What is this badge on KM uniform?

[Frank Heukemes]

Dear all,

What is this badge this Kapitän zur See is wearing???
Looks like a Silesian Eagle but that should not be possible by regulations

Cheers, Frank H.

[Frank Heukemes]

Even if you do not have a final answer, please give me your thoughts on this one. The pic is 100% contemporary.

Cheers, Frank H.

[Frank Heukemes]

It was suggested to me by a member that this is indeed a Kapitänleutnant, not a Kapitän zur See. I am not that firm in KM sleeve insignia and on te back it reads Kapitän zur See Klaus Deußen, born 1900 in O./S., died April 1st 1945 in Schlüchtern.

Now for the interesting part: As I can see by your missing suggestions for anything but a Silesian Eagle, we will have to assume that it is that award. At least it is exactly that shape and size. BUT! There is in my opinion NO WAY that a black Silesian Eagle can appear like this on the photo. It must be a white one or at least one in shiny metal!!!

I do not want to dispute that the white Silesian that me and Claudio Ortelli etc. showed in a thread on the Imperial Forum eagle might be a fake, but give me an explanation for this photo. It was a friend of my father´s who fell next to him during the last weeks of the war. This pic is of course taken earlier.

Cheers, Frank H.

[JensF.]

Hi Frank,

Kapitänleutnant is right. There was nothing in the regulations that this award was not allowed to be worn. It was an official award after hmmmm... 1935 I think.

Greetings

[Rick Research]

Actually I think this IS the smooth black painted version of the Silesian eagle, turned so it is reflecting. It might also be the enamelled version, but is definitely black, from other similar photos I have seen.

Oddly enough, the Reichsmarine allowed the wear in uniform of all sorts of the 1919-34 awards, veterans' self-purchased awards, Freikorps badges, etc etc. You find all sorts of weird things being worn in navy photos. The Reichsheer, on the other hand, banned all that unofficial stuff.

The basic division in attitude was: the navy mutinied in November 1918, so the members of naval Freikorps were the hard-core "loyal" men, against the Reds. The "professional" army 1918-20, stayed in their barracks, polishing their boots, drawing paychecks-- and looked down their noses at the "hooligan" volunteers of army Freikorps.

So, to the NAVY, Freikorps was "good, disciplined, loyal, dependable"... while to the ARMY, Freikorps was "bad, undisciplined, insubordinate, unreliable"....

Klaus Deußen was born 7 March 1900. He entered the Imperial Navy as a cadet in July 1916 (!) and was commissioned Leutnant zS (ernannt) 18.9.18 (!), picking up an EK2 as a watch officer on torpedo boat "T134." He left the navy 28.2.19-- obviously for at least 6 months in Silesia 1919 or 1921, but was recalled to active naval service 1 July 1923. (That lost him some seniority, thereafter he was listed among the Crew of 1918, not 1916). Promoted Oberleutnant zS 1.7.25, would have made Kapitänleutnant zS 1931/2, this photo 1934-37. Korvettenkapitän zS 1.4.37, FregKapt ca 1940, Kapitän zur See 1.6.42.

He was listed as a mines specialist in the Ranglisten.

[Glenn2438]

Deußen

Frank,

there is an entry for Kapitän zur See Klaus Deussen in the biography section of "Die Deutsche Kriegsmarine 1939-1945" by Lohmann and Hildebrand as follows:

"Class VII/16
Born 7 Mar 1900 in Bauerwitz/Leobschütz
Promoted Kapt. z. See on 1st June 1942
Oberkommando der Marine, Expert MWa IIIa: Aug 39 - Feb 40
OKM, Expert SWa Ia: Feb 40 - Jul 42
Staff Marine Oberkommmando Norwegen, 2nd Admiral's Staff Officer: July 42 - Mar 43
Commandant Naval Arsenal Gotenhafen: April 43 - Jan 44
Naval Liaison Officer to Army Group North: Feb 44 - Sep 44
Recruiting District Commander Kolberg: Sep 44 - Jan 45
At disposal of Marine Oberkommando Baltic and battle commander Schlüctern: Feb 45
Killed in action 1st April 45"

Commissioned on the 18th of Sep 1918 he retired on the 28th of February 1919. Reactivated on the 1st of July 1923, promoted Oberleutnant z. See on 1st July 1925 (20). I don't have his Kaptitänleutnant promotion date but he was promoted to Korvettenkapitän on 1st April 1937 (4).

As your photo shows him as a Kapitänleutnant, it was therefore taken before 1937.

Regards
Glenn

[Klaus O.]

Dear Frank,

To me the Silesian eagle 1st class looks to be made of a shiny dark grey metal. Maybe we can see it so clearly on your photo, because the light was reflecting directly on the badge. I don't think that it's a white Silesian eagle, shown by you and me in a previous thread.

Just my 0.2 Euro cents...

Ciao,

Claudio

[Frank Heukemes]

Thanks for this data. You convinced me that this is the regular Silesian Eagle 1st class playing some trick on us in the light of the sun.

Here you get to see the reverse of the photo. Kapitän zur See Deußen fell right next to my father in battle, facing US troops with remnants of different parts of the Army, Navy and SS at Schlüchtern, Germany during the last weeks of the war.

The inscrpition reads:

Klaus Deußen
Kapitän zur See
born 1900 in O./S.
died April 1st 1945 in Schlüchtern

(the above written by his widow)

(now in the handwriting of my father):

-given as a souvenir-
on August 13th 1946 by Frau Anneliese Deußen

Then you see a drawing my father made of Deussen´s grave. Below the drawing: "Grave of Kapitän zur See Klaus Deussen and of two soldiers and three civilians who fell next to him at "Kies" in Schlüchtern."

I remember I told you somewhere before that my father has Deußen´s silver Commander´s Schnapsglas and drinks his digestivs from it. If I remember that right (I have to ask my father again), Deußen was his commander during the last weeks of German resistance in the Schlüchtern area. I always thought that was strange and that my father probably mixed something up with Deußen being Kriegsmarine and my father Panzergrenadier but now, after reading Glenn´s "battle commander Feb. 1945, Schlüchtern" this rings very true. According to what my father told me some 20 years ago, Deußen was a very nice, yet brave man that fought in the front row with his men when he fell.

Cheers, Frank H.

[Rick Research]

Like Luftwaffe air crews with no gasoline for their planes, sent untrained into infantry combat in the Eifel, Kriegsmarine personnel were pulled out and tossed into ground combat just like 15 year old HJ at the end.

I've got a 1920s ribbon bar of a naval officer who went back to the 1900-1901 China Expedition-- killed in action in East Prussia as a "zur Verfügung" elderly WW2 recalled retiree. He had 3 weeks "infantry" training as a cadet... in the 1890s!!!

Which makes the composition of VOLKSTURM units even more amazing-- men too old for WW-ONE, amputees, cripples....

[Rick Research]

Looking at this photo again, I'm more sure that it is the painted metal "official" type, note the shadow and light on the wings and body from the stamped 3-D highlights. By contrast, in the silly thread I started "More Wonder Photos..." the Kapitänleutnant (MA) there is definitely wearing the unofficial, vanity enamelled version, which is totally flat except for the crescent and "Für Schlesien" riband.