Helmuth von Ruckteschell
Encyclopedia
Helmuth von Ruckteschell (22 March 1890, Eilbek
- 24 June 1948, Hamburg
) was an officer in the German navy
, serving in both World War I
and World War II
.
He was one of the most successful merchant raider
commanders, serving as
the captain of the German
commerce raiders Widder
and Michel
during World War II
. He was, however, ruthless in the execution of his duty, and after the war was convicted of war crimes.
Arm.
He served as Watch Officer on and , before being given his own command in July 1917, first of , then, in March 1918, of .
He earned a reputation as an overly aggressive commander, which caused him to be placed on a black-list of officers that the Allied powers considered to have breached the laws of war
. This contrasted with his artistic and cultured nature. He was an avid reader and loved classical music, and was a student of Rudolf Steiner's Anthroposophy
.
After the war, he left Germany to escape the harassment suffered by former submariners at the hands of the victor nations. He lived in Sweden and Lapland for several years, earning a living as a lumberjack
and a surveyor, before returning to Germany in the early 1930s.
in 1939 and placed in command of an auxiliary minelayer
.
When he took command of the and sailed out into the Atlantic Ocean
on 6 May 1940, he commenced a cruise (finally ending on 31 October 1940) that would sink or capture a total of ten vessels. When Widder returned to Brest
, Ruckteschell refused the Naval Command's order to take the ship to Hamburg
, because he estimated the transfer through British controlled waters to be too risky. After returning to Germany, he took command of the commerce raider on its first cruise (9 March 1942 to 1 March 1943), in which fifteen ships were sunk or captured. Von Ruckteschell was then relieved at his own request for health reasons.
The measure of a commerce raiders success is both the tonnage destroyed and the time spent at large.
Ruckteschell accounted for 152,727 Tons GRT (second only to Ernst-Felix Krüder
of Pinguin
)
and stayed at large for 538 days, (second only to Bernhard Rogge
of Atlantis
); however, this was over two voyages.
Out of 13 voyages by 10 raiders,
Michel and Widder claimed 15 ships of 94,363 tons, and 10 ships of 58,464 tons respectively (4th and 6th highest),
and stayed at large for 358, and 180 days respectively ( 4th and 9th longest).
At the end of World War II Ruckteschell was on the staff of the German naval attaché in Japan and he was eventually located in an internment camp near Kobe
from where he was brought back to Germany for trial.
According to the British charges submitted to the United Nations War Crimes Commission
, the evidence revealed "at least one clear case of mass murder and several equally clear cases of the sinking of vessels whose crew were on the vessels when they were fired on, and were not picked up subsequently when on boats, rafts and in the water."
. Zippel tried to define the limitations of international law, called Vizeadmiral
Bernhard Rogge
as an expert witness
, and questioned the testimony of the British sailors. In closing, he asserted that "the law has recognized that in matters of sea even clever people are more liable to commit an error than in other walks of life".
The British military court convicted Ruckteschell on three of the five charges - Charges 1, 2, and 3 were upheld, while Charge 4 was rejected - and sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment. Three years were later remitted from his sentence on 30 August 1947.
The trial raised serious concerns about further war crimes trials involving naval affairs, since only one junior naval officer had sat as a judge during the trial, and army officers could not be expected to have a good knowledge of naval warfare; Zippel opined during the appeal that "a court composed of experienced sea officers would have arrived at a different judgment in the case". Royal Navy officers acknowledged that there was a real chance of a miscarriage of justice and the naval authorities actually discouraged further naval-related war crimes trials due to the difficulty of finding suitable naval officers to take part in them, and Ruckteschell's trial was the last held under the Royal Warrant
on behalf of the Royal Navy.
prison on 24 June 1948, shortly after hearing that he was to be released due to his deteriorating heart condition.
Eilbek
Eilbek is a quarter of the German city of Hamburg and part of the Wandsbek borough. It originated as an independent small village on the outskirts of Hamburg and was eventually incorporated when the city expanded...
- 24 June 1948, Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
) was an officer in the German navy
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
, serving in both World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
He was one of the most successful merchant raider
Merchant raider
Merchant raiders are ships which disguise themselves as non-combatant merchant vessels, whilst actually being armed and intending to attack enemy commerce. Germany used several merchant raiders early in World War I, and again early in World War II...
commanders, serving as
the captain of the German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
commerce raiders Widder
German auxiliary cruiser Widder
Widder was an auxiliary cruiser of the German Navy that was used as a merchant raider in the Second World War.Her Kriegsmarine designation was Schiff 21, to the Royal Navy she was Raider D....
and Michel
German auxiliary cruiser Michel
Michel was an auxiliary cruiser of the German Navy that operated as a merchant raider during World War II. Built by Danziger Werft in Danzig 1938/39 as the freighter Bielsko for Polish Gdynia-America-Line , she was requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine at the outbreak of World War II and converted...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He was, however, ruthless in the execution of his duty, and after the war was convicted of war crimes.
