Rudolf Schröder
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Rudolf Schröder (abt. 1915 - 1945)

M Sgt Rudolf [uncertain] "Blondi" Schröder
Born about in Germanymap
Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
[spouse(s) unknown]
[children unknown]
Died at about age 30 in Stalag Ivb, Muehlberg, Saxony, Germanymap
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Profile last modified | Created 27 Mar 2017
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Biography

M Sgt Rudolf Schröder served in the Heer in World War II
Service started: 1939
Unit(s): Officer Stalag IVb
Service ended: 23 Apr 1945

Oberfeldwebel (M/Sgt.) Schröder was responsible for the Anglo/American compound at Stalag IVb during World War II

See: Space:Stalag_IVb,_Muehlberg,_Saxony,_Germany

He was murdered by former Soviet POWs when the Camp was liberated by the Soviet Red Army's 58th Guard

Sources

  • Copper Wire, by Robert Harding (Dublin, Ireland: Chess Mail Lmtd. 2001) and Survival at Stalag IVb by Tony Vercoe, ( Jefferson N.C.: McFarland Publishers)




Memories: 7
Enter a personal reminiscence or story.
On one occasion , near the gate to the compound, a grave was built. The mound was carefully constructed with sand and Blondie's name had been neatly painted on the wooden headstone. When he (Blondie) saw it he went mad and smashed it up with his feet and then charged through the nearest hut like a the proverbial bull in a china shop. --Diary of Douglas Gillam (Unpublished) 1998
posted 4 Aug 2019 by Lawrence Bailey   [thank Lawrence]
He (Blondie) had to be the meanest bastard in the ( German) army. He would hit a POW for no reason; he usually carried a pick handle and would lay into anyone who got in his way. And we knew for certain he killed eight blokes. Blokes who could not fight back. Pvt Tom Baker, Survival at Stalag IVb By: Tony Vercoe McFarland Publishers Jefferson, NC, 2005. As reported by Former British P.O.W. Tom Baker
posted 4 Aug 2019 by Lawrence Bailey   [thank Lawrence]
" The man in charged of the RAF Compound was a NCO who was known as "Blondie"... His bearing and attitude clearly showed his hatred of each and everyone of us . Blondie made regular inspections of the hunt. He would tip over a man's food or trample over a man's clean clothes. Before these incidents he will always took out his revolver out of his holster to give him an extra bit of confidence. One man in our hut put a jacket over a lump of concrete in the middle of the the floor. Sure enough Blondie kick it when he saw it . I don't think he broke his toe but it was a near thing. -- Diary of Douglas Gillam (Unpublished) 1998
posted 4 Aug 2019 by Lawrence Bailey   [thank Lawrence]
"Schröder had lost his right hand during the siege of Stevastopol, and used a prosthetic covered by a shiny black glove. This combined with a slight Heidelberg scar on his right cheek, always being smartly dressed, highly polished jack-boots, riding-crop and a pistol at his hip gave him the appearance of a Hollywood version of a Nazi villain."

Robert Harding- The Copper Wire

posted 27 Mar 2017 by Lawrence Bailey   [thank Lawrence]
Rudolf Schroder was responsible for the Anglo/American compound. The prisoners called him “Blondie”. Harding’s described Schroder as “cold and aloof with haughty Aryan superiority. He had as little to do with us (the P.O.W.s) as possible.” Robert Harding, Copper Wire, 2001.
posted 27 Mar 2017 by Lawrence Bailey   [thank Lawrence]
My father may have witness Schroder horrible death, as other former Stalag IVb would report they had to Russell Kuehen, U.S Army, during their RAMP (Recovered Allied Military Personnel debriefing. Could this have been the ratiocination for his never wanting to share his memories of liberation?
posted 27 Mar 2017 by Lawrence Bailey   [thank Lawrence]
Except Form

Survival at Stalag IVb By: Tony Vercoe McFarland Publishers Jefferson, NC, 2005

As reported by Former British P.O.W. Tom Baker

Tom Baker: “I noticed it had suddenly gone quite. Outside… I saw everyone was watching something happening over in the Russian compound. I joined the crowd to see what was so interesting and I wish I had not. It was gristly and haunting. The Russian P.O.W.s now freed… had been busy raiding the small allotment garden to get anything edible and that’s where they found “Blondie: (Oberfeldwebel Schroder) the German guard hiding in one of the sheds… asleep in a drunken stupor and now struggling to keep his feet while a group of very determined Russian P.O.W.s steered him to a lamppost in the Camp. A large group had gathered and two or three Russians had hold of Blondie by the arms. “Blondie was struggling and shouting and screaming but to no avail. The woman on the horse (see above reference in Survival at Stalag IVb or Chapter 42 of Parallel Journey) just sat there and watched as a skinny Russian P.O.W. threw a rope over the lamppost… and fastened it to Blondie’s ankles. Now a couple of Russians pulled Blondie off his feet while three or four more hauled on the rope. Blondie was left grabbing at tufts of grass in a vain attempt to avoid being hoisted upside down. The Russians kept pulling until his head was two feet clear of the ground and for a short while Blondie was swaying back and forth trying to reach his Ankles. Tom Baker: “I shed no tears for Blondie but to see a bloke die like this was like being in a nightmare.” Going on to describe, in graphic detail the horrific execution of Blondie… Tom acknowledged that, for the Russian P.O.W.s (Of the 3000 Soviet and Slavic Prisoners held at Stalag IVb few had survived) it was justice. For him though, ti has always exemplified the ultimate savagery of war. Suffice here to record that a knife was used to cut off first the hands and then the head which was spat upon and defiled in other ways.

posted 27 Mar 2017 by Lawrence Bailey   [thank Lawrence]
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Categories: World War II POW German Camps, Stalag IV-B | Heer, World War II