Theodor Detmers (22 August 19024 November 1976) was a German naval officer and captain of the German auxiliary cruiser ''Kormoran'' 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 ...

. He was a recipient of the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 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 order of precedence, lower in preceden ...

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 ...

. Detmers commanded the commerce raider ''Kormoran'' when it sunk the Australian light cruiser in a mutually destructive battle.

Career

Detmers joined the ''

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 '' ...

'' in 1921 and served on the battleships and . He was educated on the

sail training ship From its modern interpretations to its antecedents when maritime nations would send young naval officer candidates to sea (e.g., see Outward Bound), sail training provides an unconventional and effective way of building many useful skills on an ...

''Niobe'' and also served on . Detmers became a sublieutenant on the cruiser . From 1926 to 1928, he served on the ''Albatross''. In 1927, he was promoted to lieutenant. From 1930 to 1932, he served as staff officer and was then stationed on the cruiser , on which he visited

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in 1933. In 1934, he served on

torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...

s and destroyers of the Reichsmarine. In October 1938, he was in command of the destroyer ''Hermann Schoemann'' and participated in Operation ''Weserübung'' in April to June 1940.

HSK ''Kormoran''

In July 1940, Detmers became captain of the commerce raider ''Kormoran'', and captured or destroyed 11 enemy merchant ships. On 19 November 1941 ''Kormoran'' was intercepted by . Detmers tried to pose as a Dutch merchant ship. He allegedly lacked the necessary naval codes, however, and was finally forced to engage ''Sydney''. Detmers sank the Australian cruiser in battle off

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. His own ship was severely damaged and had to be

scuttled 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 vesse ...

, after which Detmers was captured and became a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

(POW). In December 1941, Detmers was awarded the

and in 1943, was promoted to the rank of ''

Kapitän zur See 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 ...

''. He had earlier received the first class

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 ...

Prisoner of war and later life

From 1941 to January 1947, Detmers was held as a POW at HM Prison Dhurringile. While a prisoner, he wrote a coded account of the battle between HMAS ''Sydney'' and German auxiliary cruiser ''Kormoran'' that survived the war. Detmers tried to escape Australian captivity with other members of his crew, through a tunnel and then hoped to capture a sailboat to get to

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

; however, the attempt was unsuccessful. Later during his imprisonment, he suffered a stroke. Detmers returned to Germany in 1947 and was released from British captivity in

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

. Due to his stroke, he was ineligible for service in the post-war

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 early 1950s he married Ursula Reinhardt, daughter of a Protestant pastor. They had no children and he died in

Rahlstedt Rahlstedt () is a quarter (''Stadtteil'') in the Wandsbek borough (''Bezirk'') of the Free and Hanseatic city of Hamburg in northern Germany. In 2023, the population was 95,743. History The quarter was first mentioned in 1248 with the name of "''R ...

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

in 1976. Detmers wrote a book about his ''Kormoran'' experiences, which was translated into English.

Awards and decorations

on 4 December 1941 as

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 ...

and commander of auxiliary cruiser Kormoran (HSK-8)

Selected works

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Detmers, Theodor 1902 births 1976 deaths German prisoners of war in World War II Kriegsmarine personnel Military personnel from the Province of Westphalia People from Witten Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Reichsmarine personnel World War II prisoners of war held by Australia Military personnel from North Rhine-Westphalia