Günther Ernst Heinz Schulz

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NSDAP
In the Bundesarchiv in Berlin, in the holdings of the former Berlin Document Center, only the membership of Heinrich Schulz, the father of Günther Schulz, in the NSDAP could be established. His membership number is: 3161424. Heinrich Schulz joined the party on 01.05.1933.

From the personnel file of Günther Schulz, held at the Bundesarchiv in Freiburg, it can be gathered (assessment of 26.09.1944) that until his entry into the Wehrmacht, Günther Schulz was a proven natural leader in National Socialist youth education, where he was active as an HJ-Jungstammführer.

In the City Archive Neuss the registration card of Günther Schulz is held. From the card it can be gathered that from 19.02.1940 he was deployed at the R.A.D. K/212 Leverkusen-Schlebusch.

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Education
In the personnel file of Günther Schulz one can find something about his education. In a proposal for promotion to wartime officer we find his school education.

The educational background of Günther Schulz is described as follows: “Upbringing in the parental home, primary school, secondary modern school, grammar school, school-leaving certificate 1940”.

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Günther Schulz smoking his pipe.
Source: In family possession.

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According to the death certificate held in the City Archive Neuss, Günther Schulz was a medical student.

According to information from an acquaintance, Günther and his fiancée Ruth intended after the war to work together as doctors in the German colonies.

During his trial Günther Schulz makes statements about his studies. Question from Colonel Crone: “What did you study before you entered the army?” A: “Medicine, but I could not study. I received no study leave; all people received leave. I was 6 years in the army. After 3 years people could study — I came to the university in Cologne, then I went to Bonn and completed 14 days of an introduction to economics at Bonn University”.

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According to the personnel file, Günther Schulz began his service with the Wehrmacht on 12.07.1940. The information stated here is based on different sources such as the registration card, the Deutsche Dienststelle and the personnel file held in the Bundesarchiv.
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28.06.1940 Conscripted	Flying Training Regiment 52 Bromberg
02.08.1940	4th Company Flying Training Regiment 52
12.01.1942 – 20.06.1942	Airfield Company Münster-Loddenheide (Flying troops, glider pilots)
06.11.1942 – 28.02.1943	1./Flying Candidate Battalion III in Lorient (France)
00.00.1943	Flying Training School A/B 11 (Schönwalde)
01.11.1943	1./Long-Range Reconnaissance Wing 101, Grossenhain/Sa., 1st Student Company

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Promotions
28.07.1941	Lance Corporal
03.01.1942	NCO candidate
30.01.1942	Corporal
01.11.1942	Staff Sergeant
01.10.1941	ROA resp. KOA

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Courses and assessments
12.01.1942 – 20.03.1942 Wartime officer pre-selection course; Assessment of 15.04.1942:
“Mental and physical aptitude: Sch. is an above-average, intelligent and active person. Physically he is taut and wiry and capable of enduring hardship.
Character traits: Sch. shows, despite his youth, the outlines of a firmly established, formed character. He is conscientious, open and honest. His understanding of duty is irreproachable, his bearing towards subordinates resolute. Towards superiors militarily correct. He is, owing to his cheerful nature and bearing, very popular with subordinates and among comrades. Sch. has always shown eagerness, constant readiness for action and a sense of responsibility in the performance of his duties. His soldierly bearing and conduct were irreproachable.”

13.04.1942 – 20.06.1942:
11th Course for wartime officer recruits, Air Warfare School 2, Berlin-Gatow. Assessment of 20.06.1942:
Personality value and suitability of character: “Youthful personality still in development, with an open, fresh nature. Sound self-confidence and self-assurance. Irreproachable in character. Popular comrade. Leadership qualities and personality values present to a sufficient degree, requiring only a stricter military orientation. Sufficiently adept in social manners and bearing.”
Mental aptitude: “Above-average mental aptitude. Good powers of comprehension with clear and objective thinking ability, manner of expression still awkward but resolute. Is ambitious and capable of further development.”
Physical aptitude: “Medium-height, slender appearance. Sportingly enthusiastic with fairly good results.”
Military performance and suitability: “During instruction, with adequate participation, fairly good results. In troop service still little practised, but diligent. Results sufficient but variable.”
Result of the examination for flying fitness: “Fit for military flying.”
Proposed deployment: “Flying personnel. Particularly suited by virtue of prior training to transport flying.”
Flying training: “Glider pilot certificate A, B, C.”
“Proposed to the RLM (L.P.) as suitable for acceptance as a wartime officer.”
Special remarks:…
“Participant is prepared to pursue the officer’s career with limited service period.”

