Josef Strobl

Additional information

: Grave location: Section CA, Row 5, Grave 116

Son of Bartlmä Strobl and Anna Strobl-Thaler.

Awarded the SS-Ehrendegen, the SA-Sportabzeichen and the Deutsche Sportabzeichen.

Josef Stobel, a car mechanic by trade, began his career in the Waffen-SS when he was assigned to the SS-Hilfswerk Dachau in July 1934. In 1935, he was assigned to the II./SS-Regiment ‘Deutschland’, after which he undertook officer training at the SS-Junkerschule in Bad Tölz; here he was promoted to SS-Untersturmführer on 20 April 1936. On 12 September 1937, Josef Strobl was promoted to SS-Obersturmführer, after which he was assigned to the SS-Standarte “Der Führer” in 1938.

On Wednesday 13 November 1940, the German artillery, on the orders of the ArtilleryCommander General Künzel, conducted a firing exercise by firing a new type of munition in the form of a 15cm high-explosive shell designed to function as an anti-tank shell, targeting a casemate of the Peel-Raam defences. An area near Vredepeel was selected for this firing exercise: a marshy area between two edges of woodland, separated by approximately one kilometre in a straight line. The artillery battery was stationed at one edge of the woodland. They fired at the target on the opposite edge of the woodland. About halfway along the firing range, a roundel was erected, accessed via a relatively narrow path. A large number of the cream of the crop from the former ‘kaiserlichen Artillerie-Offizierkorps’ gathered at this roundel. The senior officers watched through their binoculars as they observed the remarkable accuracy and explosive nature of the new ammunition. The elliptical trajectory arced over their heads, though far enough away from the point of impact – until a direct hit struck the roundel with pinpoint accuracy! There were 19 fatalities and many wounded, who were taken to various hospitals, such as Venray, Deurne, Helmond, Geldrop and Arnhem.

The deceased were not simply buried in one of the German cemeteries in the vicinity, but were laid to rest in the most special cemetery in the Netherlands, ‘the Grebbeberg’.

In his eulogy, General Busch stated that no error had played a part in this accident; rather, it was a case of force majeure. “I have my doubts as to whether the incorrect load and the concentrated gathering of officials 800 metres from the target were truly unavoidable.”

A letter dated 6 December 1940 from the SS Brigadeführer to the Reichsführer-SS states, amongst other things, that Standartenführer Hansen considers General Busch’s above remark to be of particular importance, given that General Busch had already announced in his eulogy that no error had played a part in this accident, even before the investigation had been completed.

Below is a photograph from the photo album of Unteroffizier Servatius Dimmer (4th from the left) during training alongside Josef Strobl (3rd from the left). Unteroffizier Servatius Dimmer died at the scene as a result of this tragic accident.

Below is another photograph from the photo album of Unteroffizier Servatius Dimmer, captioned ‘Geschütz beim Übungsschießen’, meaning ‘the gun during firing exercises’. Although it cannot be stated with certainty, the photograph below may have been taken during the shooting exercises described above.

Excerpt from a list of reburials, drawn up in German, including Servatius Dimmer (113) and Josef Strobl (116).