Bernhard Rogge (4 November 1899 – 29 June 1982) was a German naval officer who, during World War II, commanded a merchant raider. Later, he became a Konteradmiral in West Germany's navy.
Bernhard Rogge | |
---|---|
Born | Schleswig, Prussia, German Empire | 4 November 1899
Died | 29 June 1982 Reinbek, West Germany | (aged 82)
Allegiance | German Empire (to 1918) Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany (to 1945) West Germany |
Service/ | Imperial German Navy Reichsmarine Kriegsmarine West German Navy |
Years of service | 1915–45 1957–62 |
Rank | Vizeadmiral (Kriegsmarine) Konteradmiral (West German Navy) |
Commands held | SSS Niobe (in deputize) SSS Gorch Fock SSS Albert Leo Schlageter Auxiliary cruiser Atlantis |
Battles/wars | World War I
World War II |
Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Great Cross of Merit |
Rogge became a Vizeadmiral (vice-admiral) by the end of World War II, and, when the West German navy was established after the war, returned to service as a Konteradmiral (rear-admiral). He also was one of the few German officers of flag rank who was not arrested by the Allies after the war. This was due to the way he had exercised his command of Atlantis.
Rogge was born in Schleswig, the son of a Lutheran minister, and was himself devoutly religious.[1] His grandfather, on his mother's side, was Jewish.
J. Armstrong White, captain of the British merchant ship City of Bagdad, which Atlantis sank in July 1940, stated, "His treatment of prisoners left respect, instead of hatred". White later wrote the foreword to Atlantis, the Story of a German Surface Raider, written by U. Mohr & A. V. Sellwood.
Admiral Karl Dönitz, who was prosecuted for war crimes at the Nuremberg Trials, cited his own support of Rogge, who had a Jewish grandparent, in an effort to clear himself of the charge of being antisemitic.[2]
Rogge confirmed the death sentence of the 21-year-old sailor Johann Christian Süß. Süß was sentenced to death on 10 May 1945, two days after the German capitulation, for "undermining the discipline" and "disruptive speeches" based on paragraph 5 numeral 2 of the Kriegssonderstrafrechtsverordnung (KSSVO—Special War Criminal Regulation). Süß was executed by firing squad on 11 May 1945.[3]