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Günther Schulz. Source: In family possession.

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Günther Schulz with Glider Pilot’s Badge. Source: In family possession.

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11.02.1943 Assessment by the Captain and Company Commander:

The assessment of his personality is in broad terms the same as the assessment of 20.06.1942. It may be worth noting that Günther Schulz has good leadership qualities, self-confidence, self-assurance and, with good ambition, the endeavour to meet the tasks set for him at all times.

The assessment further states:
“As platoon commander in the U.L.K. (Junior Leaders’ Training Command) Staff Sergeant Schulz has deepened and consolidated his knowledge in troop service. He possesses personal initiative and improvisational talent, understands how to act independently. Towards his subordinates he is an example through his strict military bearing, he has them firmly under control and works inspiringly and compellingly through his freshness and liveliness.
Good social manners, polite and modest, respected by comrades and superiors. Caring towards his subordinates.
His ideological bearing is irreproachable, he understands how to convey National Socialist thinking well.
Staff Sgt. Schulz is, on the basis of his personality values, his leadership qualities and his knowledge, unreservedly suited as a wartime officer.”

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Günther Schulz. Source: In family possession.

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Contrary to the earlier communication from the Deutsche Dienststelle that there were no records of hospital stays, a report is indeed to be found on the personnel index card* of Günther Schulz.
23.02.1944 Düsseldorf Partial Hospital Neuss, Hospital patient register 355; Nasal polyps after leave,
01.03.1944 discharged to unit.
_{*Reference see Sources}

