Karl August Nerger
Encyclopedia
Karl August Nerger was a naval officer of the Imperial German
Navy
in World War I
, who achieved fame and recognition during the war for his command of the auxiliary cruiser SMS Wolf
.
Nerger was born in Rostock
, Mecklenburg-Schwerin
. Nerger had entered the Navy as a cadet in April 1893, and as a junior officer participated in the China Relief Expedition during the Boxer Rebellion
, where he had also been decorated for bravery and intrepidity. In Summer 1914, then-Korvettenkapitän Nerger had taken command of the light cruiser SMS Stettin
, which he commanded until taking over SMS Wolf in March 1916. As captain of the Wolf, he led the commerce raider on a 451-day expedition, the longest voyage of a warship during World War I
, until May 1918, and was promoted to Fregattenkapitän on January 13, 1917. In May 1918, he became commander of minesweeper units of the High Seas Fleet
, a command he held until war's end. He retired on July 25, 1919, characterized as a Kapitän zur See.
For his exploits, Nerger was awarded the highest military decorations of the five main states of the German Empire, a feat achieved only by Kaiser Wilhelm II
himself, Franz Joseph I of Austria
-Hungary, Field Marshals Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria
, Duke Albrecht of Württemberg, and Paul von Hindenburg
, the Kaiser's son General Crown Prince Wilhelm, Nerger, and one other commerce raider captain, Nikolaus Burggraf und Graf zu Dohna-Schlodien.
Nerger received Prussia
's Pour le Mérite
on February 24, 1918, the day SMS Wolf returned home. This was followed by Bavaria
's Military Order of Max Joseph
, Saxony
's Military Order of St. Henry
, Württemberg
's Military Merit Order
, and Baden
's Military Karl Friedrich Merit Order. In addition to these highest awards of the major states, he also received the 1914 Iron Cross
1st and 2nd Class, the Knight's Cross with Swords of Prussia's Royal House Order of Hohenzollern
, the Military Merit Cross
1st and 2nd Class of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, the Friedrich August Cross 1st and 2nd Class of Oldenburg
, and the Hanseatic Cross
es of Hamburg
, Bremen
and Lübeck
.
Nerger was named an honorary citizen of Rostock in 1919 and received an honorary degree in medicine from the University of Rostock
. In 1920 he began working for Siemens-Schuckert
.
On 15 August 1945, Nerger was interned by the Soviet Union
as a war prisoner
at Sachsenhausen
, turned into a POW camp, where he died two years later.
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
Navy
Kaiserliche Marine
The Imperial German Navy was the German Navy created at the time of the formation of the German Empire. It existed between 1871 and 1919, growing out of the small Prussian Navy and Norddeutsche Bundesmarine, which primarily had the mission of coastal defense. Kaiser Wilhelm II greatly expanded...
in 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...
, who achieved fame and recognition during the war for his command of the auxiliary cruiser SMS Wolf
SMS Wolf (auxiliary cruiser)
SMS Wolf was an armed merchant raider or auxiliary cruiser of the German Imperial Navy in World War I...
.
Nerger was born in Rostock
Rostock
Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...
, Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a duchy in northern Germany created in 1348, when Albert II of Mecklenburg and his younger brother John were raised to Dukes of Mecklenburg by King Charles IV...
. Nerger had entered the Navy as a cadet in April 1893, and as a junior officer participated in the China Relief Expedition during the Boxer Rebellion
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, also called the Boxer Uprising by some historians or the Righteous Harmony Society Movement in northern China, was a proto-nationalist movement by the "Righteous Harmony Society" , or "Righteous Fists of Harmony" or "Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists" , in China between...
, where he had also been decorated for bravery and intrepidity. In Summer 1914, then-Korvettenkapitän Nerger had taken command of the light cruiser SMS Stettin
SMS Stettin
SMS Stettin was a Königsberg class light cruiser of the Kaiserliche Marine. Laid down at AG Vulcan Stettin shipyard in 1906, she was launched on 7 March 1907, and commissioned on 29 July 1907. The ship served in European waters during World War I, participating in the Battle of Heligoland Bight in...
, which he commanded until taking over SMS Wolf in March 1916. As captain of the Wolf, he led the commerce raider on a 451-day expedition, the longest voyage of a warship during 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...
, until May 1918, and was promoted to Fregattenkapitän on January 13, 1917. In May 1918, he became commander of minesweeper units of the High Seas Fleet
High Seas Fleet
The High Seas Fleet was the battle fleet of the German Empire and saw action during World War I. The formation was created in February 1907, when the Home Fleet was renamed as the High Seas Fleet. Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz was the architect of the fleet; he envisioned a force powerful enough to...
, a command he held until war's end. He retired on July 25, 1919, characterized as a Kapitän zur See.
For his exploits, Nerger was awarded the highest military decorations of the five main states of the German Empire, a feat achieved only by Kaiser Wilhelm II
William II, German Emperor
Wilhelm II was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia, ruling the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia from 15 June 1888 to 9 November 1918. He was a grandson of the British Queen Victoria and related to many monarchs and princes of Europe...
himself, Franz Joseph I of Austria
Franz Joseph I of Austria
Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I was Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, King of Croatia, Apostolic King of Hungary, King of Galicia and Lodomeria and Grand Duke of Cracow from 1848 until his death in 1916.In the December of 1848, Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria abdicated the throne as part of...
