Execution for Duty

The Life, Trial & Murder of a U-boat Captain

Peter C. Hansen

• Publisher: Pen & Sword Maritime
• Year: 2006
• Print ISBN: 9781844153220
• eBook ISBN: 9781781596210
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military Biographies
• Index: History

A true story of betrayal and murder withing the German navy and Nazi military court is revealed in this WWII biography of a U boat Captain. In 1937, Oskar Heinz Kusch joined the German Navy. By the time he finished naval college, the Second World War had begun. Kusch volunteered to serve on U boats and, with his distinguished record, he soon gained his own command in the 2nd U boat Flotilla. Before his second operational voyage as Captain of U 154, three new junior officers joined the submarine. Confirmed Nazi patriots who constantly praised their heroes of the Reich, they were not popular aboard—especially with Kusch, who was ideologically opposed to the Nazi regime despite his military service. During that voyage, the three hatched a plan to dishonor their Captain and accuse him of treason. The trial was corrupt and rigged. No latitude was given from higher authorities and no account of his distinguished career was taken into consideration. To the amazement of the court, orders were given that Kusch was to be shot.

CHAPTER ONE

From the Shadows of the Past

It was a sunny day in April 1934, the temperature becoming hotter daily, when a group of thirty-six schoolboys under the supervision of their teachers of ancient history and languages were boarding their motor-coach, which had obviously covered a lot of miles already. They were on the customary art and cultural tour of Greece required in those years for senior high school pupils attending a humanistic high school, where Greek and Latin were obligatory subjects, although English and French were likewise emphasized. The best and most ambitious boys would sign up for a choice of Spanish, Russian or one of the oriental languages in addition. These youngsters were healthy boys, loaded with energy, yet still quite playful. They tended to be rather noisy and liked to play tricks or silly pranks on each other or, if possible, their teachers, provided they might get away uncaught.

Athens and its numerous temples and classical sites had been visited during the previous thirteen days. As usual, many of the boys responded with more tolerance than enthusiasm, not to mention unbounded curiosity, which they often reserved for other matters. They had travelled by several ferries to various Greek islands and enjoyed those trips very much, having a good time aboard the vessels, where the supervision by their teachers was less strict.

They loved some of the beaches and were surreptitiously watching girls with a pair of binoculars that was circulating among them. After all, most of the columns and ruins were almost alike, while the girls were different and more interesting. However, neither the general Greek cuisine nor the sanitary facilities met with their approval, and were the subject of cynical remarks, impolite jokes and at times, unfair comparisons.

But as every day grew hotter, their enthusiasm for climbing hills, walking on dirt roads or steep, cobblestoned streets markedly decreased. They rose earlier every morning to absorb their cultural and visiting programmes while the temperature was still bearable. Green plants, bushes or trees were quite rare and the flowers had already wilted in most places. Any sort of shade or cool breeze was becoming rare. Yet their demanding itinerary, planned by their teachers, had so far been covered as scheduled. Today would be their final day in Greece, and they had advanced getting up by another fifteen minutes.

The boys were a bit sleepy, yet looked forward to their final day with considerable excitement, as they had heard that the ferry steamer from Patras to Italy dispensed free wine to all passengers. Their motorcoach appeared with groaning brakes and blowing black fumes as the driver stopped in front of their small hotel in Sparta. The youngsters boarded quickly, while the two teachers counted heads and settled the bills, making sure no luggage remained behind and that the luncheon baskets were stored in the coolest place possible. After honking repeatedly and loudly the motorcoach slowly started to move, then gradually gained speed.

Soon they left Sparta’s outskirts and commenced their climb into the mountains. The motorcoach huffed and puffed, its engine periodically misfiring and coughing, as the altitude increased. The road wound upwards in ever narrower serpentine curves, crossing rocky gorges that alternated with steep cliffs. It seemed that nobody could possibly live here. But there were goats and sheep here and there, guarded by shepherds who appeared to sleep standing up, leaving the work to their huge dogs, who kept the animals in line.

Finally, the saddle of the mountain pass came in sight, the object of the morning’s visit. Thankfully, the driver shut off the hot engine and opened the exit doors. The windows were already wide open as there was no air-conditioning anywhere in those days, least of all in Greece. Everybody tumbled out into the sun of the mountainside, some of the pupils cursing silently, others wishing to get it over with quickly. Canteens filled with now warm lemonade were passed around among the group to moisten their already parched throats. Both teachers sweated profusely, and some of the boys used their handkerchiefs quite often. Fortunately, the walk from the parking area was short.

