Paul Werner Wenneker (27 February 1890 – 17 October 1979) was a German admiral and diplomat. Born in

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland ...

, Wenneker died in Bergstedt,

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. Having joined the

Kaiserliche Marine {{italic title The adjective ''kaiserlich'' means "imperial" and was used in the German-speaking countries to refer to those institutions and establishments over which the ''Kaiser'' ("emperor") had immediate personal power of control. The term wa ...

in 1909, Wenneker twice served as German

Naval Attaché A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It includ ...

to Japan, first from 1935 to 1937 and again from 1940 to 1945.Giese, O., 1994, Shooting the War, Annapolis: United States Naval Institute, In-between these terms, from 1937 to 1940, he was commanding officer of the . As Naval Attaché, Wenneker urged that the submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy be used to attack Allied supply ships, as Germany's U-boats were doing in the Atlantic. The Japanese rejected his advice.

Awards and decorations

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia es ...

of 1914, 1st and 2nd class *

Spanish Cross The Spanish Cross (german: Spanien-Kreuz) was an award of Nazi Germany given to German troops who participated in the Spanish Civil War, fighting for nationalist general, later Spanish caudillo, Francisco Franco. History With the outbreak o ...

in Gold with Swords *

War Merit Cross The War Merit Cross (german: Kriegsverdienstkreuz) was a state decoration of Nazi Germany during World War II. By the end of the conflict it was issued in four degrees and had an equivalent civil award. A " de-Nazified" version of the War Meri ...

(1939), 1st and 2nd class with Swords *

German Cross The War Order of the German Cross (german: Der Kriegsorden Deutsches Kreuz), normally abbreviated to the German Cross or ''Deutsches Kreuz'', was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941. It was awarded in two divisions: in gold for repe ...

in Silver (24 April 1944) * Knight's Cross of the War Merit Cross with Swords (18 January 1945) * Order of the Rising Sun, 1st Class (Japan)

References

External links

WW2DB: Paul Wenneker
* 1890 births 1979 deaths Military personnel from Kiel People from the Province of Schleswig-Holstein Reichsmarine personnel Imperial German Navy personnel of World War I Admirals of the Kriegsmarine German diplomats Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class Recipients of the Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross Grand Cordons of the Order of the Rising Sun German expatriates in Japan Naval attachés {{germany-navy-bio-stub