Karl Smidt Explained

Karl Smidt
Birth Date:30 August 1903
Birth Place:Neuenhaus, German Empire
Death Place:Rendsburg, West Germany
Allegiance:
Branch:Kriegsmarine
German Navy
Serviceyears:1922–45
1956–63
Rank:Kapitän zur See
Konteradmiral (Bundesmarine)
Commands:
destroyer Z12 Erich Giese
destroyer Z27
Battles:Spanish Civil War
World War II
Awards:Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Karl Ernst Smidt (30 August 1903 – 11 January 1984) was German naval commander who reached the rank of Konteradmiral with the West German Navy. He served during World War II and was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. From 1961 to 1963 he was the NATO Commander-in-Chief of the German Fleet of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.

Early life and pre-war service

Smidt was born in Neuenhaus, district of Grafschaft Bentheim, in the Province of Hanover on 30 August 1903, the son of pastor Reinhard Petrus Wolbertus Smidt. He began his naval career with the Reichsmarine on 31 March 1922 as a member "Crew 1922" (the incoming class of 1922) after graduation from the humanistische Gymnasium (humanities-oriented secondary school) in Hameln with his Abitur (diploma). Smidt married Ruth Kühl in 1930. The marriage produced two daughters and a son, Antje, Hilke, and Wolbert Klaus, former First Director with the Federal Intelligence Service . Smidt joined the Confessing Church with pastor Hermann Steen in Holthusen, district of Weener, after making an official visit to the Emsland concentration camp Esterwegen near Papenburg in 1935.[1]

Awards

References

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Karl Ernst Smidt. Ostfriesische Landschaft. Alfred de Zayas. Alfred de Zayas. German. 1 January 2012.
  2. Dörr 1996, p. 262.
  3. Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 447.
  4. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 402.