The group stood bunched together before a slab of stone hewn out of the rock of the mountain pass a long time before. The inscription was no longer easy to read and rather dirty. Professor Heller moved as close as possible to the rockside and translated the inscription for his pupils, most of them silently hoping this would not take too long, as the sun was growing fiercer by the minute. The boys just stood and listened as their language instructor read them the story: ‘Wanderer, when you reach Sparta, pray tell the people that you have seen us buried here, lying in the ground, dead, as the law demanded of us!’

The name of the leader, Leonidas, who had defended this narrow mountain pass with three hundred Spartan soldiers to the last man, was not even mentioned. Fighting against Xerxes and thousands of Persian conquerors intent upon raiding and raping Sparta in the year 430 BC, Leonidas and his column of men fought to hold the Thermopylae pass, until not a single man of them was left alive. The Persians with their overwhelming numbers prevailed, looting Sparta, capturing her women and treasures.

An eerie silence had suddenly fallen over the group. Professor Lambeck quoted from Roman history: ‘It is sweet and glorious to die for your country’, adding, ‘Even if in vain!’ Both teachers now slowly removed their hats. The heat was momentarily forgotten, cold shivers crept along the backs of the boys and cold sweat along those of the two teachers. A few minutes of reverent silence prevailed, before the group walked back to their motor-coach, very slowly. The shadow of death had just touched these youngsters for the very first time.

Surprisingly, the motor caught immediately, to the delight of the driver, and the bus rolled down the other side of the Thermopylae pass in long serpentine loops on the lonely road, with total quiet inside. Only when they approached the port of Patras did the conversation gradually resume. Professor Heller, who had been gassed and severely wounded at the Somme in 1917, when he became a prisoner of war in England, felt that these youngsters needed some further information, and gave them his view of things.

He started thus:

Boys, no such thing can ever happen to you, because our leader Adolf Hitler spent over four years in the trenches of the Western Front, seeing people die and experiencing personally this terrible tragedy of needless and useless war, where the best fellows die while the politicians gain more power and the industrial lobbies more markets. But because Hitler was for so long on the very front line, he will never allow another European war to develop. Therefore, it is an impossibility that Germany and Great Britain would ever again fight each other to the sole advantage of Russia and the Asian powers, as this would be nothing but fratricide.

Professor Lambeck, the history teacher, took a deep breath when he heard this statement, and decided to qualify it gently: ‘My friend and colleague is a great believer in many things. Sadly, I am unable to agree with him on that particular point.’ The boys’ ears perked up to hear every word that was coming. Lambeck continued: ‘I shall be very happy if that is what will happen, but I have my doubts, as politicians seldom excel in matching their deeds to their words. The pressure by their followers tends to push them into corners they have problems getting out of again.’ Lambeck had served in the last war mainly in Russia, had been twice wounded, still walked with a limp and had one glass eye. He was the most respected supervisor of examinations, as the pupils were never sure where he was looking, and he caught cheats regularly. In 1916, he had been left as dead in the deep winter snow of the Eastern Front, becoming a Russian prisoner of war. He had spent considerable time in rough places, including Siberia, which he nevertheless grew to love.

Lambeck continued deliberately,

Germany has the Reichswehr of 100,000 professionals, including officers, and the Reichsmarine of another 15,000 men, including officers. These are defensive forces only, imposed by that awful and vengeful Treaty of Versailles and shortsighted, narrow-minded French petit bourgeois lawyers and politicians, who occupied pleasant postings way behind the front lines during the war. Such an army and navy are barely sufficient to defend our present borders. But they are also unable to launch large attacks or wage a war of attrition. As long as this remains so, peace will prevail.

However, should Hitler and his party suddenly decide that they want to increase the armed forces substantially and reintroduce obligatory military conscription for all males who have their heads straight on their bodies, peace will quickly disappear, like the snow in the spring, and another European or world war is certain within five years at the most.

Sighing, he added wistfully, ‘Just when you fellows are getting to be old enough to fight and die! Though I keep my fingers crossed that this scenario will not materialize, yet I am highly sceptical that it won’t happen.’

