Wichard von Alvensleben
Encyclopedia
Wichard von Alvensleben (May 19, 1902 - August 14, 1982) was a German
agriculturist, Wehrmacht
Officer, and Knight
of the Order of Saint John. Alvensleben was the commander of Wehrmacht troops stationed in April 1945 at Bozen, whence he led his troops to liberate the prisoners
being held by the SS at Tyrol.
(now part of Stendal
) to Ludolf Udo von Alvensleben (1852–1923) and Ida, née von Glasenapp (1866–1924). He was taught in various convent schools at Magdeburg
in Brandenburg an der Havel and passed his Abitur
in 1921 at the Klosterschule Roßleben
. After four years of practical training he commenced studies in agriculture, forestry, and law in Eberswalde
and Munich
.
In 1927 Alvensleben married Cora von Erxleben and started to work at his wife's country estates at Tankow-Seegenfelde in the district of Friedeberg
and at Dertzow in the district of Soldin, New March, in 1929. In 1936 he bought the forested estate of Viarthlum, in the district of Rummelsburg
, Farther Pomerania
. Alvensleben by now had two daughters, born in 1934 and 1936, and was a Knight of the Order of Saint John as well as a deeply religious Christian.
, and was deployed in Poland
, France
, Russia
, Africa
, and Italy
. He was wounded in 1941 in Russia and received various decorations, including the Wound Badge
, the Infantry Assault Badge
, and the Iron Cross 1st Class
. His wife committed suicide at the arrival of the Soviet Red Army
on January 29, 1945, in Tankow-Seegenfelde.
In late April 1945 a group of 140 high-status prisoners were transferred to Tyrol
, guarded by SS troops. A delegation from the prisoners contacted senior German army officers, made known the identity of the high-status prisoners, and conveyed the apprehension that those prisoners were to be executed. A regular German army unit under the command of Captain von Alvensleben moved in to protect the prisoners. Outnumbered, the SS guards moved out, leaving the prisoners behind. The prisoners were then set free, with the majority taking sanctuary for a time in Pragser Wildsee
until the arrival of U.S. troops.
. In August 1946 Alvensleben married Astrid von Brand (widowed von Brockdorff-Ahlefeldt) and in 1952 he became an administrator of the von Brockdorff estate Ascheberg
near Plön
. In 1956 Alvensleben was involved with Diakonisches Werk, a charity organisation of the Lutheran Church at Rendsburg
. He retired in 1974 and died on August 14, 1982, in Ascheberg.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
agriculturist, Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
Officer, and Knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
of the Order of Saint John. Alvensleben was the commander of Wehrmacht troops stationed in April 1945 at Bozen, whence he led his troops to liberate the prisoners
Transport of concentration camp inmates to Tyrol
The Transport of Inmates of German Concentration Camps to Tyrol happened in late April 1945 and led to the only time such prisoners were liberated by German troops.- Transfer and liberation:...
being held by the SS at Tyrol.
Early Life
Alvensleben was born on May 19, 1902, in WittenmoorWittenmoor
Wittenmoor is a village and a former municipality in the district of Stendal, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the town Stendal....
(now part of Stendal
Stendal
Stendal is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is the capital of Stendal District and unofficial capital of the Altmark. Its population in 2001 was 38,900. It is located some west of Berlin and around east of Hanover...
) to Ludolf Udo von Alvensleben (1852–1923) and Ida, née von Glasenapp (1866–1924). He was taught in various convent schools at Magdeburg
Magdeburg
Magdeburg , is the largest city and the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe....
in Brandenburg an der Havel and passed his Abitur
Abitur
Abitur is a designation used in Germany, Finland and Estonia for final exams that pupils take at the end of their secondary education, usually after 12 or 13 years of schooling, see also for Germany Abitur after twelve years.The Zeugnis der Allgemeinen Hochschulreife, often referred to as...
in 1921 at the Klosterschule Roßleben
Roßleben
Roßleben is a town in the Kyffhäuserkreis district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated on the river Unstrut, 22 km southeast of Sangerhausen....
. After four years of practical training he commenced studies in agriculture, forestry, and law in Eberswalde
Eberswalde
Eberswalde is a major town and the administrative seat of the district Barnim in the German Federal State of Brandenburg, about 50 km northeast of Berlin. Population 42144 , geographical location . The town is often called Waldstadt , because of the large forests around it, including the...
and Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
.