-Hungary, Field Marshals Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria
Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria
Rupprecht or Rupert, Crown Prince of Bavaria was the last Bavarian Crown Prince.His full title was His Royal Highness Rupprecht Maria Luitpold Ferdinand, Crown Prince of Bavaria, Duke of Bavaria, of Franconia and in Swabia, Count Palatine of the Rhine...
, Duke Albrecht of Württemberg, and Paul von Hindenburg
Paul von Hindenburg
Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg , known universally as Paul von Hindenburg was a Prussian-German field marshal, statesman, and politician, and served as the second President of Germany from 1925 to 1934....
, the Kaiser's son General Crown Prince Wilhelm, Nerger, and one other commerce raider captain, Nikolaus Burggraf und Graf zu Dohna-Schlodien.
Nerger received Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
's Pour le Mérite
Pour le Mérite
The Pour le Mérite, known informally as the Blue Max , was the Kingdom of Prussia's highest military order for German soldiers until the end of World War I....
on February 24, 1918, the day SMS Wolf returned home. This was followed by Bavaria
Kingdom of Bavaria
The Kingdom of Bavaria was a German state that existed from 1806 to 1918. The Bavarian Elector Maximilian IV Joseph of the House of Wittelsbach became the first King of Bavaria in 1806 as Maximilian I Joseph. The monarchy would remain held by the Wittelsbachs until the kingdom's dissolution in 1918...
's Military Order of Max Joseph
Military Order of Max Joseph
The Military Order of Max Joseph was the highest purely military order of the Kingdom of Bavaria. It was founded on 1 January 1806 by Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, the first king of Bavaria...
, Saxony
Kingdom of Saxony
The Kingdom of Saxony , lasting between 1806 and 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. From 1871 it was part of the German Empire. It became a Free state in the era of Weimar Republic in 1918 after the end of World War...
's Military Order of St. Henry
Military Order of St. Henry
The Military Order of St. Henry was a military order of the Kingdom of Saxony, a member state of the German Empire. The order was the oldest military order of the states of the German Empire. It was founded on October 7, 1736 by Augustus III, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony...
, Württemberg
Kingdom of Württemberg
The Kingdom of Württemberg was a state that existed from 1806 to 1918, located in present-day Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which came into existence in 1495...
's Military Merit Order
Military Merit Order (Württemberg)
The Military Merit Order was a military order of the Kingdom of Württemberg, which joined the German Empire in 1871. The order was one of the older military orders of the states of the German Empire...
, and Baden
Grand Duchy of Baden
The Grand Duchy of Baden was a historical state in the southwest of Germany, on the east bank of the Rhine. It existed between 1806 and 1918.-History:...
's Military Karl Friedrich Merit Order. In addition to these highest awards of the major states, he also received the 1914 Iron Cross
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
1st and 2nd Class, the Knight's Cross with Swords of Prussia's Royal House Order of Hohenzollern
House Order of Hohenzollern
The House Order of Hohenzollern was an order of chivalry of the House of Hohenzollern. It was both a military and a civil award...
, the Military Merit Cross
Military Merit Cross (Mecklenburg-Schwerin)
The Military Merit Cross was established by Friedrich Franz II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin on August 5, 1848. Mecklenburg-Schwerin, a grand duchy located in northern Germany, was a member of the German Confederation and later the German Empire.In several respects, Mecklenburg-Schwerin's...
1st and 2nd Class of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, the Friedrich August Cross 1st and 2nd Class of Oldenburg
Oldenburg (state)
Oldenburg — named after its capital, the town of Oldenburg — was a state in the north of present-day Germany. Oldenburg survived from 1180 until 1918 as a county, duchy and grand duchy, and from 1918 until 1946 as a free state. It was located near the mouth of the River Weser...
, and the Hanseatic Cross
Hanseatic Cross
The Hanseatic Cross was a decoration of the three Hanseatic Cities of Bremen, Hamburg and Lübeck, who were member states of the German Empire during World War I...
es of 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...
, Bremen
Bremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
and Lübeck
Lübeck
The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...
.
Nerger was named an honorary citizen of Rostock in 1919 and received an honorary degree in medicine from the University of Rostock
University of Rostock
The University of Rostock is the university of the city Rostock, in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.Founded in 1419, it is the oldest and largest university in continental northern Europe and the Baltic Sea area...
. In 1920 he began working for Siemens-Schuckert
Siemens-Schuckert
Siemens-Schuckert was a German electrical engineering company headquartered in Berlin, Erlangen and Nuremberg that was incorporated into the Siemens AG in 1966....
.
On 15 August 1945, Nerger was interned by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
as a war prisoner
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
at Sachsenhausen
Sachsenhausen concentration camp
Sachsenhausen or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used primarily for political prisoners from 1936 to the end of the Third Reich in May, 1945. After World War II, when Oranienburg was in the Soviet Occupation Zone, the structure was used as an NKVD...
, turned into a POW camp, where he died two years later.
Literature
- Peter Hohnen & Richard Guilliatt, THE WOLF - The true story of an epic voyage of destruction in World War One, 2009, Bantam Press, ISBN 059306075X
- Edwin P. Hoyt, Raider Wolf, The Voyage of Captain Nerger, 1916–1918, New York 1974, ISBN 0-8397-7067-7.
- Roy Alexander: The Cruise of the Raider Wolf, Yale University Press, 1939.