Günther Rudolf Schilz

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NSDAP
In the Bundesarchiv Berlin (formerly BDC), membership of the NSDAP could be established only for Günther Schilz, from 01.03.1941. His membership number was: 8188604. The other family members were not members of the party.

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Education
Günther Schilz attended the German grammar school in The Hague. This school was attended mainly by children of German and foreign diplomats and members of the German community in The Hague.

After passing his final school examinations, Günther Schilz chose to pursue an officer’s career in the Navy. The training lasted nearly four years. It covered the observer service in the Naval Air Arm and deployment in single-man submarines. This and further information about Günther Schilz and his parents comes from the family chronicle of the Schilz family, recorded by a brother of Robert Schilz.

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According to the Deutsche Dienststelle, Günther Schilz was a career soldier.

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Battleship “Scharnhorst” 01.04.1941 – 30.09.1941
Source: Schöning & Co., Lübeck

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No information is available regarding any hospital stays by Günther Schilz.

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The family history

From 01.05.1925 the father of Günther Schilz was director of the „NV Kandem Electriciteits Maatschappij” (Kandem for short). The company was founded in the Netherlands in the early 1920s. Behind Kandem stood the German firm „Körting & Mathiesen” from Leipzig. Production took place at the factory in Rotterdam from 1941 to 1951. Production there was definitively ceased in 1951. Which specific products were manufactured in Rotterdam has not been researched.

The records of the “NV Kandem Electriciteits Maatschappij” help us trace the path of the Schilz family in the Netherlands. In 1922 the family moved from Breda to Ginneken, in 1928 they moved to The Hague. Ginneken, the birthplace of Günther Schilz, was annexed by Breda in 1942. Within The Hague the family moved from Van Mauvestraat to V. Zaeckstrasse. This was also the family’s last address in the Netherlands. The family chronicle of the Schilz family mentions that Robert Schilz was imprisoned from July 1944 to April 1945. The reason for the imprisonment was, according to tradition, based on a misunderstanding. The residential area was classified as a restricted zone.
In order to obtain a pass, Robert Schilz went to the responsible American authority.
The OvWa (Officer of the Guard Duty), an American officer, accused him of being a disguised German officer and arranged for him to be placed in a prison without any judicial proceedings. Mrs Schilz left The Hague in May 1944. Robert Schilz applied to a senior official in The Hague on 23.09.1946 for a permit to return. This permit was however never issued.

The V. Zaeckstr. in The Hague is mentioned both in the registration records, on the NSDAP membership card, and in the death register entry for Günther Schilz in the City Archive of The Hague. On 23.09.1946 Günther Schilz was removed from the population register. The reason given was: Moved to unknown destination. At the same time the death, on the basis of an official communication from the German authorities, was recorded in the death register of The Hague under number A689. The City Archive of The Hague offers the possibility of searching for persons online. Here one can find all members of the family. The registration data of the family and the death certificate of Günther Schilz are freely available here.
The reorganisation is proceeding step by step; when all data will be available on the new page is unknown. These include both the registration data of the Schilz family and the entry relating to the death of Günther Schilz in the death register.
In the Registry Office I in Berlin the death of Lieutenant Günter Rudolf Schilz was recorded under number 15745/1948. Here Günther was written without the “h”.

The mother of Günther Schilz, Käthe Schilz-Schugt, was a trained opera singer. In some historical Dutch newspapers references can be found to musical performances up to 1930. As could be learned from the family chronicle, his mother’s way of life caused Günther Schilz increasing difficulties as he grew older. In terms of character, father and son are said to have been much closer to each other. Robert Schilz must have loved his son very much. Even though the two did not see eye to eye politically. There is an entry in the family chronicle about this. It reads: “…Robert had become unpopular with the NSDAP authorities and especially the SS because of his courageous advocacy for the reasonable treatment of the Dutch population. So it came about one day in a hotel of the German community that there was a confrontation with drunken SS officers who provoked him and attempted to shoot him. Hotel staff prevented the attack by intervening, but the SS men followed Robert into the street and fired after him. Thanks to the darkness and Robert’s presence of mind — he had thrown himself to the ground — the shots missed and he was able to reach safety. This happened shortly before the Americans marched in.”

On 13 January 1948 the family received official confirmation of the fate of their son Günther.

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Obituary on the death of Robert Schilz. Source: Letters, daily newspaper

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We have now reached a point at which another puzzle in the history of the commando soldiers needs to be resolved. The photograph of two German prisoners of war, two members of the commando company of Panzer Brigade 150, the unit Stielau / Staff Solar. The name of the second German prisoner was still unknown to us. It is unambiguous: Günther Schilz!

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One might now ask why, from a group of 7 prisoners of war (Görlich, Krause, Meyer, Miegel, Pollack, Schilz and Wittsack), only these two were photographed. The picture surely served propaganda purposes. After all, 7 prisoners of war make a better impression than 2. It is entirely possible that there are, or were, further photographs. Whether that is or was the case will more likely be resolved by chance. All photographs and documents of the US Army are far too widely scattered. Should further photographs of this group have been destroyed, however and for whatever reason, we shall never learn of it.

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Schmidt, Billig and Pernass
The photograph was taken shortly after the capture of the three.
The best proof that the two in winter coats (Meyer and Schilz) are NOT Schmidt, Billing or Pernass.

Source: The National WWII Museum New Orleans / Signal Corps US-Army.

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Bundesarchiv Department PA, formerly Deutsche Dienststelle (WASt)
From the personnel index cards* I consulted, it emerges that according to a report dated 15.03.1944, Günther Schilz had deposited a will.
According to a report dated 20.03.1945, Günther Schilz had been listed as missing in the Malmedy area since 23.12.1944.
He had not returned from a special mission. Only a report dated 13.01.1948 brought clarity to this missing persons case.
According to the report, in which the RAD number of the death certificate is cited, Günther Schilz died on 30.12.1944 in Henri-Chapelle, cause of death: Musketry. There was some back-and-forth regarding notification of the parents, who had by then returned to Germany. The registration of the death also did not proceed without difficulties. Since Günther Schilz was registered abroad, the death had to be reported in Berlin, who in turn notified the registry office in The Hague.
_{*Reference see Sources}

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Information from the International Red Cross (ICRC) in Geneva

(International Committee of the Red Cross, ICRC)

The death certificate at the Red Cross in Geneva was archived there under RAD number 94841 and shows only one notable feature:

The unit is given as 13th Para Regt (Parachute Regiment 13).

Günther Schilz was captured on 23.12.1944 in Géromont. He unambiguously belongs to the same group as Horst Görlich, Arno Krause, Rolf Meyer, Erhard Miegel, Robert Pollack and Dietrich Wittsack.

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German Military Cemetery Lommel, Belgium. Photo: © Stichting Oorlogsslachtoffers.