Ernst Udet The Ultimate German

[Benoit Douville]

He is a World War I Ace with 62 victories but more impressive is the fact that he didn't want to take part in the Third Reich and their racial policies, he committed suicide on November 17 1941.

[sniper1shot]

If I am not mistaken (though I usually am....) Udet commited suicide due to his inability to properly keep up with his position in the new Luftwaffe.
I do not remember the posn he held, off the top of my head, but he fell out of favour w/the TR Higher Ups.

[Doktor Krollspell]

Hello Gentlemen!

Here are some photographs and some links on the famous German WWI Ace Ernst Udet who rose to the rank of Generaloberst in the Luftwaffe. He was one of the relatively few Officers that were awarded the highest awards from both World Wars, i e the Pour-le-Merité and the Ritterkreuz.


Ernst Udet in WWI

http://www.all-science-fair-projects.com


Ernst Udet in WWII

http://www.leisuregalleries.com


http://www.ritterkreuztraeger-1939-45.d ... twaffe.htm

http://www.geocities.com/%7Eorion47/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Udet

http://www.acepilots.com/wwi/ger_udet.html


Regards,

Krollspell

[Iron_Bismarck]

He is a World War I Ace with 62 victories but more impressive is the fact that he didn't want to take part in the Third Reich and their racial policies, he committed suicide on November 17 1941.

Are you saying he's the "ultimate German" because he committed suicide?? I'm confused.

[Hans]

If he was the ultimate German it does not say much for the rest of them.
"He was an enthusiast for fighters and dive-bombers.., but neglected the development of heavy bombers. A man of brilliance but not an administrator, he became depressed by the Luftwaffe's failure in the Battle of Britain (hardly an example of non committment to the "Cause") and by criticisms of technical failures. when Milch temporarily overruled his plans to produce a new fighter plane, the Fw190, and stopped Messerschmitt's work on a jet fighter, Udet shot himself in Nov. 1941."
- Taylor & Shaw.

As I said doesn't say much for the rest of us, if he was the best there was.

- Hans

[Iron_Bismarck]

I may be biased. I just watched the movie, "The Devil's General", which I only later learned was but loosely based upon Udet's life. The Udet character in the movie was a drunken lout, who was rude to everybody without cause, was rough and uncouth, and yet "holier-than-thou". But that's only a largely fictional movie.

It seems tragic to me that Udet committed suicide. According to Wikipedia, he did so b/c of Luftwaffe head, Reichsmarshall Albert Goering:

According to Udet's biography, The Fall of an Eagle, he wrote a suicide note in red pencil which included: "Ingelein, why have you left me?" and "Iron One, you are responsible for my death". With "Ingelein" referring to his girlfriend, Inge Bleyle, and "Iron One" to Göring. The book The Luftwaffe War Diaries states something similar, that Udet wrote "Reichsmarschall, Reichsmarschall, why have you deserted me?" in red on the headboard of his bed.

Then, to top it off, his death resulted in the death of another German fighter Ace Werner Mölders (101 kills) en route to his funeral (!):

On November 22, 1941 he was flying as a passenger in a He-111 from the Crimea to Germany to attend the funeral of his superior and friend, Ernst Udet. Attempting to land at Breslau during a thunderstorm, the aircraft crashed. Mölders and the pilot were killed.

I don't know what kind of pressure Udet was under (according to the movie, Udet was harboring an anti-Nazi saboteur and was under investigation by the Gestapo), but through his depression he let Goering not only get to him, but Mölders too.

I may not know all the details, but depression and suicide cannot be the answers to anything.

[PsyWar.Org]

Udet was certainly a colourful character. The reason for his suicide is all speculation I believe. He certainly was a heavy drinker and prone to bouts of depression. It has been said he was being blamed for the Luftwaffe’s failure in the Battle of Britain and on the Eastern Front, that his peers were intriguing against him and that he was overawed by his position in the Third Reich. Even that he was saddened by an alleged prohibition on his flying.

There have been two biographies of Udet, that I’m aware of:

- A Man’s Life by Hans Herlin, translated by Mervyn Savill, Macdonald & Co Ltd, 1958

- The Fall of an Eagle – The Life of Fighter Ace Ernst Udet by Armand van Ishoven, translated by Chaz Bowyer, William Kimber & Co Ltd, 1977.

A Man’s Life was the first published and is very sycophantic towards Udet. It is solely based on the recollections of Udet’s inner circle.

The Fall of an Eagle is much better researched but still, in my opinion, relies too heavily on A Man’s Life.

It’s interesting to note that Goebbels’ Propaganda Ministry never acknowledged that Udet committed suicide. The official explanation for his death is that he died in an aircraft crash.

I’d be interested to hear if Udet’s suicide has ever been properly confirmed, other than from the testimony of Udet’s mistress and valet.

[pzrmeyer2]

One can still visit both the graves of Udet and Molders in the Invalidenfriedhof in Berlin....

[Schultz]

Udet was indeed a great man who was later brought down by political and economical reason not by his fighting character, he was not a desk jockey (which he was turned into) he was a pilot.
In my opinion after reading his book and maney writings of people who knew him he was a great pilot and i never heard of him saying he was an politician or engineer, he was put in to a position before the war because he was famous to people world wide (HIGHEST SCORING LIVING ACE).
He was a great man, invented air tactics before others who insult him weren't even born.

Schultz

[Benoit Douville]

Iron Bismarck,

What I am saying is that he was the ultimate German because he refused to get involved in the Third Reich and their racial policies.

Regards

[Liam]

Unfortunately he did get involved in the Third Reich - he was a high-ranking officer in the nazi-gestated Luftwaffe! He was also partly responsible for the rise of that arm to become the terror of many a civilian in the period 1939-41. Udet strikes me as a fantasist who wanted war to be some sort of chivalric duel and was simply out of his depth in the modern world of war that he had helped create.

[Benoit Douville]

Following your logic all Allied Bombers crews are responsible fo killing innocent civilians all over Germany...

Regards

[phylo_roadking]

LOL now let's not forget that there have been people on here in the past arguing that of course they were responsible, by simply not being prepared to stand up and refuse to fly such missions You know, the people who forget there are such things as military discipline, duty, King's Regulations, Courts Martial etc. ...

[Liam]

Personally I think if you're going to put someone forward for being the 'ultimate German' there are much better canditates - JS Bach and Beethoven for a start and maybe Beckenbauer or Claudia Schieffer...