Yesterday I received an email from Georg Mehrle, the brother of my friend Dr. Hans Mehrle, with the sad news we were expecting, but were hoping would not come.
“3 hours ago my brother died softly and gently. God saved him for
suffering further pains.”
The list that someone is updating here (RK holders still living) unfortunately must be edited again.
Hans Mehrle was a truly wonderful man. He joined the Heer ilegally, he told me, a few months before he turned 18 in 1940. After the campaign in the West he attended Infanterie Schule Döberitz, at the former Olympic Village just outside Berlin. He told me his room mates and he were occupying the room that belonged to the Japanese pole vault team during the 1936 Olympics.
He rejoined his Regiment (380 IR, 215 ID) as a young Leutnant and was soon shipped to the Eastern Front to join Heeres Gruppe Nord, with which they reached the outskirts of Leningrad, when temperatures dropped to –45. Leutnant Mehrle’s division fought the Soviet Army very close with the Spanish “Blue Division”. When the Spaniards withdrew, Mehrle took up residence in one of their bunkers.
In April 1944, in the vicinity of Breja, Soviet forces made a sudden attack against units of A.R. 215, and managed to capture several artillery pieces. Oberleutnant Mehrle then led five of his men in a action which involved over 2 hours of close combat and resulted in the recapture of the batteries. For this action, Hans Mehle was awarded the RK, which he received on his birthday, the 15th of April. He was the youngest man in his division to be awarded the RK.
He was later promoted to Hauptmann, and became the youngest Hptm. in the Heer at 22.
Dr. Mehrle also told me about his time in the Kurland Pocket in late 1944-March 1945. So many divisions were stuck there while Germany itself was under threat, that it was finally decided to bring some of these units back to protect the fatherland. At the port of Libau, he was tasked with organizing and managing the evacuation by ship of thousands of men and equipment, which was carried out successfully. “That was a very interesting command” he said. Finally he himself was evacuated, and landed days later in Gottenhaffen (today´s Gydynia, Poland). Days later in the fighting around Gottenhaffen, a Soviet T 34 fired on Merhle´s position and a fragment injured his leg. He was evacuated to Denmark where he remained in hospital until capitulation.
After the war, Hans Mehrle attended law school at Freiburg, and was awarded the equivalent of a Juris Doctor. He practiced law as a notary public until well into his 80´s.
Hans Mehrle and his wife Eleonore were practicing Christians. He participated with other veterans in raising funds for te reconstruction of churches and other buildings that were destroyed in the former Soviet Union by his unit during the war. At a personal level, I have met very very few prople more genereous or kinder than the Mehrles. My wife and I got to know them over the last 3 years, and we both grew very fond of them. May he rest in peace.
I have put together a small slide show as a last tribute to our friend.
<div><embed src="http://widget-3c.slide.com/widgets/slideticker.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" quality="high" scale="noscale" salign="l" wmode="transparent" flashvars="cy=lt&il=1&channel=2377900603260430396& site=widget-3c.slide.com" style="width:600px;height:475px" name="flashticker" align="middle"></embed><div style="width:600px;text-align:left;"><a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=lt&at=un&id=2377900603260430396&map=1" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-3c.slide.com/p1/2377900603260430396/lt_t000_v000_s0un_f00/images/xslide1.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a> <a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=lt&at=un&id=2377900603260430396&map=2" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-3c.slide.com/p2/2377900603260430396/lt_t000_v000_s0un_f00/images/xslide2.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a></div></div>
“3 hours ago my brother died softly and gently. God saved him for
suffering further pains.”
The list that someone is updating here (RK holders still living) unfortunately must be edited again.
Hans Mehrle was a truly wonderful man. He joined the Heer ilegally, he told me, a few months before he turned 18 in 1940. After the campaign in the West he attended Infanterie Schule Döberitz, at the former Olympic Village just outside Berlin. He told me his room mates and he were occupying the room that belonged to the Japanese pole vault team during the 1936 Olympics.
He rejoined his Regiment (380 IR, 215 ID) as a young Leutnant and was soon shipped to the Eastern Front to join Heeres Gruppe Nord, with which they reached the outskirts of Leningrad, when temperatures dropped to –45. Leutnant Mehrle’s division fought the Soviet Army very close with the Spanish “Blue Division”. When the Spaniards withdrew, Mehrle took up residence in one of their bunkers.
In April 1944, in the vicinity of Breja, Soviet forces made a sudden attack against units of A.R. 215, and managed to capture several artillery pieces. Oberleutnant Mehrle then led five of his men in a action which involved over 2 hours of close combat and resulted in the recapture of the batteries. For this action, Hans Mehle was awarded the RK, which he received on his birthday, the 15th of April. He was the youngest man in his division to be awarded the RK.
He was later promoted to Hauptmann, and became the youngest Hptm. in the Heer at 22.
Dr. Mehrle also told me about his time in the Kurland Pocket in late 1944-March 1945. So many divisions were stuck there while Germany itself was under threat, that it was finally decided to bring some of these units back to protect the fatherland. At the port of Libau, he was tasked with organizing and managing the evacuation by ship of thousands of men and equipment, which was carried out successfully. “That was a very interesting command” he said. Finally he himself was evacuated, and landed days later in Gottenhaffen (today´s Gydynia, Poland). Days later in the fighting around Gottenhaffen, a Soviet T 34 fired on Merhle´s position and a fragment injured his leg. He was evacuated to Denmark where he remained in hospital until capitulation.
After the war, Hans Mehrle attended law school at Freiburg, and was awarded the equivalent of a Juris Doctor. He practiced law as a notary public until well into his 80´s.
Hans Mehrle and his wife Eleonore were practicing Christians. He participated with other veterans in raising funds for te reconstruction of churches and other buildings that were destroyed in the former Soviet Union by his unit during the war. At a personal level, I have met very very few prople more genereous or kinder than the Mehrles. My wife and I got to know them over the last 3 years, and we both grew very fond of them. May he rest in peace.
I have put together a small slide show as a last tribute to our friend.
<div><embed src="http://widget-3c.slide.com/widgets/slideticker.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" quality="high" scale="noscale" salign="l" wmode="transparent" flashvars="cy=lt&il=1&channel=2377900603260430396& site=widget-3c.slide.com" style="width:600px;height:475px" name="flashticker" align="middle"></embed><div style="width:600px;text-align:left;"><a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=lt&at=un&id=2377900603260430396&map=1" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-3c.slide.com/p1/2377900603260430396/lt_t000_v000_s0un_f00/images/xslide1.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a> <a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=lt&at=un&id=2377900603260430396&map=2" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-3c.slide.com/p2/2377900603260430396/lt_t000_v000_s0un_f00/images/xslide2.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a></div></div>
,I have received a letter from him there is a little more than one months.
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