__NOTOC__ Theodor Burchardi (14 May 1892 – 12 August 1983) was an

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

with the

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official military branch, branche ...

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 ...

and recipient of the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. While it was lower in precedence than the Grand C ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. He was responsible for organising the evacuation of 2 million people from

Courland Courland is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. Courland's largest city is Liepāja, which is the third largest city in Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland as they were ...

and Eastern Prussia at the end of World War II in

Operation Hannibal Operation Hannibal was a German naval operation involving the evacuation by sea of German troops and civilians from the Courland Pocket, East Prussia, West Prussia and Pomerania from mid-January to May 1945 as the Red Army advanced during the ...

and the

Evacuation of East Prussia German civilian population and military personnel were evacuated from East Prussia between 20 January and March 1945. The evacuation was initially organized and carried out by Nazi Germany, state authorities but quickly turned into a chaotic fli ...

Biography

Burchardi was born in Homberg. He entered the Kaiserliche Marine on 1 April 1911 as a sea cadet and was trained on the Large cruiser ''SMS Hansa''. During his attendance at Marineschule he was promoted on 15. April 1912 to Midshipman (''Fähnrich zur See'') and was transferred on 1. October 1913 to the large cruiser ''SMS Seydlitz''. Just after the start of World War I he was promoted on 3. August 1914 to Lieutenant (''Leutnant zur See''). On 3. January 1915 he was transferred to the large cruiser ''SMS Moltke'' and from 6. May to 15. June 1915 he attended an artillery course on SMS ''Kaiserin Augusta''. After that he was transferred to Torpedo boats half flottile as a watch officer. After his promotion to Lieutenant 1st grade (''Oberleutnant zur See'') 26. April 1917 Burchardi took over Torpedo boat ''G 39'' as his first command, that he continued until end 1918. After his promotion to Captain (''Kapitän zur See'') on January 1, 1937, he was given command of the light cruiser on October 15, and commanded it in patrols off the Spanish coast during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. At the beginning of the Second World War, ''Köln'' was in the Baltic Sea. Burchardi relinquished command of ''Köln'' on January 14, 1940 and was appointed chief of staff of the ''Kriegsmarine'' shipyard in

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

. On January 1, 1941, he was promoted to Rear Admiral. In preparation for

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

, Burchardi was appointed as ''Marinebefehlshaber D'' (Naval Commander D). On November 6, 1941 Burchardi was appointed as Commanding Admiral in Ostland. On February 1, 1943 he was promoted to Vice Admiral. On June 17, 1944, Burchardi was appointed as Commanding Admiral of the Eastern Baltic Sea and was promoted to Admiral on January 1, 1945. Burchardi commanded the naval units involved in Operation Aster, the evacuation of German troops and civilians from Estonia. In the final months of the war, Burchardi commanded naval units in

, he was responsible for organizing the evacuation of 2 million people from

and

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

. He died in Gluecksburg.

Awards

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 ...

(1914) 2nd Class (24 January 1915) & 1st Class (27 September 1919)Dörr 1995, p. 115. *

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 ...

4th to 1st Class (2 October 1936) *

Sudetenland Medal The 1 October 1938 Commemorative Medal () was commonly known as the Sudetenland Medal. It was a decoration of Nazi Germany awarded during the interwar period, and the second in a series of Occupation Medals. Description Instituted on 18 October ...

(20 December 1939) * Memel Medal (3 June 1940) *

Clasp to the Iron Cross Clasp, clasper or CLASP may refer to: * Book clasp, fastener for a book cover * Folding clasp, a device used to close a watch strap * Lobster clasp, fastener for jewellery * Wrist clasp, a dressing accessory * Medal bar, an element in militar ...

(1939) 2nd Class (10 October 1939) & 1st Class (18 January 1940)Thomas 1997, p. 92. *

Order of the Cross of Liberty The Order of the Cross of Liberty (; ) is one of three official state Order (decoration), orders in Finland, along with the Order of the White Rose of Finland and the Order of the Lion of Finland. The awards of the Order of the Cross of Liberty ...

1st Class with Swords (7 June 1943) *

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 Gold (31 March 1944)Scherzer 2007, p. 254. *

** Knight's Cross on 29 September 1944 as ''Vizeadmiral'' and commanding admiral ''Ostland'' ** 823rd Oak Leaves on 8 April 1945 as ''Admiral'' and commanding admiral eastern Baltic Sea

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Burchardi, Theodor Admirals of the Kriegsmarine Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Liberty, 1st Class Imperial German Navy personnel of World War I German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United Kingdom Reichsmarine personnel 1892 births 1983 deaths People from Homberg (Efze) Military personnel from Hesse-Nassau Military personnel from Hesse