card mentioned above, and a Scharnhorst survivors reunion card. (the card mentioned above includes signatures of 32 of the 36 survivors, plus Admiral Fraser's and Admiral Burnett's)