Adalbert Zuckschwerdt (1 January 1874 – 1 July 1945) was captain (''

Korvettenkapitän (; ) is the lowest ranking Field officer, senior officer in the German navy. Germany Korvettenkapitän, short: KKpt/in lists: KK, () is the lowest senior officer military rank, rank () in the German Navy. Address The official manner, in li ...

'') of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

raider SMS Cormoran, which sailed from the German Colony of

Qingdao Qingdao, Mandarin: , (Qingdao Mandarin: t͡ɕʰiŋ˧˩ tɒ˥) is a prefecture-level city in the eastern Shandong Province of China. Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, Qingdao was long an important fortress. In 1897, the city was ceded to G ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, until she was finally docked and interned at

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

by the

Americans Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Law of the United States, U.S. federal law does not equate nationality with Race (hu ...

. Zuckschwerdt preempted the confiscation of his ship by the Americans by igniting preplanted explosives and

scuttling Scuttling is the act of deliberately sinking a ship by allowing water to flow into the hull, typically by its crew opening holes in its hull. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vessel ...

her in

Apra Harbor Apra Harbor, also called Port Apra, is a deep-water port on the western side of the United States territory of Guam. It is considered one of the best natural ports in the Pacific Ocean. The harbor is bounded by Cabras Island and the Glass Breakwat ...

. Seven of the German sailors on board died, and Zuckschwerdt spent the rest of the war as a

POW POW is "prisoner of war", a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. POW or pow may also refer to: Music * P.O.W (Bullet for My Valentine song), "P.O.W" (Bull ...

Career before the ''SMS Cormoran'' incident

Zuckschwerdt joined the

Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the ''Kaiserliche Marine'' (Imperial Navy) was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for ...

on 4 April 1893 and served in different positions on land and sea. From 1902 to 1904 he served as navy officer in the German Colony ''

Kiautschou Bay concession The Kiautschou Bay Leased Territory was a German colonial empire, German leased territory in Qing dynasty, Imperial and Republic of China (1912–1949), Early Republican China from 1898 to 1914. Covering an area of , it centered on Kiautschou ...

''. Thereafter he was appointed as a gunnery officer (''Artillerieoffizier'') on and , followed by an appointment as

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer ...

(''Erster Offizier'') and as a gunnery officer (''Artillerieoffizier'') on . On 12 February 1913 he travelled to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

to take the command of the

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...

SMS Cormoran. He was involved in a raid against

indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

on the German-occupied

Bougainville Island Bougainville Island (; Tok Pisin: ''Bogenvil'') is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, which is part of Papua New Guinea. Its land area is . The highest point is Mount Balbi, on the main island, at . The much smaller Buk ...

in February 1914 and afterwards sailed onwards to Qingdao. He arrived at the city harbour on 30 May 1914. At the beginning of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Zuckschwerdt's ship was decommissioned and he and his crew switched to a newly commissioned German Raider, a former civil vessel, captured by the German Cruiser shortly before. The new ship was also named SMS ''Cormoran''.

After World War I

Zuckschwerdt was set free in 1919 and returned to Germany, where he got promoted to the rank of ''

Fregattenkapitän () is the middle ranking senior officer in a number of Germanic-speaking navies. Austro-Hungary Belgium Germany , short: FKpt / in lists: FK, is the middle Senior officer military rank, rank () in the German Navy. It is the equivalent o ...

''. After being shortly dismissed he joined the newly founded ''

Reichsmarine The () was the name of the German Navy during the Weimar Republic and first two years of Nazi Germany. It was the naval branch of the , existing from 1919 to 1935. In 1935, it became known as the ''Kriegsmarine'' (War Navy), a branch of the '' ...

'' (the

German Navy The German Navy (, ) is part of the unified (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Marine'' (German Navy) became the official ...

in the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

). On 19 February 1920 he received the promotion to the rank of

Captain at sea Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The rank is equal to the army rank of colonel and air force rank of group captain. Equivalent ranks worldwide include ...

(''Kapitän zur See''). When German forces occupied France during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Zuckschwerdt, by then in his late 60s, was appointed harbour commander of Nieuwpoort and later of

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...

. On 23 February 1941 he was appointed ''Kommandant der Seeverteidigung'' (Commander of Coastal Defense) at

Loire The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône. It rises in the so ...

water mouth and later at

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (, , ; ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately . History ...

. On 1 March 1943 Zuckschwerdt was promoted to ''

Konteradmiral (; abbreviated KAdm) is a senior naval flag officer rank in several German-speaking countries, equivalent to counter or rear admiral. Austria-Hungary In the Austro-Hungarian '' K.u.K. Kriegsmarine'' (1849 to 1918) there were the flag of ...

''. He then was appointed ''Admiral der französischen Südküste'' ("Admiral of the Coast of southern France") from 26 June to 31 August 1943 and returned to be Commander of Coastal Defense of Languedoc from 1 September 1943 to 4 April 1944. On 23 March 1944 Zuckschwerdt received the

German Cross The War Order of the German Cross (), 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 repeated acts of bravery or military leade ...

in Silver as ''Seekommandant''

.. On 31 May 1944 Zuckschwerdt went on pension. Nevertheless, after World War II ended, he still became a POW of the US Forces operating in

Garmisch-Partenkirchen Garmisch-Partenkirchen (; ) is an Northern Limestone Alps, Alpine mountain resort, ski town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the seat of government of the Garmisch-Partenkirchen (district), district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (abbreviated ...

on 14 May 1945. He died in July 1945, shortly after Germany's surrender to the Allies, while still being a POW. His grave lies in the area of the former British POW-camp ' near

Hövelhof Hövelhof () is a municipality in the district Paderborn, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Since 14 March 2012, Hövelhof can use the official prefix ''Sennegemeinde'' (English: "Senne municipality"). Geography Hövelhof is located in the S ...

References

External links

Kurzbiographie Adalbert Zuckschwerdt
(Short biography of Adalbert Zuckschwerdt in German language). {{DEFAULTSORT:Zuckschwerdt, Adalbert 1874 births 1945 deaths People from Leinefelde-Worbis Military personnel from the Province of Saxony Counter admirals of the Kriegsmarine Imperial German Navy personnel of World War I Reichsmarine personnel German prisoners of war in World War I German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United States