Pre-World War II
Born in 1890, he joined the German navy in 1910; in 1916, with the rank of Oberleutnant zur See, he transferred to the U-boatU-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
Arm.
He served as Watch Officer on and , before being given his own command in July 1917, first of , then, in March 1918, of .
He earned a reputation as an overly aggressive commander, which caused him to be placed on a black-list of officers that the Allied powers considered to have breached the laws of war
Laws of war
The law of war is a body of law concerning acceptable justifications to engage in war and the limits to acceptable wartime conduct...
. This contrasted with his artistic and cultured nature. He was an avid reader and loved classical music, and was a student of Rudolf Steiner's Anthroposophy
Anthroposophy
Anthroposophy, a philosophy founded by Rudolf Steiner, postulates the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensible spiritual world accessible to direct experience through inner development...
.
After the war, he left Germany to escape the harassment suffered by former submariners at the hands of the victor nations. He lived in Sweden and Lapland for several years, earning a living as a lumberjack
Lumberjack
A lumberjack is a worker in the logging industry who performs the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to a bygone era when hand tools were used in harvesting trees principally from virgin forest...
and a surveyor, before returning to Germany in the early 1930s.
World War II
Von Ruckteschell was recalled to duty in the KriegsmarineKriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
in 1939 and placed in command of an auxiliary minelayer
Minelayer
Minelaying is the act of deploying explosive mines. Historically this has been carried out by ships, submarines and aircraft. Additionally, since World War I the term minelayer refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines...
.
When he took command of the and sailed out into the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
on 6 May 1940, he commenced a cruise (finally ending on 31 October 1940) that would sink or capture a total of ten vessels. When Widder returned to Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
, Ruckteschell refused the Naval Command's order to take the ship to Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, because he estimated the transfer through British controlled waters to be too risky. After returning to Germany, he took command of the commerce raider on its first cruise (9 March 1942 to 1 March 1943), in which fifteen ships were sunk or captured. Von Ruckteschell was then relieved at his own request for health reasons.
Raider career
Ruckteschell was one of the more successful raider captains.The measure of a commerce raiders success is both the tonnage destroyed and the time spent at large.
Ruckteschell accounted for 152,727 Tons GRT (second only to Ernst-Felix Krüder
Ernst-Felix Krüder
Ernst-Felix Krüder was a Captain of the German Navy who, during World War II, commanded a merchant raider. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves...
of Pinguin
German auxiliary cruiser Pinguin
The Pinguin was a German auxiliary cruiser which served as a commerce raider in World War II. The Pinguin was known to the Kriegsmarine as Schiff 33, and designated HSK 5. The most successful commerce raider of the war, she was known to the British Royal Navy as Raider F...
)
and stayed at large for 538 days, (second only to Bernhard Rogge
Bernhard Rogge
Bernhard Rogge was a Captain of the German Navy who, during World War II, commanded a merchant raider....
of Atlantis
German auxiliary cruiser Atlantis
The German auxiliary cruiser Atlantis , known to the Kriegsmarine as Schiff 16 and to the Royal Navy as Raider-C, was a converted German Hilfskreuzer of the Kriegsmarine, which, during World War II, travelled more than in 602 days, and sank or captured 22 ships totaling...
); however, this was over two voyages.
Out of 13 voyages by 10 raiders,
Michel and Widder claimed 15 ships of 94,363 tons, and 10 ships of 58,464 tons respectively (4th and 6th highest),
and stayed at large for 358, and 180 days respectively ( 4th and 9th longest).
War Crimes trial
Ruckteschell was the subject of one of the first war crimes investigations undertaken by the British Admiralty. It was alleged that on several occasions the warships commanded by Ruckteschell had continued firing on merchant vessels after they had surrendered. Since such behavior contravened the laws of naval warfare, the Admiralty requested that Ruckteschell and his crew members be detained for interrogation.At the end of World War II Ruckteschell was on the staff of the German naval attaché in Japan and he was eventually located in an internment camp near Kobe
Kobe
, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...
from where he was brought back to Germany for trial.
According to the British charges submitted to the United Nations War Crimes Commission
United Nations War Crimes Commission
The United Nations War Crimes Commission was a commission of the United Nations that investigated allegations of war crimes committed by the Nazi Germany and its allies in World War II.The Commission began its work at the behest of the United States and the other Allied nations in 1943, prior to...