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The downfall of a Greif

PWI Report No. 7 21/22 Dec. 44 of the First Army.
This report provides an insight into the interrogations of Lieutenant Schulz.
Lieutenant Schulz initially gives the field postal number 32367 1. He was not certain however whether the number was correct. Since Team Billing named the number 32397, an error is therefore not unfounded; for the “1” at the end there is as yet no explanation. Of the group (Görlich, Krause, Meyer, Miegel, Pollack, Schilz and Wittsack) captured near Géromont we know only that the field postal number for Christmas mail was no longer in operation when the group was detained. After that there was apparently no new number; at any rate none was named by them.
Günther Schulz stated that he regretted having participated in the operation of Panzer Brigade 150. Lieutenant Schulz insisted on being permitted to help the US Army to put a stop to the activities of the Panzer Brigade. Schulz requested in return to be permitted to shoot himself. As we now know, nothing came of this. Although Lt. Schulz contradicted himself on a few small details during the interrogation, his statements could in broad terms be verified and confirmed. Schulz confirmed with his statements PWI Report 17 of 19/20 Dec. 44. PWI Report 17 contains the statements of Billing and his two comrades; the information from Lieutenant Schulz was however more detailed. Schulz names Skorzeny’s cover name, but says that he had never seen “Solar”. Schulz estimates the strength of Panzer Brigade 150 at 2,000-2,500 men. As reason for the increase the report mentions the addition of paratroopers (the Hermann Goering Fallschirmjäger Regiment z.b.V. is named here by name). Schulz goes into some detail on the composition of the Panzer Brigade, but does not know precise details. According to Schulz, around 900 German and American vehicles arrived in Grafenwöhr at the beginning of November. The German tanks (Panther and Tiger) were made up so that they resembled American tanks from a distance. In addition the whole brigade received US uniforms. Panzer Brigade 150 was initially divided into two, later into three columns. Schulz explained that exercises had taken place in mid-November. Unit Stielau was distributed across the three columns of the Panzer Brigade during the exercises. Part of the exercises consisted of night marches and mutual identification. When passing bridges and roads the so-called “channelling through” was practised. Blue-shining torches were used as recognition signals; the German army had torches that allowed shining in different colours (PWI-Report 1-24/25 Dec. 44). Upon a request for identification one touched one’s head with the left hand. In this context it is interesting that during the interrogations of the group around Sub-Lieutenant Günther Schilz the password “Scheibenhonig” was named as the current recognition signal.
According to Schulz the brigade had the task of creating confusion as a sabotage unit and taking the lead when approaching elite units (whatever that may mean). The infiltration behind the enemy front line took place at night. During the day the brigade rested in the forests. The brigade was to appear in US uniform during the day and feign a panicked retreat. It was believed that in this way important roads and bridges could be brought under German control. The third combat group of the brigade (up to 17.12.44 Hardick, thereafter v. Fölkersam) was moved on 18 December to the assembly point near Stavelot. At the same time the second combat group (Scherf) was moved to Honsfeld. Where the others were deployed Schulz did not know. Schulz stated that he belonged to what the Americans called a “communication destroyer team”. His team and three other such teams were operating in the Stavelot-Liège sector. According to Schulz the task consisted of making roads impassable through destruction or tree obstacles, thereby hindering the supply of American materiel. At the same time radio jeeps (signals units) were sent out. These were to keep watch on the Meuse bridges between Namur and Liège. On maps that the team had with them when captured, the following lines were marked: Münstereifel-Aachen-Tongres-Charleroi-Dinant-La Roche.
The Germans had the following plan: Unit Stielau was to create confusion in the vicinity of the Meuse, as already described, and report on the condition of the bridges crossing the Meuse, since these were to be captured intact.
Schulz reported that an attack on Eisenhower’s headquarters in Paris was planned. All officers were to be killed. Skorzeny intended, in US jeeps and US uniforms, to drive through France with 30 men. It was to look like a prisoner transport with German prisoners of war. Some of Skorzeny’s men were therefore to be dressed in officer’s uniforms. In a Paris café one intended to meet French sympathisers who would join the Germans. Schulz said that he had been informed about the operation in Grafenwöhr, at the beginning of December, at an officers’ meeting by Hardieck. Schulz reported that Hardieck was wounded during the march to Münstereifel. According to Schulz, Skorzeny was already on his way to Paris. Schulz was of the opinion that all officers there were in danger since their deaths would increase the chaos.
Schulz informed the Americans that they would best be able to catch the radio teams of Unit Stielau near Meuse bridges. He also mentioned the possession of poison ampoules, among other things in belt buckles and cigarette lighters. Heinz Rohde mentioned in 1951 in “Der Spiegel” (“With Shakespeare English”) also cigarette lighters that had been prepared with poison. Schulz explained that Major v. Schrötter had given the instruction that they should take the poison in the event of capture. According to Schulz most jeeps of Panzer Brigade 150 had no windscreen. Finally mention is also made that the lieutenant had given the Americans a list of names of members of Unit Stielau. The list is however not attached to the report.
We are working on this…..

Note on the France complex.
In the Dutch National Archive there are an interrogation record (1946) and trial documents in the case of Arend de Bruin. Arend de Bruin was a co-defendant in the Dachau trial (M1106). His proceedings were however terminated prematurely. Of the premature termination of the proceedings a newspaper article (28.08.1947) can be found in a Dutch daily newspaper; this article can be found online here. Since de Bruin had voluntarily joined the Waffen-SS he was tried in the Netherlands in 1948 and convicted. The documents are however until 2025 only accessible in the reading room, after prior registration. Until then neither copies nor photographs of the documents may be made. Only transcription is permitted. Quoting from the material is then again another matter. The Netherlands protects Nazis, in my view, better than Germany does. Even though the people have been dead for decades — de Bruin died as early as the 1970s. One can think what one likes about this, one cannot change it. Only this much: Regarding the “Paris” complex, Arend de Bruin makes a statement that closely resembles that of Schulz. However de Bruin says nothing about an assassination attempt on Eisenhower. According to de Bruin, v. Schrötter wanted to travel with his team to Paris in order to make contact there with the German resistance; the meeting point was to be a Paris café. This complex is currently being re-examined. Arend de Bruin had at the time of the interrogations in the Netherlands no interest whatsoever in spreading rumours. It was neither to his advantage nor to his disadvantage that he mentioned this. Both statements taken together, that of Schulz and that of de Bruin, produce a completely new picture.

