Henri Salmide
Encyclopedia
Henri Salmide named Heinz Stahlschmidt at birth, was a German
naval officer who, in August 1944, refused to blow up the port of Bordeaux
, France
when so ordered by his superiors during World War II
. Instead, he blew up the bunker containing the ordnance that had been stock-piled for the purpose of destroying the port.
, Germany. He joined the German Navy
in 1939 and was trained in demolitions, becoming an expert in defusing British naval mines. While serving in the Navy, he survived the sinkings of three warships on which he was serving.
, the largest port in France
, when Allied forces closed in during August 1944. On August 19, 1944, he was ordered to destroy the city's entire port infrastructure, stretching across seven miles, with explosives—a plan intended to prevent the use of the port to reinforce Allied forces spreading through the country in the weeks following the D-Day invasion. In 1977, Salmide spoke about the incident in an interview with Reuters
. He recalled, "My family were Huguenots, and I acted according to my Christian conscience, I could not accept that the port would be wantonly destroyed when the war was clearly lost." On August 22, 1944, four days before the planned destruction of the port, he blew up the munitions depot where the Germans had stored 4,000 fuses to be used in destroying the port. Salmide "laid strips of dynamite inside the supply bunker filled with demolition hardware and thousands of pounds of ordnance and watched as the city shook from the huge explosion." Salmide's actions killed approximately 50 Germans, but were credited with saving an estimated 3,500 civilians.
Salmide's actions were credited not only with saving thousands of civilian lives, but also with saving France's most important harbor and preserving a stable platform for the region's post-war economic recovery. London's Daily Mail later wrote, "Heinz Stahlschmidt was that rare thing in the Third Reich; a man who followed his conscience instead of his orders when the tide of war began to fall back on the regime he served. By his actions he not only saved thousands of lives, but a vital component of the post-war economic recovery of France."
After the detonation, Salmide presented himself to the French resistance and reported what he had done. The resistance hid him from the German forces who had branded him a traitor and ordered that he be arrested or shot on sight. Salmide spent the last months of the war in hiding with a French woman whose grandson, Alain Moga, would later serve as Bordeaux's deputy mayor. He hid from both the Gestapo and French police and later recalled that French officials nearly shot him after the war because of his German military service.
, who disobeyed Adolf Hitler
's order to raze Paris
if it was threatened by Allied forces.
He adopted the French name, Henri Salmide, became a naturalized French citizen in 1947, married a French woman, Henriette Buison, and lived in Bordeaux for the rest of his life. He worked as a firefighter in Bordeaux's port fire brigade for more than 30 years.
In 2000, Salmide became a Knight of the French Légion d'Honneur
. Salmide died in Bordeaux in February 2010, and Bordeaux city officials said at the time that the city intended to build a memorial in his honor.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
naval officer who, in August 1944, refused to blow up the port of Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
when so ordered by his superiors 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...
. Instead, he blew up the bunker containing the ordnance that had been stock-piled for the purpose of destroying the port.
Early life
Salmide was born in DortmundDortmund
Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
, Germany. He joined the German Navy
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
in 1939 and was trained in demolitions, becoming an expert in defusing British naval mines. While serving in the Navy, he survived the sinkings of three warships on which he was serving.
Bordeaux, 1944
Salmide was stationed in BordeauxBordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
, the largest port in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, when Allied forces closed in during August 1944. On August 19, 1944, he was ordered to destroy the city's entire port infrastructure, stretching across seven miles, with explosives—a plan intended to prevent the use of the port to reinforce Allied forces spreading through the country in the weeks following the D-Day invasion. In 1977, Salmide spoke about the incident in an interview with Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
. He recalled, "My family were Huguenots, and I acted according to my Christian conscience, I could not accept that the port would be wantonly destroyed when the war was clearly lost." On August 22, 1944, four days before the planned destruction of the port, he blew up the munitions depot where the Germans had stored 4,000 fuses to be used in destroying the port. Salmide "laid strips of dynamite inside the supply bunker filled with demolition hardware and thousands of pounds of ordnance and watched as the city shook from the huge explosion." Salmide's actions killed approximately 50 Germans, but were credited with saving an estimated 3,500 civilians.
Salmide's actions were credited not only with saving thousands of civilian lives, but also with saving France's most important harbor and preserving a stable platform for the region's post-war economic recovery. London's Daily Mail later wrote, "Heinz Stahlschmidt was that rare thing in the Third Reich; a man who followed his conscience instead of his orders when the tide of war began to fall back on the regime he served. By his actions he not only saved thousands of lives, but a vital component of the post-war economic recovery of France."
After the detonation, Salmide presented himself to the French resistance and reported what he had done. The resistance hid him from the German forces who had branded him a traitor and ordered that he be arrested or shot on sight. Salmide spent the last months of the war in hiding with a French woman whose grandson, Alain Moga, would later serve as Bordeaux's deputy mayor. He hid from both the Gestapo and French police and later recalled that French officials nearly shot him after the war because of his German military service.
Post-war life
In post-war Germany, Salmide was regarded as a traitor, and his name was stricken from the list of German Navy personnel eligible to receive a pension. As his actions became known, he earned the gratitude of the French people who referred to him as "the little Frenchman" and the "Bordeaux Choltitz"—a reference to Dietrich von CholtitzDietrich von Choltitz
General der Infanterie Dietrich von Choltitz was the German military governor of Paris during the closing days of the German occupation of that city during World War II...
, who disobeyed Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
's order to raze Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
if it was threatened by Allied forces.
He adopted the French name, Henri Salmide, became a naturalized French citizen in 1947, married a French woman, Henriette Buison, and lived in Bordeaux for the rest of his life. He worked as a firefighter in Bordeaux's port fire brigade for more than 30 years.
In 2000, Salmide became a Knight of the French Légion d'Honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
. Salmide died in Bordeaux in February 2010, and Bordeaux city officials said at the time that the city intended to build a memorial in his honor.