Felix Scheffler (9 February 1915, in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

, Germany – 13 March 1986, in

Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state ...

, Germany) was a World War II Wehrmacht veteran,

Konteradmiral ''Konteradmiral'', abbreviated KAdm or KADM, is the second lowest naval flag officer rank in the German Navy. It is equivalent to ''Generalmajor'' in the '' Heer'' and ''Luftwaffe'' or to '' Admiralstabsarzt'' and '' Generalstabsarzt'' in the ' ...

, and first Chief of the East German People's Navy (Volksmarine).

Life

Felix Scheffler was born into a working family. His father was employed as a clerk and his mother worked as a cleaner. After leaving school, between 1930 and 1933 Felix Schaeffler undertook an apprenticeship as a pharmacist in Altona, which at this time was still administratively separate from nearby Hamburg. In 1932/33 Scheffler was a member of the Nazi

Sturmabteilung The (; SA; literally "Storm Detachment") was the original paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party. It played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s. Its primary purposes were providing protection for Nazi ralli ...

. From 1933 to 1937, Scheffler was a seafarer. From 1937 to 1941, he served as a Sergeant in the German

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

. Captured by the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

he was held in captivity from 1941 to 1947. Scheffler joined the

National Committee Free Germany The National Committee for a Free Germany (german: Nationalkomitee Freies Deutschland, or NKFD) was a German anti-Nazi organization that operated in the Soviet Union during World War II.The Russians in Germany: A History of the Soviet Zone of Occu ...

(NKFD) in 1943. From 1944 to 1945, he participated in the partisan movement in

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

. He was part of a special intelligence unit of the German anti-fascists under the name "Group-117", which operated in the Lipichansk Forest. This group also included Hugh Bars, Carl Rinagel, and Herbert Geynchke. In 1945 Scheffler fought for the Soviet

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

against Polish partisans. Scheffler returned to what was left of Germany in November 1947, not returning to Hamburg, but settling in the

Soviet occupation zone The Soviet Occupation Zone ( or german: Ostzone, label=none, "East Zone"; , ''Sovetskaya okkupatsionnaya zona Germanii'', "Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany") was an area of Germany in Central Europe that was occupied by the Soviet Union as a ...

which was in the process of being transformed into the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). From 1947 to 1948, he was the directorate secretary for the

Socialist Unity Party of Germany The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (german: Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands, ; SED, ), often known in English as the East German Communist Party, was the founding and ruling party of the German Democratic Republic (GDR; East German ...

(SED) party school in

Kleinmachnow Kleinmachnow is a municipality of about 20,000 inhabitants in the Potsdam-Mittelmark district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated South-West of the borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf and East of Potsdam. First mentioned in the Landbuch of Kar ...

. From 1948 to 1950, he was a member of the Democratic Farmer’s Party of Germany (DBD / ''Demokratische Bauernpartei Deutschlands'') serving as the organizational secretary. He rejoined the SED in 1950. Felix Scheffier's grave

In 1950 Scheffler joined the People’s Police Sea (Volkspolizei See) the forerunner of the People's Navy (Volksmarine). From 1950 to 1954, he was Deputy Director of the People’s Police Sea (Volkspolizei See) command. On 1 October 1952 he was appointed as Konteradmiral. He was appointed as the Chief of the People's Police Sea (Volkspolizei See) in 1955, and for a brief period from 1 March 1956 to 31 December 1956 he served as Chief of the People’s Navy (Volksmarine). From 1955 to 1975, he served in various leading positions in the People’s Navy (Volksmarine). He attended the Soviet Voroshilov Naval Academy in Leningrad from 1957 to 1959. In 1959, he became the Deputy Chief of the People's Navy (Seestreitkräfte/Volksmarine)(Deputy for Education, 1959–1961; Deputy for Technology, 1962–63 and 1964-1975 the Chief of Rear Services). He retired from the Volksmarine on 1 March 1975.

References

* Klaus Froh, Rüdiger Wenzke: ''Die Generale und Admirale der NVA. Ein biographisches Handbuch.'' 4. Auflage. Ch. Links, Berlin 2000, {{DEFAULTSORT:Scheffler, Felix 1915 births 1986 deaths Military personnel from Hamburg German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union Counter admirals of the Volksmarine Socialist Unity Party of Germany politicians Democratic Farmers' Party of Germany politicians Members of the Volkskammer Sturmabteilung personnel German Army personnel of World War II National Committee for a Free Germany members Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit (honor clasp) N. G. Kuznetsov Naval Academy alumni