Trial file Schulz
The trial file is available both in English and in German translation. The proceedings took place on 05.05.1945. The place where the proceedings took place is not named, only the time: 10:15 hrs. To reproduce the entire proceedings here would be too lengthy. Instead, a few remarkable details will be disclosed at an appropriate point. The defendant was heard at the end of the proceedings as a witness at his own request. Lieutenant Schulz answered in English according to the record. He stated that he had served approximately 6 years with the Wehrmacht in Germany. He had joined Unit Stielau on 07.11.1944. Günter Schulz was asked how he had come to this task, meaning Operation Greif.
“I was before a German court in August 1944, in Einsheim, because I had tried to cross over to the American lines. For this I was punished with 3 months with discharge, but the court said I had to go to the front and would receive 3 months imprisonment. That was in my papers and I came to Feldsheim, the headquarters of the parachute troops and was then in Wintersteig. 40 days I was in Wintersteig in a parachute company. Then I had to drive to Germany and capture a German deserter: and then I did not find him and returned to the unit, to Wintersteig and when I came to the battalion commander, in Wintersteig, he told me I had to go to Berlin, because I spoke some English and French and asked me whether I wanted to. I was to become an interpreter. Then I drove to Berlin. It was on 7 November 1944. In Berlin I came to the headquarters of the parachute troops. I had to fill in my papers there and was then sent to the unit SKORZENY. With the unit SKORZENY I was asked English and French questions and I was able to answer them. And he informed me that I had been assigned to a group. There were many groups — 1, 2, 3 and 4; the best spoke English. From there I had to travel to Grafenwöhr under the code word ‘Abunheughl’.”

Up to here this part of the statement by Günther Schulz shall suffice for the moment, and we take a look at the personnel file of Lieutenant Günter Schulz.

The field court martial
The Bundesarchiv (Military Archive) in Freiburg is in possession of the personnel file of Lieutenant Günther Schulz. In it there is a judgement imposed on the young lieutenant by a field court martial.

Source: BArch PERS 6/220183. Digitalsat / invenio

On account of the criminal offence (military theft) committed by Günther Schulz, an additional special assessment took place in Grossenhain on 26.09.1944. Much agrees with previous assessments.

Only the most notable passages of the wartime assessment are quoted here:

“Proof before the enemy could not be provided due to lack of opportunity. His professional knowledge and performance are fairly good; works quickly, is agile and adaptable. His military bearing is soldierly, confident, always eager for action. Has applied with emphasis for front-line deployment as a paratrooper.”
…. “Possesses personal initiative and improvisational talent, knows no difficulties. Infantry experience was gained during the period from 5.11.42 – 28.03.43 with Flying Candidate Battalion III in Lorient.”

A further proposal is also made to deploy Lieutenant Schulz in the near future as a platoon commander of a parachute unit. Unfortunately no trial documents were found. The background to the act charged, the military theft, remains hidden from us. It cannot be said whether the girlfriend of Günther Schulz truly knew nothing of the judgement and therefore assumed that her friend had volunteered entirely of his own free will for the operation. It is conceivable that Günther Schulz kept the affair surrounding the field judgement secret from those at home. Since his father would certainly not have been pleased about it.

Interpreter
Let us look once more at the proceedings before the American military court. Günter Schulz made another remarkable statement there.

“I arrived in Grafenwöhr and there were 30 people. Then I came to a German officer, First Lieutenant STEELO and we were only allowed to converse in English and he told me that I had to learn to speak English with an American accent, because I would be going as an interpreter…..”.

The matter of the interpreter is interesting insofar as Corporal Fritz Christ, alias Lieutenant Charles Smith, also relates this in an article in “Der Stern” of 20.04.2004. Also in the document of the proceedings against, among others, Lieutenant Arno Krause it states: “Each of the defendants wanted to defend himself. They all related that they had been taken from their unit around 1 November 1944 and sent to Grafenwöhr, where they were to be trained as English interpreters and were later also to carry out this work….. .”

