SS-Sturmbannführer Erich-Günter Schulze of the Wiking"

[John P. Moore]

The former SS-Sturmbannführer Erich-Günter Schulze joined the SS-Nachrichtensturmbann in Berlin-Adlershof in 1937, served as signal officer in the SS-Panzergrenadier Regiment "Westland" from December 1942 until February 1944 and was commander of II./SS-Führungs Nachrichten Regiment 502 in 1945. He is the brother of SS-Sturmbannführer Willi Schulze, who was a company commander in Regiment "Germania", and later division adjutant and finally adjutant of the IV.SS Panzer Korps and holder of the German Cross in Gold.

All of the photos that I will be showing were given to me by Günter Schulze.

Schulze in April 1942 as adjutant of the SS signal school in Nürnberg. Note the Army eagle on his cap.

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[John P. Moore]

Schulze in the center holding his Führerdegen as adjutant of the SS signal school at a swearing in ceremony in November 1940. The Sturmbannführer in the top center is the later Standartenführer Hans Loh, the school commander.

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[John P. Moore]

The same event at the Nürnberg SS Kaserne in November 1940. Günter Schulze is on the far left and Loh is in the center. There appears to have been a good turnout of local party and SA members.

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[Paul E]

Great photos John , i have a signed copy of the first one , is Erich-Günter Schulze still on the go ??

regards

Paul

[John P. Moore]

Thanks Paul. Unfortunately, Günter Schulze died three years ago from a sudden heart attack on April 27, 2005 in Wolfsburg. He and his wife traveled extensively throughout the world during his retirement and I would receive postcards from him every couple of months.

Schulze on the left in 1943 near Charkow with Obersturmbannführer August Dieckmann, the commander of SS-Panzergrenadier Regiment "Westland", in the center and the regimental admin officer Kurt Rösch on the right.

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[Phil Nix]

Schulze in the center holding his Führerdegen as adjutant of the SS signal school at a swearing in ceremony in November 1940. The Sturmbannführer in the top center is the later Standartenführer Hans Loh, the school commander.

Schulze-&-Loh---1940.jpg

Who is the SS Oberführer on Loh's right
Phil Nix

[John P. Moore]

Phil - A warm welcome to Feldgrau. I'm glad to see you here. Unfortunately, I don't know who the Oberführer is, but perhaps some else does.

Here is a similar photo from a different time. Günter Schulze is on the left with Eugen Schlotter in the middle attending a ceremony with the Polizeipräsident, SS-Obergruppenführer Dr. Benno Martin, in Nürnberg early in 1942. Schulze and Schlotter would not see each other again after 1942 until I put them in contact with each other shortly before the signal reunion in 1995 where Schlotter gave me his sword and Totenkopfring.

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[Paul E]

Sad news indeed John.

Paul

[Phil Nix]

Phil - A warm welcome to Feldgrau. I'm glad to see you here. Unfortunately, I don't know who the Oberführer is, but perhaps some else does.

Here is a similar photo from a different time. Günter Schulze is on the left with Eugen Schlotter in the middle attending a ceremony with the Polizeipräsident, SS-Obergruppenführer Dr. Benno Martin, in Nürnberg early in 1942. Schulze and Schlotter would not see each other again after 1942 until I put them in contact with each other shortly before the signal reunion in 1995 where Schlotter gave me his sword and Totenkopfring.

Schulze-and-Martin.jpg

Thanks for the info on this pic I have a print of the original from Jost Schneider. 2nd Left is SS Of Franz Fischer with SS Staf Willibald Faustnext to him. On Martins left isSS Bf Paul Will and on his right is SS Bf Otto Kuschow
Phil Nix

[John P. Moore]

Phil - Thanks for identifying some of the other personalities in the photo.

Only the back of Schulze`s head can be seen in this photo below, but the significance is that it was taken on October 9, 1943 on the day before August Dieckmann was killed while leading the attack on the Fuchsswanzinsel/Fox Tail Island. Dieckmann is seated on the left at the birthday party of Hauptsturmführer Hubert Bretterbauer, the regimental TFW. This is believed to be the final photo of Dieckmann while he was still living.

Schulze provided the following account of his actions during the battle of the Fuchsschwanzhalbinsel where he received the Infantry Assault Badge during October 1943 when his regimental commander, August Dieckmann was killed: “The command post of the Regiment “Westland” was in Moschny about six kilometers from the Dnieper River. The Russians had established a bridgehead on the Fuchsschwanzhalbinsel to the left of both of our battalions. To the right of Regiment “Westland” was a large forest, the Tscherkassy Forest, and a swamp area infested with partisans. The Freiwilligen-Sturmbrigade “Wallonie” under Leon Degrelle was responsible for securing the right flank.