Heller now chimed in once more:

Let’s hope and pray that Dr Lambeck is too pessimistic, due to his past experiences. I would like to emphasize that I do not wish anything like he mentioned to become reality, because it is too dreadful to contemplate. As I said before, Adolf Hitler himself suffered through the horrors of trench warfare, so he will not permit it to be repeated! What you have seen today was warfare of a different time, where the leaders fought at the head of their column of soldiers, unlike nowadays when the top commanders work in pleasant castles behind the front lines and never experience war’s frightfulness.

Changing the subject, I should like to tell you that a similar school group of British boys and their teachers will travel with us on the ferry steamer this evening. Many of them, I have been told, are international Boy Scouts. As some of you have been members of that organization in Germany, before they were merged into the various Hitler Youth Groups, perhaps you might encounter former friends from international meetings in the past. As I am acquainted with their teachers, I ask that you do not become involved in things you would be ashamed of later. However, on the ferry steamer there are always huge and long parties with music and a lot of fun. We expect you will participate and join the crowd. But retain control of yourselves, even while you are having a splendid time.

We are now entering the port city of Patras, and tomorrow we shall arrive in Mussolini’s Italy, where the trains run punctually. Please act like adults and the civilized, cultured men that you aim to be in a few years. When you are aboard the overnight ferry steamer, don’t just hang around with your closest classmates, but mix with the English boys and make some new friends! We shall see you tomorrow morning bright eyed and bushy tailed when we reach Brindisi to board the express train to Rome and beyond. Remember, we have seat reservations in coach number eight. We teachers shall play bridge with the English teachers as a foursome, as we already know the entertainment and music from previous trips.

The boys left the motorcoach in a rush, disappearing below decks to find their sleeping quarters. The teachers checked that nothing had been left behind, handed the driver a bulging envelope of drachmas and embarked on the ferry steamer to find their cabin.

Those advertised free samples of wine aboard were indeed provided, but it was of the weakest type of wine available, as this was cheaper and safer than drinking tapwater, while bottled water was expensive. As Dr Heller had told the youngsters, there was lively music on the ship and two different bands playing with great gusto and enthusiasm, both the latest tunes and many nostalgic oldies. Within an hour of leaving Patras, the two groups of youngsters had mixed easily, and all took considerable advantage of the free wine.

The sailors and musicians laughed about their initial shyness, which disappeared rapidly with the growing consumption of wine. There were no suitable dancing partners, apart from a few older widows of considerable weight. The boys had a great time and calculated they could nap tomorrow on the train, to catch up on lost sleep. Therefore, they talked excitedly and occasionally sang along with the melodies with which they were familiar.

Heller’s prediction came true. Several of the boys had met before, during international Boy Scout Jamborees. Two decided to become blood brothers on the voyage, secretly swearing eternal fealty to each other. Several years later they would meet again, unexpectedly and under very different circumstances, but their fealty, their personal faithfulness, would remain firm and unbroken.

Upon arrival, the two school groups stumbled onto the station platform, somewhat hung-over and tired but content. They entered the onward express train to Rome yawning with pale faces. Once the train started to move, most decided to take a snooze until they arrived in Rome to change trains for their respective homelands.

Within a few more months, Hitler ordered the introduction of obligatory military service for all healthy males between 17 and 39 years of age, which was later increased to 55 years of age. As Dr Lambeck had unhappily predicted, the start of the Second World War was nothing but a question of time.

Naturally, the entire development was accompanied by an incredible storm of super-patriotic propaganda, camouflaged as self-defence and protection of the fatherland from evil enemies and political criminals. As the German minister for propaganda and public enlightenment, Joseph Goebbels, said many times, ‘The bigger the lies, the more believable they are for most people.’

Having the advantage of hindsight, I can take a look ahead in history, not to speculate, but to let you readers know what would happen to those bright and spirited boys and their dedicated teachers in the war to come.

It is sad to have to report that not one of the four teachers survived. Naturally, they were considerably older to start with. But from the thirty-three English public school pupils nine were still around in 1945, two of them with severe injuries for the rest of their lives; while from thirty-six German pupils only seven survived the war, three of them having war-induced injuries for the rest of their days.

However, those two boys, Telford D. G. Bassington and Frank W. Petersen, who had secretly become blood brothers swearing eternal fealty to each other were among the lucky survivors, as prisoners of war.