Whether these are pure defensive claims or the truth can no longer be stated with certainty today.

Useful source of information for the Americans or fantasist?
In his statement Lieutenant Günther Schulz states that he wanted to defect to the Americans. He had handed over to the two American officers, among other things, maps — maps on which both the lines of the planned breakthrough and the dropped parachute troops were marked. Lieutenant Schulz was given the opportunity by the Colonel (not named) to do something for his situation. “…and I would receive an American uniform and drive back via Huy, Namur and Liège and I was to find the other people, we would depart early in the morning and drive until night. It was quiet but they did not find them. Then I was put on trial together with the other three comrades (Bronny, Reich and Weisenfeld). I was a witness. After the hearing I came to Namur. I spoke with an American Captain and I told him that I had come to Namur, the headquarters, to give information and from Namur I was not interrogated. I came to Paris, Versailles and it was on Christmas Day; in Versailles it was Christmas and I came to another headquarters and was interrogated about the assassination attempt on General EISENHOWER which Skorzeny was planning. From Versailles I came to Reims. In Reims I spoke with an American and a British Captain for approximately — it was approximately 3 weeks.
I told them my affairs and they believed me, they only did not believe that I am a German officer. They said my pay book was a forgery and then I was interrogated and was able to prove that I am the man to whom this pay book belongs and then I worked. I worked; I worked alone. I received papers and plans, maps and worked for the MIC (to the detailed interrogation record), approximately three roads and the shelters and other things that were in the Rhineland; and from Reims I came with a British and American Captain to Reven and had work there too and then I had — the Captain said that I had his confidence and that I was to work with him to track down the murders committed by the SS men and then I found some SS men and interrogated them and reported truthfully to the Captain.”
Question:
“As a result of or as a reward for your information, were any promises or implied promises made to you during the time you spent with the MIC?”
The defendant’s answer:
“They told me that I would come before the court, that my documents are correct, that this was proved and that my case is in order. I was a prisoner of war and was to receive my number, a prisoner of war number.”
A further statement by the defendant is at least remarkable.
“Some of my friends were involved in the assassination attempt on Hitler. Regarding the names and the corresponding evidence I want to say that I provided the names to the MIC.”
It is already quite difficult to separate truth and fiction in the statements of Günther Schulz. The court however paid no attention whatsoever to his statements. After the defence counsel of Lieutenant Schulz had concluded the examination, the prosecutor takes over the examination of the defendant in a cross-examination. The prosecutor doubts that Lieutenant Schulz wanted to defect to the American forces, as he claimed on several occasions during the interrogations.
……..Q: .“After you had passed through the German lines and away from your own soldiers, what prevented you from putting on German
……..clothing and surrendering to the first American soldier you saw?”
……..A: .“I had my field jacket on, which represented the German uniform, and underneath the American uniform.”
……..Q: .“What prevented you from putting on the German clothing which you had in the car and surrendering to the first soldier of the
……..American Army?”
……..A: .“The attack of the German forces was directed against Malmedy and I believe the German troops broke through at Malmedy,
……..but if I had brought my car through the Bulge, I could have obtained my information for headquarters, it would have
……..been all right.”
……..Q: .“What prevented you from putting on those German clothes and surrendering the following day in Verviers?”
……..A: .“In the vehicle we had field jackets on.”
Such questions were put to the defendant on several occasions.
In the prosecutor’s view there were several further situations in which the defendant could have surrendered to the American forces without difficulty.
After the prosecutor had concluded his examination, an examination of the defendant by the court followed.
After the first questions from the court the defendant requested to be permitted to make a statement.
The court permitted this and Lieutenant Günther Schulz made a statement — it was the last one:
“I have things by means of which I can prove that my affairs — when I wanted to go into the American lines. I have been in an American prison for 5 months and have spoken with all people, with the people who interrogated me and with whom I worked. They told me, after I had done work, that I had told the truth, that all details had been proved by the Americans and I wanted to say that I want to work for the Americans and will do everything for American affairs and it was said that when I come to Germany I would interrogate the people who had done something unlawful, and I was happy that after the peace settlement all people of Germany would be able to work and we would be able to do everything for the Americans who liberated us.”
“That is all I have to say about this matter.”
So much for the German-language translation of the record. The document was translated by: Weissova. Further usable details are absent.

