German pilot and journalist
Kurt Dahlmann
(4 March 1918 – 29 August 2017) was a German pilot, attorney, journalist, newspaper editor and political activist. He was also a recipient of the
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
of
Nazi Germany
.
Early life
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Dahlmann was born in
Konigsberg
(today
Kaliningrad
). In 1925 Dahlmann and his family moved to
Danzig
, where he was educated.
[1]
Upon completing his
Abitur
in 1936 he took up flight training at the Fliegerubungsstelle (flight training center) at Marienburg in
Elbing
. He began his flying career smuggling rationed gasoline from Germany to
Poland
in a light two seat aircraft, the second seat being used to hold a 60-litre (13 imp gal; 16 US gal) gasoline canister.
[1]
Following obligatory service in the
Reichsarbeitsdienst
he was inducted into the
Luftwaffe
in November 1937 and furthered his flight training at
Luftkriegsschule
3 (LKS 3?3rd air war school), Wildpark-West near
Werder
. In 1939 shortly before the start of the
Second World War
he received his commission as a
Luftwaffe
Lieutenant
.
[1]
Second World War
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Dahlmann was further trained as a bomber and ground attack pilot, flying both
Junkers Ju 88
and
Fw 190
in that role. He participated in the Polish Campaign, the Battle of Britain, and the campaign against France as well as the North African Campaign under
Rommel
at the controls of a
Junkers Ju 88
. He was never shot down although, according to him, he did have to leave his aircraft involuntarily on various occasions.
[2]
Dahlmann later specialized in solo night bombing attacks against specific high-value targets. These missions included weapons factories in Britain, British airfields, late war harassing bombing raids over London and attacking the
Remagen
bridge which was the first Allied open crossing over the
Rhine
river into Germany.
[2]
He was also personally assigned a specially stripped-down, high-speed
Fw 190
for target marking and pathfinding missions.
[2]
He flew over 350 combat missions throughout Europe between September 1940 and 8 May 1945 (
VE Day
), and was awarded the
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
(No. 711) for flying 200 missions and subsequently the Oak Leaves for having successfully completed 300 combat missions, becoming the highest-decorated German
Jabo
(Schlachtflieger) pilot of the war.
[3]
He finished the war as a
major
commanding a total of three
squadrons
, I./SKG 10, III./KG 51 and NSG 20; all were equipped with variations of fast nocturnal attack aircraft based on the
Fw 190
.
[4]
Post-war
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Following his release as an Allied
POW
, Dahlmann studied law at the
university of Kiel
in northern Germany, which he completed in 1949 and subsequently became a member of the bar in
Schleswig-Holstein
. Shortly thereafter he became a junior correspondent for the
Kieler Nachrichten
newspaper which was to be the start to his second career.
In 1958 he left Germany for
South West Africa
(modern
Namibia
), where he was hired by the
Allgemeine Zeitung
newspaper in
Windhoek
. He remained there until 1978 as editor in chief, then was fired, in part, for his liberal political views on
apartheid
. Between 1979 and 1984 he ventured into business within the local tourism and advertising sectors.
[5]
From 1984 until 1985 he was
editor
of the German language
Namibia Nachrichten
thought to have been funded by the West German government.
[5]
After a long battle with
cancer
, which forced his return to Germany to seek treatment, Dahlmann moved into a public assisted-living facility in
Baden-Baden
. He died in August 2017 at the age of 99.
[6]
Political activism
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]
Writing under the pen name Stachus, symbolised as a potted cactus with an oblique
dip pen
, Dahlmann was adamant about the fleeting nature of
apartheid
. He wrote many editorials on this topic suggesting ways that Namibia and South Africa should address the issue of inevitable black rule in both countries.
[7]
His views so grated Diether Lauenstein, who had recently purchased the paper, that he was fired from the
Allgemeine Zeitung
newspaper in 1978. Dahlmann alleged that Lauenstein fired him on 20 April 1978, the birthday of
Adolf Hitler
. Lauenstein was adamantly opposed to Namibian independence, and his enthusiastic support for apartheid as well as the continued South African rule of the territory placed him at odds with Dahlmanns' own views, which were generally in favour of independence and majority rule.
[8]
Dahlmann would later state publicly that the acquisition of the paper by Lauenstein was at the behest of the South African government with the view of expanding its dominance over Namibia.
[9]
Dahlmanns' Namibian activism was based on three premises: the end of apartheid, continued independence vs integration with South Africa, and universal, race- and gender-independent,
suffrage
for all Namibians.
[8]
Awards and decorations
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References
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Citations
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Bibliography
[
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]
- Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer
(2000) [1986].
Die Trager des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939?1945 ? Die Inhaber der hochsten 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 Ritterkreuztrager 1939?1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbundeter Streitkrafte 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
.
- Stockert, Peter (2008).
Die Eichenlaubtrager 1939?1945 Band 8
[
The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939?1945 Volume 8
] (in German). Bad Friedrichshall, Germany: Friedrichshaller Rundblick.
OCLC
76072662
.
- Thomas, Franz (1997).
Die Eichenlaubtrager 1939?1945 Band 1: A?K
[
The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939?1945 Volume 1: A?K
] (in German). Osnabruck, Germany: Biblio-Verlag.
ISBN
978-3-7648-2299-6
.
External links
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