CHAPTER TWO

A Somewhat Involuntary Naval Career

Oskar Heinz Kusch was born on 6 April 1918 in Berlin. His parents, Heinz and Erna Auguste Kusch, neé Kohls, had married during the First World War and Oskar was their only child. Heinz Kusch was an executive and director of a large insurance company.

In autumn 1924 Oskar started elementary school, and in 1928 he transferred to the combined junior and senior high school, the Hohenzollern Humanistic Gymnasium, after passing the entry examinations with high marks. Shortly after being admitted to the Hohenzollern High School, Oskar joined the Boy Scout organization called Wandervogel, or ‘The Migratory Birds’. He made many lifelong friends both in his high school and in his Boy Scout groups.

In 1932, this Boy Scout group merged with several other independent pathfinder groups to strengthen their organization, which was renamed Bündische Jugend, usually called Bündische for short. This was an alliance of various Boy Scout groups patterned after the International Boy Scouts and Pathfinder organization founded by the former British general, Robert Baden-Powell.

Oskar participated in international meetings, called Jamborees, with campfire nostalgia, secret ceremonies, lots of singing or play-acting and different games in tented assembly camps, where youngsters from several countries met and mingled.

On 30 January 1933, Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany. In his acceptance speech he stated, ‘Give me four years of time, German people, also give my party four years of time, and I promise you that you will not recognize your country any more!’

Within two years the Nazi government ordered all existing independent youth groups to be disbanded, and forced them to merge and transfer into the various Hitler Youth organizations. Youngsters between 9 and 13 years of age were placed into the Jungvolk, while those from 14 to 19 were put into the different Hitler Youth groups. The Bündische Boy Scouts organization agreed to this consolidation reluctantly, but decided to transfer with their entire leadership intact, to remain half-way in control, hoping somehow to preserve their organization.

All groups, organizations and individuals who refused this government order were posted automatically on the black list of the Gestapo, as prohibited groups, outlawed organizations and dangerous individuals hostile to the Nazi state. Such ‘unreliable’ people would come under permanent police observation and they would be increasingly harassed by the Gestapo.

Many boys started to wear long hair, rather than the Prussian hedgehog haircut favoured by the government. The youngsters grew to dislike the officially promoted type of music and songs, such as marching tunes, military band music and inspirational Party songs, which the young fellows considered dreary. Privately, millions of young Germans turned into enthusiastic fans of the so-called new music, American jazz, Southern Dixieland and related tunes. The Tiger Rag, the Highland Swing and even the Lambeth Walk grew constantly more popular and fashionable among young people. Ella Fitzgerald became one of the most celebrated singers, while the Glenn Miller orchestra and Tommy Dorsey’s band rose to status symbols.

Millions of young people looking for niches to escape the Nazi pressure to conform embraced all things American and English as much more desirable than the Nazi standards pushed by the various government agencies. Increasingly, young men reported sick to skip Hitler Youth meetings and the organized Nazi-ordered activities. But the Nazi functionaries caught on quickly. Teachers and youngsters were advised that participation in Hitler Youth meetings, which grew steadily more strident and militaristic, was more important than any type of schoolwork and surpassed the private interests of their homes, regardless of what their parents preferred.

In autumn 1936, Oskar Kusch passed his final senior hi...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Dedication
• Foreword
• Acknowledgements
• Historical Introduction
• Chapter 1: From the Shadows of the Past
• Chapter 2: A Somewhat Involuntary Naval Career
• Chapter 3: Caught in the Revolving Door
• Chapter 4: Seeing is Believing
• Chapter 5: The U-boat Commander
• Chapter 6: Tilting at Windmills
• Chapter 7: An Interlude of Fate
• Chapter 8: The Building of the Avalanche
• Chapter 9: The Court Martial
• Chapter 10: The Aftermath
• Chapter 11: Skating on Ever Thinner Ice
• Chapter 12: Muddling Through Somehow
• Chapter 13: Last-Minute Games and Gambles
• Chapter 14: A Very Surprising Survival
• Chapter 15: Post-war Changes and Cold War Switches
• Chapter 16: The Big Whitewash
• Chapter 17: Unpredictable Uncertainties Pending
• Chapter 18: Fanatics During the Finale
• Chapter 19: Better Late than Never
• Plates
• Epilogue
• Appendix: Comparative Naval Ranks, 1939-45
• Glossary of Naval Terms
• Select Bibliography
• Index