The fiancée
At the time of his capture Lieutenant Günther Schulz was engaged. His fiancée Ruth — she shall be referred to here only by her first name — learned of the death of her fiancé at the latest in December 1945. The former fiancée married after the war and started a family. She died in 2010.

Three letters from Braunschweig
Among the items from the estate of the father of Günther Schulz are three handwritten letters from Pastor Walter Freise (Ev. Luth. Pfarramt St. Petri, Braunschweig). The first letter, of 09.12.1945, was evidently sent at the time to his colleague in Neuss. The short letter states:
“Lieutenant Günther Schulz was sentenced to death by an American court martial and died on 14 June with 5 comrades. He was shot. He died as a German officer. His last words were:
“I am innocent — I do not know why I must die. I die for Germany”.
The pastor ends his letter with a request: “The enclosed scarf is to be handed to his bride.”

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Pastor Freise: “At the place of execution I spoke with all of them”.

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The second letter was directed by Pastor Freise on 26.12.1945 to the fiancée of Günther Schulz. From the content this is the first direct contact between the pastor and the fiancée. In the letter Pastor Freise describes how he experienced the events.

“Dear Miss …..!

I greet you with the most heartfelt sympathy.
On 13 June I was called to the prison. There I learned that on 14 June 6 German soldiers were to be shot. I sought them out in their individual cells. Your fiancé was calm and composed. He asked me to pray with him.
The next morning these 6 unfortunate men were already gone. I drove after the Americans. At the place of execution I spoke with all of them. I accompanied each one to the post. I spoke last with your fiancé. He died as a brave German officer. He entrusted me with greetings. His last words were: “I am innocent”. Without a word he breathed his last breath. He was dead immediately. On 18 June I buried the victims at the local Protestant main cemetery. His grave is in section 13 III class No. 621. He asked for a cross for his grave. May God console you and give you strength!”

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Pastor Walter Freise: “I accompanied each one to the post”

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The third letter from Pastor Freise is also directed to the fiancée of Günther Schulz; the letter is dated 09.01.1946. The letter concerns the fiancée’s wish to come to Braunschweig. The pastor also writes that a transfer is possible; he also names a funeral undertaker in Braunschweig. We therefore know that the family was informed of the death of Lieutenant Günther Schulz fairly quickly.
Much later a parcel with the possessions of the executed man is said to have been sent to his fiancée. A friend of the then-fiancée of Günther Schulz was able to report that there was a parcel with personal belongings of Günther Schulz. It was already after 1969 when Ruth showed her friend the parcel. The fiancée of Günther Schulz knew at the time she received the parcel that her fiancé had volunteered to parachute over enemy territory.

Here we now note that there is a discrepancy between what relatives and in this case the fiancée knew, and what actually took place in the Ardennes. For, as we now know, Lieutenant Günther Schulz was not captured as a paratrooper. Günther Schulz was in the team of Manfred Bronny, Hans Reich and Karl-Heinz Weisenfeld. The team was captured on 19.12.1944 in Liège in a jeep.

The farewell letters
From the estate of Heinz Schulz comes the farewell letter of his son. The farewell letter, as well as the letters from Pastor Freise, were handed over to me. In the archive of the Red Cross in Geneva both the letter that Günther Schulz addressed to his father and the farewell letter addressed to the fiancée are held. This leads to the conclusion that the farewell letters were sent together with the death certificate. It must be assumed that it took years before the farewell letters reached the father and the fiancée, at a time when they had long since learned of the fate of the son and the fiancé. Pastor Freise had informed the relatives very quickly. The death certificate was stamped on 06.08.1947; the postmark on the envelope of the Deutsche Dienststelle shows 15.02.1948.

