} Eckhard Christian (1 December 1907 – 3 January 1985) was a

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

officer in

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 ...

, and rose to the rank of ''

Generalmajor is the Germanic languages, Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central Europe, Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and R ...

''. On 2 February 1943, he married Gerda Daranowski who was one of

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

's private secretaries during

. Christian was captured by British troops on 8 May 1945 and held in custody until 7 May 1947.

Biography

Eckhard Christian was born in

Charlottenburg Charlottenburg () is a Boroughs and localities of Berlin, locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Established as a German town law, town in 1705 and named after Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, Queen consort of Kingdom ...

(Berlin). He first joined the '' Reichsmarine'' (German Navy) in 1926. In 1928 and 1929, he attended officer candidate courses. Thereafter, he continued in the navy and obtained the rank of ''

Leutnant zur See is a military rank, used in a number of navies. Belgium Germany (''Lt zS'' or ''LZS'') is the lowest officer rank in the German Navy, grouped as OF1 in NATO. The rank was introduced in the German Imperial Navy by renaming the former ...

'' (second lieutenant) on 1 October 1930. In 1934, Christian transferred to the

(German Air force) glider school in Warnemünde. He was promoted to the rank of ''

Hauptmann () is an officer rank in the armies of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It is usually translated as ''captain''. Background While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has, and originally had, the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literall ...

'' (captain) on 1 April 1935. He was transferred to the Air Ministry in July 1938 and onto the General Staff. On 1 June 1940, he was promoted to

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

and from 15 January 1941 was attached to Chief of the Armed Forces Command Staff at

's ''

Führer ( , spelled ''Fuehrer'' when the umlaut is unavailable) is a German word meaning "leader" or " guide". As a political title, it is strongly associated with Adolf Hitler, the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. Hitler officially cal ...

'' HQ. Christian was promoted to ''

Oberstleutnant () (English: Lieutenant Colonel) is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to lieutenant colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, ...

'' (lieutenant colonel) on 15 March 1942. It was there at Hitler's HQ that Christian met Gerda "Dara" Daranowski, who was working as one of Adolf Hitler's private secretaries. They were married on 2 February 1943 and Gerda Christian took a break from her employment for Hitler. Her work was taken over by Traudl Junge. Christian was promoted to ''

Oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German language, German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Colonel. It is currently used by both the Army, ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, a ...

'' (colonel) on 1 March 1943. In mid-1943, Gerda Christian returned to Hitler's staff as one of his private secretaries. After the suicide of ''

Generaloberst A ("colonel general") was the second-highest general officer rank in the German '' Reichswehr'' and ''Wehrmacht'', the Austro-Hungarian Common Army, the East German National People's Army and in their respective police services. The rank w ...

Hans Jeschonnek Hans Jeschonnek (9 April 1899 – 18 August 1943) was a German military aviator in the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' during World War I, a general staff officer in the ''Reichswehr'' in the inter–war period and ''Generaloberst'' (Colonel-General) and a ...

, when the latter was replaced by

Günther Korten Günther Korten (26 July 1898 – 22 July 1944) was a German Colonel General and Chief of the General Staff of the Luftwaffe in World War II. He died from injuries suffered in the 20 July plot, assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler on 20 July 19 ...

, Christian was appointed to the Luftwaffe Command Staff at Hitler's request. One year later, he was promoted to ''

'' and made ''Chef des Luftwaffe-Führungsstabes'' (Chief of the Luftwaffe Command Staff) at Hitler's request on 1 September 1944. In April 1945, Christian was stationed in Berlin at the ''

Führerbunker The () was an air raid shelter located near the Reich Chancellery in Berlin, Germany. It was part of a subterranean bunker complex constructed in two phases in 1936 and 1944. It was the last of the Führer Headquarters (''Führerhaupt ...

'' HQ. He left the bunker complex on 22 April 1945 to become chief of the liaison staff of the Luftwaffe to

OKW The (; abbreviated OKW ː kaːˈveArmed Forces High Command) was the supreme military command and control staff of Nazi Germany during World War II, that was directly subordinated to Adolf Hitler. Created in 1938, the OKW replaced the Re ...

Command Staff North. His wife, Gerda, was one of two secretaries who volunteered to remain with Hitler in the ''Führerbunker''. On 8 May 1945, he surrendered to British troops in Mürwik and was held in custody until 7 May 1947. Gerda did not ever reunite with her husband after the war ended. In fact, Gerda divorced Christian in 1946 because he did not remain with her in the ''Führerbunker'' until after the death of Hitler. Christian died on 3 January 1985 in Bad Kreuznach.

Awards

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 on 10 May 1945 as ''

'' and chief of the ''Luftwaffen''-''Führungsstab'' and ''Verbindungskommando'' zum OKW-StabPatzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 538. *

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

(1939), 1st and 2nd Class *

War Merit Cross The War Merit Cross () 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 Merit Cross was reissued in 1957 ...

(1939), 1st and 2nd class with Swords * Narvik Shield * Order of the Cross of Liberty, 2nd Class with Swords on 18 August 1943 * Flugzeugführerabzeichen *

Wehrmacht Long Service Award The Wehrmacht Long Service Award () was a List of military decorations of the Third Reich, military service decoration of Nazi Germany issued for satisfactory completion of a number of years in military service. History On 16 March 1936, Adolf ...

(''Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung''), IV. and III. Class

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * *Patzwall, Klaus D. and Scherzer, Veit (2001). ''Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II'' (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Christian, Eckhard 1907 births 1985 deaths People from Charlottenburg Military personnel from the Province of Brandenburg Reichsmarine personnel Major generals of the Luftwaffe Luftwaffe World War II generals Luftwaffe pilots Recipients of the Iron Cross (1939), 1st class Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Liberty, 2nd Class Military personnel from Berlin

Biography

Awards

See also

References

Citations

Bibliography