Karl Smidt

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Karl Smidt
Born(1903-08-30)30 August 1903
Neuenhaus
Died11 January 1984(1984-01-11) (aged 80)
Rendsburg
Allegiance Nazi Germany
 West Germany
Service/branchKriegsmarine
German Navy
Years of service1922–45
1956–63
RankKapitän zur See
Konteradmiral (Bundesmarine)
Commands heldJaguar
destroyer Z12 Erich Giese
destroyer Z27
Battles/warsSpanish Civil War
World War II
AwardsKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Karl Ernst Smidt (30 August 1903 – 11 January 1984[Note 1]) was German naval commander who reached the rank of Konteradmiral with the West German Navy. He served during World War II and was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. From 1961 to 1963 he was the NATO Commander-in-Chief of the German Fleet of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.

Early life and pre-war service[]

Smidt was born in Neuenhaus, district of Grafschaft Bentheim, in the Province of Hanover on 30 August 1903, the son of pastor Reinhard Petrus Wolbertus Smidt. He began his naval career with the Reichsmarine on 31 March 1922 as a member "Crew 1922" (the incoming class of 1922) after graduation from the humanistische Gymnasium (humanities-oriented secondary school) in Hameln with his Abitur (diploma). Smidt married Ruth Kühl in 1930. The marriage produced two daughters and a son, Antje, Hilke, and Wolbert Klaus, former First Director with the Federal Intelligence Service (Bundesnachrichtendienst). Smidt joined the Confessing Church (Bekennende Kirche) with pastor Hermann Steen in Holthusen, district of Weener, after making an official visit to the Emsland concentration camp Esterwegen near Papenburg in 1935.[3]

Awards[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ According to Dörr date of death is 10 January 1984, according to Scherzer 11 January 1984; his death announcements and obituaries in German newspapers proof that it was 11 January.[1][2]

References[]

Citations[]

  1. ^ Dörr 1996, p. 261.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Scherzer 2007, p. 708.
  3. ^ Alfred de Zayas. "Karl Ernst Smidt" (PDF). Ostfriesische Landschaft (in German). Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Dörr 1996, p. 262.
  5. ^ Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 447.
  6. ^ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 402.

Bibliography[]

  • Dörr, Manfred (1996). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Überwasserstreitkräfte der Kriegsmarine—Band 2: L–Z [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Surface Forces of the Navy—Volume 2: L–Z] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2497-6.
  • Hildebrand, Hans H.; Röhr, Albert; Steinmetz, Hans-Otto (1993). Die Deutschen Kriegsschiffe. 3. Ratingen: Mundus Verlag. ASIN B003VHSRKE.
  • (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
  • Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
  • Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
Military offices
Preceded by
Konteradmiral Rolf Johannesson 		Commander-in-Chief German Fleet (CINCGERFLEET)
1961 – 1963 		Succeeded by
Vizeadmiral Heinrich Gerlach
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