From the farewell letter to the father it is apparent that there had been no contact between father and son for some time, because the father too had gone to war. A check of the data of Heinz Schulz has shown that he was discharged from Medical Company 227 on 24.02.1941; no reason was given. He must however have been called up again, since according to a report of 10.02.1945 Heinz Schulz was with the 2nd Company Fortress Pioneer Battalion 53. On 17.08.1945 he was registered by a British discharge post. Regarding the prisoner of war captivity itself, the Deutsche Dienststelle has no documents.

The farewell letter from the estate of Heinz Schulz has been kept for decades in a cover; it shall remain there for the time being. Nevertheless we will at some point present the letter to an expert. The letter bears a red stamp “Photocopie”. Is this letter therefore a copy? The photocopies (negatives of the letters) from the archive of the Red Cross bear no stamp. Both photocopies however have another peculiarity. In the upper right corner it reads “RAO USD 23”. This note was not written subsequently on the copy but was copied along with it. What this signifies has not yet been established. Enquiring at the Red Cross has however little point, since it can take up to a year before a reply comes from there.

Here now without commentary the two farewell letters:

“Braunschweig, 13 June 1945

My dear Father!

You too were a soldier and for the third time in this last war. Where might you be? I know nothing of you! My father! This is my last letter. I have been sentenced to death. Do not worry about me. Let your son swear under God’s oath that I, your Günther, am innocent. The Lord God will not remain silent, Father! I thank you for all your love and kindness. You made life beautiful for me — The ill-fated war took me away from you. And now only one thing remains for me, my dear good Father. To tell you: Years of sorrow, years of happiness — no matter what, you my dear Papa were my best comrade — my father. Take care of my Ruth! She is my everything! Comrades and people who were together with me will come to you and tell you of my fate. Always think of me. You know my heart and my thoughts. Before you too I can stand firm. The only thing that allows me to endure everything is the thought — once a person must die anyway. But I do not know why! As an officer I stand firm and upright. I am your son and I am proud of that! I greet you with respect and love!
Your faithful son Günther”

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Farewell letter to the father in the cover in which the family has kept the letter
for decades. Source: Stichting Oorlogsslachtoffers.

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“Braunschweig, 13 June 1945

My immortal love!

This letter, the first after almost 8 months, is to be my very last. Many people will visit you and tell you of my fate. Before God I am innocent. I now know nothing whatsoever of you, darling. I hope you have also received my notifications! All the time, the time of captivity, I have endured — You were with me on every path — on my last one too your dear face stands close before me. Our future on earth has now not come to be but I know — with the Almighty, there all people see one another again — you and I too. Thank you for all the years full of love and sunshine. You alone know how I think and feel. You alone know my innermost heart. Keep me always in your heart. xxx,- Your fiancé, I do not die for an idea, I must die by human law. Believe me, my sunshine, I shall stand before God’s tribunal. Very close I see you before me, look deep into your beautiful blue eyes and kiss you endlessly, so firmly am I in our immortal love, as we always called it. Now it will prove itself. I am yours — beyond death my words ring out to you: My dear wife! You alone were the fulfilment of my life! Farewell — Forget-me-not: Kiss!
Your faithful fiancé. Günther”

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Record Group 111: Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer, 1860 – 1985. Source: National Archives

