Rolf Johannesson
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Nazi Germany 
West GermanyGerman Navy
Rolf Johannesson | |
|---|---|
| Born | 22 July 1900 |
| Died | 6 December 1989 (aged 89) |
| Allegiance | Nazi Germany West Germany |
| Branch | Kriegsmarine German Navy |
| Rank | Konteradmiral |
| Commands | Z15 Erich Steinbrinck ZG3 Hermes |
| Conflicts | Battle of the Mediterranean |
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross |
Rolf Johannesson (22 July 1900 – 6 December 1989) was a German admiral during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. He joined the post-war Bundesmarine in 1957 and retired in 1961 as a Konteradmiral.
Nazi Kriegsmarine
Rolf Johannesson was born on July 22, 1900, in Berlin-Lichterfelde. He attended a secondary school and, after graduating from high school in 1918, joined the Imperial Navy as a midshipman.[1] After the end of the First World War, he was transferred to the small Imperial Navy. He studied at the University of Tübingen in the meantime. He returned to the Navy and rose to the Nazi leadership.
In the phase of further consolidation of the National Socialist state and the transition to the impending war aims, the Reichsmarine was renamed the Kriegsmarine in 1935, the Abwehr department was restaffed, and its content and structure were aligned with the future priorities of warfare. In the summer of 1937 Johannesson took over the command of the sabotage and counter-espionage unit of the Condor Legion, stationed in Salamanca.
After Germany launched World War II, he served as a corvette captain and commander of the destroyer "Erich Steinbrinck." With the destroyer, he participated in the Battleship Group's advance into the North Sea and the Battle of Jan Mayen in June 1940. He later served as commander of the destroyer "Hermes" and then commander of the 4th Destroyer Flotilla. On January 1, 1945, he was promoted to Rear Admiral, and as such, his final rank was commander of the fortifications on the Elbe and Weser.[1]
Shortly before the end of World War II was Johannesson commander of the Elbe-Weser naval defense sector of Kriegsmarine. Historians were able to document in the 2020s, that Johansson orderd to execute five people on Heligoland. They were accused of mutiny because they wanted to raise the white flag over the offshore island as a sign of surrender.[2] He never spoke about it publicly after the war and did not mention the verdict in his autobiography.
Within the Nazi Navy, Johannson rose steadily: on April 1, 1937, he was promoted to Korvettenkapitän (Corvette Captain), on August 1,1940, to Fregattenkapitän (Fregatten Commander), on September 1, 1942, to Kapitän zur See (Captain), and finally on January 1, 1945, to Konteradmiral (Rear Admiral).
After the Wehrmacht's surrender, the British forces initially allowed Johannesson's office to continue operating in order to maintain a German military administration for the Wehrmacht units under their jurisdiction. It was not until January 1946 that Johannesson was taken prisoner of war, where he spent time in a British generals' and admirals' camp in Belgium. He was released in November 1946.
Cold-war era
Johannesson worked than as a consultant in the Foreign Office of the Evangelical Church in Germany.
It wasn't until January 1957 that Johannesson returned to the German Navy, promoted to flotilla admiral, and was appointed Commander of the Naval Forces for the North and Baltic Seas. In June 1957, he led the first maneuvers of the German Navy in the Kattegat, codenamed "Seewolf."[1]
