Ewald Lindloff
Encyclopedia
Ewald Lindloff was a Waffen-SS
officer, who rose to the rank of SS-Hauptsturmführer
during World War II
. He was killed during the break-out on 2 May 1945 while crossing the Weidendammer Bridge
under heavy fire in Berlin
.
(SS) on 1 May 1932. He was accepted into the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
(LSSAH) on 15 July 1933. On 4 February 1938, he married Ilse Borchert, a secretary for Hitler's staff officers. From 20 October 1942 until 10 May 1943, Lindloff was on active combat duty with the LSSAH.
Later in April 1945, he was a member of the Leibstandarte (LSSAH) Guard Battalion (assigned to guard the Führer) in Berlin. Lindloff was present in the Führerbunker
on the afternoon of 30 April 1945, when Hitler shot himself
and Eva Braun
took cyanide
. Afterwards, Lindloff, Hans Reisser, Peter Högl
and Heinz Linge
carried Hitler's corpse up the stairs to ground level and through the bunker's emergency exit to the bombed-out garden behind the Reich Chancellery
. The lifeless bodies of Hitler and Braun were doused with petrol. After the first attempts to ignite the petrol did not work, Linge went back inside the bunker and then returned with a thick roll of papers. Martin Bormann
lit the papers and threw the torch onto the bodies. As the two corpses caught fire, a small group, including Otto Günsche
, Bormann, Högl, Linge, Lindloff, Reisser and Joseph Goebbels
raised their arms in Nazi salute as they stood just inside the bunker doorway.
After the salute, the men went back inside the bunker complex. Approximately 30 minutes later, SS-Sturmbannführer
Günsche ordered Lindloff to go and see how far the cremation had progressed and to bury the remains in the Chancellery garden; thus attempting to keep Hitler’s remains from being captured by the Soviet Red Army
. Lindloff went out and checked on the situation. He reported back to Günsche that the corpses were "already charred and torn open". On and off during the afternoon the Soviets shelled the area in and around the Reich Chancellery. SS guards brought over additional cans of petrol to further burn the corpses. Just after 18:30 hours, Lindloff reported to Günsche that he had carried out his orders as to the disposal of the remains with the aid of SS-Obersturmführer
Hans Reisser.
, commander of the Berlin Defence Area, and SS-Brigadeführer
Wilhelm Mohnke
, the (Kommandant) Battle Commander for the centre government district, devised a plan to escape out from Berlin to the Allies on the western side of the Elbe or to the German Army to the North. Mohnke split up the Reich Chancellery and Führerbunker soldiers and personnel into ten main groups. Lindloff left the Reich Chancellery as part of one of the groups attempting to break out. After midnight on 2 May 1945, Lindloff was part of a large group of German soldiers and civilians who crossed the Weidendammer Bridge
while under heavy fire from Soviet tanks and guns. Lindloff and Högl were both killed during the crossing of the bridge. Lindloff was age 36.
Waffen-SS
The Waffen-SS was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. It constituted the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside...
officer, who rose to the rank of SS-Hauptsturmführer
Hauptsturmführer
Hauptsturmführer was a Nazi rank of the SS which was used between the years of 1934 and 1945. The rank of Hauptsturmführer was a mid-grade company level officer and was the equivalent of a Captain in the German Army and also the equivalent of captain in foreign armies...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He was killed during the break-out on 2 May 1945 while crossing the Weidendammer Bridge
Weidendammer Bridge
The Weidendammer Bridge is an long bridge where the Friedrichstrasse crosses the Spree river in the central Mitte district of Berlin, Germany...
under heavy fire in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
.
Biography
Ewald Lindloff was born in Stuba near Danzig. He joined the SchutzstaffelSchutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
(SS) on 1 May 1932. He was accepted into the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
The Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler was Adolf Hitler's personal bodyguard. Initially the size of a regiment, the LSSAH eventually grew into a divisional-sized unit...
(LSSAH) on 15 July 1933. On 4 February 1938, he married Ilse Borchert, a secretary for Hitler's staff officers. From 20 October 1942 until 10 May 1943, Lindloff was on active combat duty with the LSSAH.
Later in April 1945, he was a member of the Leibstandarte (LSSAH) Guard Battalion (assigned to guard the Führer) in Berlin. Lindloff was present in the Führerbunker
Führerbunker
The Führerbunker was located beneath Hitler's New Reich Chancellery in Berlin, Germany. It was part of a subterranean bunker complex which was constructed in two major phases, one part in 1936 and the other in 1943...
on the afternoon of 30 April 1945, when Hitler shot himself
Death of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler committed suicide by gunshot on Monday, 30 April 1945 in his Führerbunker in Berlin. His wife Eva , committed suicide with him by ingesting cyanide...
and Eva Braun
Eva Braun
Eva Anna Paula Hitler was the longtime companion of Adolf Hitler and, for less than 40 hours, his wife. Braun met Hitler in Munich, when she was 17 years old, while working as an assistant and model for his personal photographer and began seeing him often about two years later...
took cyanide
Cyanide
A cyanide is a chemical compound that contains the cyano group, -C≡N, which consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom. Cyanides most commonly refer to salts of the anion CN−. Most cyanides are highly toxic....