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City Archives Braunschweig and Neuss
Two death certificates are available. One certificate from the City Archive Braunschweig, 2507/1945; the date of death given is 14.06.1945. The second certificate is held in the City Archive Neuss, 928/1947. On the death certificate in Neuss the date of death given is 15.06.1945.
We know however from the letters of Pastor Freise that Günther Schulz was certainly executed on 14.06.1945. The execution(s) took place in a gravel pit between Denstorf and Wedtenstedt. Today the gravel pit is full of water. On satellite photographs one can easily find the pit; it lies on the right-hand side when going from Denstorf in the direction of Wedtenstedt.
In the book “Braunschweig zwischen Krieg und Frieden” (ISBN: 3926701226) the executions of Heinz Petry and Josef Schöner are described. The two young men were executed on 01.06.1945 at the same place where Günther Schulz also died. The Braunschweig registrar Wilhelm Adenstedt was called upon by the US Army as a witness. All death certificates of those executed near Denstorf were issued on the oral notification of the registrar Adenstedt.
The five comrades who according to Pastor Freise died together with Günther Schulz were: Karl Zimmermann, Otto Teuteberg, Heinrich Rohlfing, Curt Bruns and Hans Becker. All death certificates are held in the Braunschweig City Archive. Farewell letters composed by the men are likely to be in the archive of the Red Cross in Geneva.
The heritage officer of the town of Vechelde, to which the village of Denstorf also belongs, conducted research at the cemetery administration in Braunschweig into the whereabouts of the graves. Since none of the executed men was known to the war graves commission, the bodies must have been buried elsewhere. None of the original graves at the Braunschweig Central Cemetery exists today. Most of the mortal remains were cremated after exhumation. Joseph Schöner was immediately buried after his death at the Catholic cemetery of Braunschweig. That grave also no longer exists today. Becker and Zimmermann remained at the Central Cemetery until the graves were levelled. Whether the urns of all those cremated were transferred to their home towns, as happened in the case of Günther Schulz, was not researched. It is only known that the bodies of Heinz Petry and Heinrich Rohlfing were exhumed in 1948 and 1950 respectively and transferred to their home villages and buried.

Bundesarchiv Department PA, formerly Deutsche Dienststelle (WASt)
From family possession there is a letter from the Deutsche Dienststelle to the father of Günther Schulz.
The letter to Heinz Schulz is however not the official death notification of his son. The letter was stamped in Berlin on 15.02.1948. According to the letter the death certificate of the Red Cross in Geneva was enclosed. This certificate has however been lost. From the personnel index cards* of the Bundesarchiv consulted by me and the associated “Alt-Schriftwechsel”** it emerges that the official death notification must already have reached the father in August 1947.

With the date of 20.08.1947 the settlement office of the Deutsche Dienststelle for the notification of the next of kin of fallen members of the former German Wehrmacht communicates the following:
The office hereby fulfils the sad duty of informing you of the death of your son Günther. He was shot on 14.06.45 in Braunschweig, Renneberg 3***, following conviction by an American military court. Details are not known here.
For the purpose of registering this death and arranging official registration, please fill in the official questionnaire and return it here together with this letter.
The last letter of your son is enclosed herewith.

1 Enclosure

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It is thus now documented when Mr Schulz received the farewell letter of his son Günther.
_{*** This refers with certainty to the penitentiary.}

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A report of 20.03.1945 states that Günther Schulz has been missing since 23.12.1944 in the Malmedy area. On the personnel index cards of Günther Schulz his death is reported for the first time in a report of 19.08.1947. The date of execution is initially established here as 14.06.1945, whereupon the “14” is crossed out and a “15” is written above it. It is reported that the body, after the execution, was handed over to Franz Tatthoff, Director of the city prison. In a report of 10.02.1948 the date of death is then backdated again to 14.06.1945. The text of this report is almost identical to that of 19.08.1947.
_{*/** Reference see Sources.}

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Letter of February 1948 addressed to the father of Lieutenant Günther Schulz.
The associated death certificate (RAD-94327) from the Red Cross in Geneva has been lost.
Source: © Stichting Oorlogsslachtoffers.

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From the estate of Heinz Schulz. The acquittal must
have been a slap in the face for many relatives.

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Information from the International Red Cross (ICRC) in Geneva
(International Committee of the Red Cross, ICRC)

The RAD number is 94327.

The certificate was signed and stamped on 6 August 1947 by Charles G Lauer US WD CIVILIANS DIRECTOR PWIB. The medical officer who signed the Death Certificate was Lt.Col.MC. William H. Brien (0429723). The third person to sign the document was Colonel, Infantry, Provost Marshal Robert C. Andrevs.

On 10.06.1945 the execution was authorised by the headquarters of the 9th US Army.

Regarding the whereabouts of the body, the grave location and the personal effects, reference is made to Franz Tatloff, Director of the city prison Braunschweig.

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The grave of the Schulz family at the Neuss cemetery. Here the urn of Lieutenant Schulz was interred in 1948.
Photo: © Stichting Oorlogsslachtoffers.