In 1927 Alvensleben married Cora von Erxleben and started to work at his wife's country estates at Tankow-Seegenfelde in the district of Friedeberg
Strzelce Krajenskie
Strzelce Krajeńskie is a town in Poland, in Lubusz Voivodeship. It is the capital of Strzelce-Drezdenko County. Population is 10,186 .-External links:**...
and at Dertzow in the district of Soldin, New March, in 1929. In 1936 he bought the forested estate of Viarthlum, in the district of Rummelsburg
Rummelsburg
Rummelsburg is a German locality in the borough of Lichtenberg, Berlin.-History:The locality was founded in 1669 and on January 30, 1889 became a rural municipality, with the name of Boxhagen-Rummelsburg...
, Farther Pomerania
Farther Pomerania
Farther Pomerania, Further Pomerania, Transpomerania or Eastern Pomerania , which before the German-Polish border shift of 1945 comprised the eastern part of the Duchy, later Province of Pomerania, roughly stretching from the Oder River in the West to Pomerelia in the East...
. Alvensleben by now had two daughters, born in 1934 and 1936, and was a Knight of the Order of Saint John as well as a deeply religious Christian.
Military Service
In 1939 Alvensleben became an Officer of the German Wehrmacht, earning the rank of CaptainHauptmann
Hauptmann is a German word usually translated as captain when it is used as an officer's rank in the German, Austrian and Swiss armies. While "haupt" in contemporary German means "main", it also has the dated meaning of "head", i.e...
, and was deployed in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. He was wounded in 1941 in Russia and received various decorations, including the Wound Badge
Wound Badge
Wound Badge was a German military award for wounded or frost-bitten soldiers of Imperial German Army in World War I, the Reichswehr between the wars, and the Wehrmacht, SS and the auxiliary service organizations during the Second World War. After March 1943, due to the increasing number of Allied...
, the Infantry Assault Badge
Infantry Assault Badge
The Infantry Assault Badge was a German war badge awarded to Waffen SS and Wehrmacht Heer soldiers during WWII. This decoration was instituted on December 20th 1939 by the Oberstbefehlshaber des Heeres, Generalfeldmarschall von Brauchitsch...
, and the Iron Cross 1st Class
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....
. His wife committed suicide at the arrival of the Soviet Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
on January 29, 1945, in Tankow-Seegenfelde.
In late April 1945 a group of 140 high-status prisoners were transferred to Tyrol
Transport of concentration camp inmates to Tyrol
The Transport of Inmates of German Concentration Camps to Tyrol happened in late April 1945 and led to the only time such prisoners were liberated by German troops.- Transfer and liberation:...
, guarded by SS troops. A delegation from the prisoners contacted senior German army officers, made known the identity of the high-status prisoners, and conveyed the apprehension that those prisoners were to be executed. A regular German army unit under the command of Captain von Alvensleben moved in to protect the prisoners. Outnumbered, the SS guards moved out, leaving the prisoners behind. The prisoners were then set free, with the majority taking sanctuary for a time in Pragser Wildsee
Pragser Wildsee
The Pragser Wildsee is a lake in the Prags Dolomites in South Tyrol, Italy. It belongs to the municipality of Prags.- References :*...
until the arrival of U.S. troops.
After the War
In autumn 1945 Alvensleben was released from U.S. custody and started to work as a transport operator and in a sugar refinery in Nörten-HardenbergNörten-Hardenberg
Nörten-Hardenberg is a municipality in the district of Northeim, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Leine, approx. 10 km southwest of Northeim, and 10 km north of Göttingen.- References :...
. In August 1946 Alvensleben married Astrid von Brand (widowed von Brockdorff-Ahlefeldt) and in 1952 he became an administrator of the von Brockdorff estate Ascheberg
Ascheberg, Schleswig-Holstein
Ascheberg is a municipality in the district of Plön, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....
near Plön
Plön
Plön is the district seat of the Plön district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, and has about 13,000 inhabitants. It lies right on the shores of Schleswig-Holstein's biggest lake, the Great Plön Lake, as well as on several smaller lakes, touching the town on virtually all sides...
. In 1956 Alvensleben was involved with Diakonisches Werk, a charity organisation of the Lutheran Church at Rendsburg
Rendsburg
Rendsburg is a town on the River Eider and the Kiel Canal in the northeastern part of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the Kreis of Rendsburg-Eckernförde. As of 2006, it had a population of 28,476.-History:...
. He retired in 1974 and died on August 14, 1982, in Ascheberg.