The I.Bataillon was sent out under the leadership of the regimental commander, Dieckmann, to take control of Fuchschwanzhalbinsel. A battlegroup of about two companies was established from replacement units, drivers, supply personnel and some Wehrmacht soldiers to fill any breaks along the Dnieper. I was placed in command of this battlegroup. My command post was located about 1 1/2 kilometers behind the forward lines. We took control of the shores of the large and small island. To reach these islands we used a fast motor boat from the engineers.

An attempt in the morning fog by a Russian patrol to reach our lines with small boats was beaten back. In the night Russian paratroopers made a drop to reach the partisans in the woods. The paratroops jumped too soon and landed in my area and that of the neighboring battalion. We fought these paratroops throughout the night and into the morning. We took some prisoners and only a small number of the paratroops succeeded in making it to the partisan woods. Except for Russian sharpshooters our front was then quiet. Our regimental commander Dieckmann was killed immediately by a shell from a Russian tank while leading his men in the forward lines during the attack on Fuchsschwanzhalbinsel on October 10, 1943.“

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[Marc Rikmenspoel]

Thanks for these images John, and for updates on the related material you first published in your Signal Officers book. Ever since I first read about Schulze and Dieckmann there, I've been wondering something. The Westland Munin book, with text by your friend Fritz Hahl, is very critical of Gille for ordering the attack on Fox Tail Island. They claim he should have known the regiment only had a few scratched together elements available for the attack, and that the only way the attack could be made was a suicidal frontal assault. Dieckmann considered it a point of honor to lead this doomed attack, knowing he was likely to be killed. Did Schulze or Hahl even discuss this aspect with you?

[John P. Moore]

Thanks Marc. Neither Schulze or Hahl ever made a negative remark about Gille to me. I need to write to Fritz Hahl anyway and I'll ask him to elaborate on his feelings about Gille and the failed attack.

Schulze outside the "Westland" regimental command bunker in October 1943 on the Dnieper.

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[John P. Moore]

After the German capitulation, Sturmbannführer Schulze surrendered his battalion to an American armored unit in Italy. It is interesting to note that the commander of the US armored unit requested Schulze to have about 90 of his men participate daily in joint anti-partisan patrols with the Americans. These operations went well and Schulze's troops were fully armed and led by their German officers, who were armed with pistols. Schulze and his unit were later sent to POW camps at Modena and Rimini in southern Italy and later turned over to the British by the Americans.

As a result of the prohibitions placed on former members of the Waffen-SS after the Nürnberg trials, Schulze was unable to pursue his intended profession in electronics or mechanical engineering and went to work in his father-in-law's bakery near Wolfsburg . The bakery prospered under Schulze and upon his retirement, Günter Schulze turned over the operation of the bakery to his son.

Erich-Günter Schulze and his wife at a veterans reunion in 1991.

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[John P. Moore]

Here's a newspaper clipping that Schulze sent me from 1992 announcing the opening of an expansion to his bakery that included a standup cafe. The article mentions that Schulze owns the oldest bakery in Vorsfelde, having first opened in 1865. Schulze is the fellow standing in the front of the photo.

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[John P. Moore]

Last July Marc Rikmenspoel posted the query here about the feelings of "Westland" veterans towards the division commander, Herbert Gille, over the attack on Foxtail Island in October 1943. I posed some questions to Fritz Hahl concerning the attack and received a lengthy response. Here are a few of his comments. The relationship between Gille and the "Westland" regimental commander August Dieckmann was "sehr angespannt" (very strained). Gille was regarded as a "Massenmörder mit der Brille" (mass murder with glasses) by some because he was an artilleryman with no appreciation for the infantry. Several unsuccessful attacks by the "Westland" regiment against the Soviet bridegehead on Foxtail Island had taken place earlier in October. Gille ordered another attack for the 10th of October. The combat strength of the entire "Westland" regiment had been reduced to approximately 60 men because of earlier casualties. Hahl's 6th Company attacked with a strength of 20 men out of an authorized strength of 120 men. After the attack the "Westland" had a battle strength of only 20 men! The others having been killed or wounded through fire from artillery or infantry weapons. Hahl believes that he was wounded in the right thigh by the same sniper that shot August Dieckmann. Hahl also mentioned in his letter that he was badly wounded for the 7th time one year later on October 12, 1944 by a piece of artillery shrapnel to his left ankle. Despite his war wounds Fritz Hahl still gets around very well as I learned when we did some mountain climbing together a few years ago where he set a fast pace.

John