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Wehrpass belonging to soldier executed May 10th. 1945
Little note: -
Wehrpass belonging to soldier executed May 10th. 1945
Dear fellow collectors!
Here I am about to show you an interesting wehrpass that belonged to Obergefreiter Johann Kselik. From 7.1.45 – 8.5.45 he was stationed in Norway (“Sicherung Norwegens”). But what makes this wehrpass interesting, is that it shows how much power the Germans had within their own lines after the capitulation here in Norway on May 8th 1945. In one of the pockets of the wehrpass I found a little note written with a typewriter, and it says: “Obgefr. Hans Kselik wegen Fahnenflucht zum Tode verurteilt. Urteil in der Nacht zum 10.5.45 vollstreckt“. Signed 6./Geb.Art.Rgt.931, Oberlt.u.Battr.=Chef.
He was executed on May 10th, two days after the Germans surrendered. The reason was “Fahnenflucht”, and those of us who have seen the film “Der Untergang” could hear this word a few times – he deserted, but was captured. So then, 60 years and a few months later, we can ask: Why did this young man aged 25, deserting from an army doomed to meet its own destiny, have to die!? Well, the wehrpass has an historic value as it shows that the Germans stationed in Norway more or less could do just what they wanted within their own lines, and that they actually used their weapons AFTER the capitulation…
A little piece of paper can have a huge historical value!
(In the wehrpass it says his first name is Johann, but on the little note it says Hans. So I guess Johann becomes Hans just as William is Bill in the US!?)
PS! I now have the KvK.IIkl. ribbon bar WITH swords. This is the medal he got.Last edited by militaria.no; 07-19-2005, 11:04 AM.Comment
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Very interesting group,Comment
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Very nice, and unusual.Comment
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Very interesting group indeed!Comment
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Wow, it's sad that this man was executed two days AFTER the war had ended. But the big question is did he desert before or after the war ended?
Very interesting group, with lots of historical value.
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I seem to recall that the allies allowed the Germans to carry out court martials (out of respect for military law) for some months after the surrender in May 1945.
The case that I remember involved the execution of German deserters by
surrendered German troops under Canadian control in Amsterdam. I think it was five days or so after the formal capitulation, that a German military court delivered death sentences on two German naval deserters.
The 'prosecution' had to demonstrate that the court martial was 'legal' in law usually for grounds such as desertion.
The allies provided the guns and ammunition for the firing squads.Comment
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Originally posted by Tyler Ramsey
Hello Tyler!
I think he must have deserted in the last months of the war. But the German army had more “problems” with mass desertion in other countries than Norway. After all serving in WH, SS or LW in Norway was far from as dangerous as in the Balkans or some other countries where they literally could feel the breath and bullets of the Russians. So what made him desert is, and will forever be, a huge mystery. Some collectors might be aware of the “Feldjägerkorps” and other units who were set to track down deserters (also portrayed in “Der Untergang”), but I have never read about these units being active on a huge scale in Norway. Perhaps Kselik were anxious about loved ones in Germany and just wanted to get home, and that he was arrested on the way out of Norway. Mere speculations, but this is also what makes collecting these items such an interesting hobby.
Anyway, the word “Fahnenflucht” proves that he was arrested while deserting from the army still in active service. That they chose to execute him AFTER the capitulation, during the night to May 10th, is a huge mystery. So close to the capitulation (+ 2 days) might show that the Germans ”had to take care of business within their own lines” before the Norwegian resistance got the entire overview of the situation. But this little paper shows that the Germans fired their mausers in Norway after May 8th, even though the barrels weren’t pointing towards a Norwegian...Last edited by militaria.no; 07-19-2005, 04:38 PM.Comment
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Originally posted by kev105
This is very interesting information kev105. That these executions were allowed in respect for military law sounds “logic”, or logic in the way that the allies respected the Germans needs to fulfill their own sentences. Hmmmmm anyway it is sad to see that this war took lives even after it ended…Comment
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This is a really fantastic group.Its good to see something thats not so run of the mill.
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The information detailed in my earlier post is contained in a book called:
"Victims of circumstance" by Chris Madsen "Canadian Military History" Volume two number one. Page 93.
"On the morning of 13 May 1945, five days after the formal capitulation of Hitler's Wehrmacht, a German military court delivered death sentences on two German naval deserters, Bruno Dorfer and Rainer Beck. The trial occurred in an abandoned Ford assembly plant on the outskirts of Amsterdam, a site used by the Canadian army for the concentration of German naval personnel. Later that same day, a German firing squad, supplied with captured German rifles and a three-ton truck from the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada (escorted by Canadian Captean Robert K. Swinton), executed the two German prisoners of war a short distance outside the enclosure. Dorfer and Beck were among the last victims of a military legal system distorted by the Nazi state. At the time no one, Canadian or German, questioned the justice of the event."
Originally posted by militaria.noComment
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Thank you Kev105, I appreciate that you took time to share this information and write it down here on the forumOriginally posted by kev105 I will make a copy of it, and let the story be a part of my Hans Kselik wehrpass collection :o)
Best regards
MariusComment
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Hello Marius,Originally posted by militaria.noThank you Kev105, I appreciate that you took time to share this information and write it down here on the forum I will make a copy of it, and let the story be a part of my Hans Kselik wehrpass collection :o)
Best regards
Marius
That is a sad story.
RegardsComment
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Poor chap....Comment
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