, the evidence revealed "at least one clear case of mass murder and several equally clear cases of the sinking of vessels whose crew were on the vessels when they were fired on, and were not picked up subsequently when on boats, rafts and in the water."
Charges
- 1. Regarding , which was attacked on 10 July 1940 by Widder.
- The charge was that he continued to fire after the radio was knocked out and the signal to surrender acknowledged. It was claimed that the Widders gunners continued to fire for eight minutes after a signal was sent indicating that the Davisian crew were abandoning ship.
- The defence maintained no signal had been seen or received and that three seamen on board the Davisian were seen heading towards her gun.
- 2. Regarding , attacked on 21 August 1940 by Widder.
- The charge was that he fired on the lifeboatsLifeboat (shipboard)A lifeboat is a small, rigid or inflatable watercraft carried for emergency evacuation in the event of a disaster aboard ship. In the military, a lifeboat may be referred to as a whaleboat, dinghy, or gig. The ship's tenders of cruise ships often double as lifeboats. Recreational sailors sometimes...
, and failed to ensure the crew's survival. Able Seaman Robert Tapscott of the Anglo Saxon, although unavailable to attend Ruckteschell’s trial, testified that the Widder had opened fire on the boats and rafts as they moved away from the sinking ship. - The defence maintained he was firing over heads at the ship; and that the boats attempted to escape and were lost in the dark.
- Ruckteschell was found guilty of "not providing for the safety of the crew".
- 3. Regarding , attacked on 4 August 1940 by Widder.
- The charge was that he failed to ensure the safety of the survivors. Ruckteschell chose to leave 28 of them adrift over 1200 mi (1,931.2 km) from the nearest land.
- The defence maintained it was dark, and that Widder searched for them for 2½ hours without success.
- He was initially found guilty on this charge, but was later acquitted on appeal in August 1947.
- 4. Regarding , attacked on 11 September 1942 by Michel.
- The charge was that he continued to fire after she had surrendered.
- The defence maintained that the surrender signal was not seen; also that there was confusion on the bridge of Michel whether the ship was using a radio.
Trial
The trial was held in Hamburg between 5 and 21 May 1946. Ruckteschell chose as his defence counsel Dr. Otto Zippel, who had earlier represented Karl-Heinz MoehleKarl-Heinz Moehle
Karl-Heinz Moehle was a German U-boat commander of the Second World War. From September 1939 until retiring from front line service in June 1941, he sank 21 ships for a total of . For this he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross , among other commendations...
. Zippel tried to define the limitations of international law, called Vizeadmiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
Bernhard Rogge
Bernhard Rogge
Bernhard Rogge was a Captain of the German Navy who, during World War II, commanded a merchant raider....
as an expert witness
Expert witness
An expert witness, professional witness or judicial expert is a witness, who by virtue of education, training, skill, or experience, is believed to have expertise and specialised knowledge in a particular subject beyond that of the average person, sufficient that others may officially and legally...
, and questioned the testimony of the British sailors. In closing, he asserted that "the law has recognized that in matters of sea even clever people are more liable to commit an error than in other walks of life".
The British military court convicted Ruckteschell on three of the five charges - Charges 1, 2, and 3 were upheld, while Charge 4 was rejected - and sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment. Three years were later remitted from his sentence on 30 August 1947.
The trial raised serious concerns about further war crimes trials involving naval affairs, since only one junior naval officer had sat as a judge during the trial, and army officers could not be expected to have a good knowledge of naval warfare; Zippel opined during the appeal that "a court composed of experienced sea officers would have arrived at a different judgment in the case". Royal Navy officers acknowledged that there was a real chance of a miscarriage of justice and the naval authorities actually discouraged further naval-related war crimes trials due to the difficulty of finding suitable naval officers to take part in them, and Ruckteschell's trial was the last held under the Royal Warrant
Royal Warrant
Royal warrants of appointment have been issued for centuries to those who supply goods or services to a royal court or certain royal personages. The warrant enables the supplier to advertise the fact that they supply to the royal family, so lending prestige to the supplier...
on behalf of the Royal Navy.
Fate
He died in the Hamburg-FuhlsbüttelFuhlsbüttel
Fuhlsbüttel is an urban quarter in the north of Hamburg, Germany in the district Hamburg-Nord. It is known as the site of Hamburg's international airport, and as the location of a prison which served as a concentration camp in the Nazi system of repression....
prison on 24 June 1948, shortly after hearing that he was to be released due to his deteriorating heart condition.
External links
- Bio on a page on German commerce raiders
- Trial report in page on the ship MIchel
- Extensive bio (in German on a Russian website)
- service record (in German)