. Afterwards, Lindloff, Hans Reisser, Peter Högl
Peter Högl
Peter Högl was a German officer holding the rank of SS-Obersturmbannführer who spent time in the Führerbunker in Berlin at the end of World War II.-Early life and career:...
and Heinz Linge
Heinz Linge
Heinz Linge was an SS officer who served as a valet for German dictator Adolf Hitler.- Early life :Linge was born in Bremen, Germany. Before joining the SS in 1933 he was employed as a bricklayer and was selected by Sepp Dietrich to be one of 117 original bodyguards for Adolf Hitler...
carried Hitler's corpse up the stairs to ground level and through the bunker's emergency exit to the bombed-out garden behind the Reich Chancellery
Reich Chancellery
The Reich Chancellery was the traditional name of the office of the Chancellor of Germany in the period of the German Reich from 1871 to 1945...
. The lifeless bodies of Hitler and Braun were doused with petrol. After the first attempts to ignite the petrol did not work, Linge went back inside the bunker and then returned with a thick roll of papers. Martin Bormann
Martin Bormann
Martin Ludwig Bormann was a prominent Nazi official. He became head of the Party Chancellery and private secretary to Adolf Hitler...
lit the papers and threw the torch onto the bodies. As the two corpses caught fire, a small group, including Otto Günsche
Otto Günsche
Otto Günsche was a Sturmbannführer in the Waffen-SS and a member of 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler before he became Adolf Hitler's personal adjutant. He was captured by soldiers of the Red Army on 2 May 1945...
, Bormann, Högl, Linge, Lindloff, Reisser and Joseph Goebbels
Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism...
raised their arms in Nazi salute as they stood just inside the bunker doorway.
After the salute, the men went back inside the bunker complex. Approximately 30 minutes later, SS-Sturmbannführer
Sturmbannführer
Sturmbannführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party equivalent to major, used both in the Sturmabteilung and the Schutzstaffel...
Günsche ordered Lindloff to go and see how far the cremation had progressed and to bury the remains in the Chancellery garden; thus attempting to keep Hitler’s remains from being captured by the Soviet Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
. Lindloff went out and checked on the situation. He reported back to Günsche that the corpses were "already charred and torn open". On and off during the afternoon the Soviets shelled the area in and around the Reich Chancellery. SS guards brought over additional cans of petrol to further burn the corpses. Just after 18:30 hours, Lindloff reported to Günsche that he had carried out his orders as to the disposal of the remains with the aid of SS-Obersturmführer
Obersturmführer
Obersturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi party that was used by the SS and also as a rank of the SA. Translated as “Senior Assault Leader”, the rank of Obersturmführer was first created in 1932 as the result of an expansion of the Sturmabteilung and the need for an additional rank in...
Hans Reisser.
Breakout
By 30 April 1945, the Soviet Army was less than 500 metres from the bunker complex. In one of Hitlers last orders, he had given permission for the Berlin forces to attempt a breakout of the Soviet encirclement after his death. General Helmuth WeidlingHelmuth Weidling
Helmuth Otto Ludwig Weidling was an officer in the German Army before and during World War II...
, commander of the Berlin Defence Area, and SS-Brigadeführer
Brigadeführer
SS-Brigadeführer was an SS rank that was used in Nazi Germany between the years of 1932 and 1945. Brigadeführer was also an SA rank....
Wilhelm Mohnke
Wilhelm Mohnke
SS-Brigadeführer Wilhelm Mohnke was one of the original 120 members of the SS-Staff Guard "Berlin" formed in March 1933. From those ranks, Mohnke rose to become one of Adolf Hitler's last remaining generals.Mohnke saw action with the 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler in France, Poland...
, the (Kommandant) Battle Commander for the centre government district, devised a plan to escape out from Berlin to the Allies on the western side of the Elbe or to the German Army to the North. Mohnke split up the Reich Chancellery and Führerbunker soldiers and personnel into ten main groups. Lindloff left the Reich Chancellery as part of one of the groups attempting to break out. After midnight on 2 May 1945, Lindloff was part of a large group of German soldiers and civilians who crossed the Weidendammer Bridge
Weidendammer Bridge
The Weidendammer Bridge is an long bridge where the Friedrichstrasse crosses the Spree river in the central Mitte district of Berlin, Germany...
while under heavy fire from Soviet tanks and guns. Lindloff and Högl were both killed during the crossing of the bridge. Lindloff was age 36.