Erich Kästner (World War I veteran)
Erich Kästner | |
---|---|
Born |
Leipzig-Schönefeld, Germany | 10 March 1900
Died |
1 January 2008 107) Cologne, Germany | (aged
Allegiance |
German Empire (to 1918) Nazi Germany (to 1945) |
Service/branch | Königlich-Sächsische Armee |
Years of service |
July 1918 – November 1918 1939–1945 |
Rank |
Private (WWI) Major (WWII) |
Unit |
Sonder-Bataillon Hauck (WWI) Luftwaffe (WWII) |
Battles/wars |
World War I World War II |
Awards | Lower Saxony Merit Cross |
Other work | Judge |
Erich Kästner (10 March 1900 – 1 January 2008) was the last documented World War I veteran who fought for the German Empire (including all nationalities and ethnic groups) and the last who was born in Germany. Consequently he was the last Central Powers combatant of the Western Front. He was also the second oldest man in Germany. However, he was not the last veteran living in Germany. Franz Künstler was an ethnic German who was born in and fought for the Austro-Hungarian Empire, migrating to Germany in 1946 and subsequently becoming a German citizen.
Born in Leipzig-Schönefeld in 1900, Kästner joined the German Army in July 1918, in the "Sonder-Bataillon Hauck" (unsure information[1]), and served on the Western Front in Flanders. He rejoined the military in 1939 and during the Second World War was a Major serving as ground support for the Luftwaffe, mostly in France.[2]
Kästner earned a doctorate degree in law from University of Jena in 1924 with a dissertation on Das landwirtschaftliche Pachtwesen und die Pachtschutzordnung unter besonderer Beleuchtung der Verhältnisse des früheren Großherzogtums Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach[3] (The agricultural leasehold system and the Leasehold Protection Act with special regard to the situation in the former Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach). He subsequently worked as a judge at the Higher Regional Court (Oberlandesgericht), for which work he was awarded the Lower Saxony Merit Cross, 1st Class.[2] Kästner was also honored by Germany's president because of his 75-year marriage with his wife Maria, who died in 2003 at the age of 102, soon after the celebration.[2] Both had lived in Hannover since 1945. Some months before his death, he moved to a retirement home in Pulheim near Cologne.[1]
See also
- List of last surviving World War I veterans by country
- List of veterans of World War I who died in 2008
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Hans Michael Kloth, Der leise Tod des letzten Veteranen (Der Spiegel online, 24 January 2008)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 David Rising, AP, Last German World War I veteran dies (Yahoo News, 25 January 2008)
- ↑ Erich Kästner: Das landwirtschaftliche Pachtwesen und die Pachtschutzordnung unter besonderer Beleuchtung der Verhältnisse des früheren Großherzogtums Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach. Dissertation, University of Jena, Faculty of Law and Economy, 1924. German National Library:
External links
- Death notice (Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung, 5 January 2008) (German)
- Entry on memorial list at genarians.com
- Der Des Ders report (French)
- David Crossland, Last German World War I Veteran Believed to Have Died (Der Spiegel online, 22 January 2008)
- Harry de Quetteville, A war veteran should be remembered (Daily Telegraph Blog, 23 January 2008)
- Germany's last WW I veteran died without fanfare: Der Spiegel (CBC News, 23 January 2008)
- CBC News, Germany's last WWI veteran died without fanfare: Der Spiegel (Yahoo! News, Canada, 23 January 2008)
- Paul Sorene, Last German World War I Veteran Dies (Anorak News, 23 January 2008)
- Hans Michael Kloth, Der leise Tod des letzten Veteranen (Der Spiegel online, 24 January 2008) (German)
- Last WW1 German war veteran dies aged 107 (Daily Mirror, 24 January 2008)
- John Horvath, Germany: A Neurotic Nation (OhmyNews Korea, 25 January 2008)
- David Rising, AP, Last German World War I veteran dies (Yahoo News, 25 January 2008)
- AP, Décès d'Erich Kaestner, considéré comme le dernier combattant allemand de la Première guerre mondiale (Le Nouvel Observateur online, 25 January 2008) (French)
- В Германии скончался последний ветеран Первой мировой войны (Lenta.ru, 25 January 2008) (Russian)
- Germany's 'last' WWI veteran dies (BBC, 26t January 2008)
- BBC Brasil, 'Último veterano alemão da 1ª Guerra' morre aos 107 (Estadao.com.br, 26t January 2008) (Portuguese)
- "Umro posljednji njemački veteran iz Prvog rata" [The last German veteran of the First World War dies] (in Croatian). Nacional (weekly). 26 January 2008. Archived from the original on 1 July 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
- Emma Gårdsäter, Veteran i första världskriget död (Svenska Dagbladet, 26t January 2008) (Swedish)
- Era l'ultimo soldato del Kaiser (La Stampa, 27 January 2008) (Italian)
- Sander van Walsum, Laatste oud-strijder was Duitsland bijna ontglipt (de Volkskrant, 29 January 2008) (Dutch)
- David Crossland, Dying WWI veterans fuel history (The National, 31 May 2008)
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