Ernst Schirlitz

Ernst Schirlitz
Born	7 September 1893 Christburg, West Prussia
Died	27 November 1978 (aged 85) Kiel
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918)  Weimar Republic (to 1933)  Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Kaiserliche Marine  Reichsmarine  Kriegsmarine
Years of service	1912–45
Rank	Vizeadmiral
Unit	SMS Hertha SMS Freya SMS Friedrich Carl SMS Fürst Bismarck Luftschiff "L 7", "L 20", "L 33"
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Ernst Schirlitz (7 September 1893 – 27 November 1978) was a Vizeadmiral with the Kriegsmarine during World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. He surrendered at the end of World War II after the Allied siege of La Rochelle.

Schirlitz served as a watch officer on Luftschiff "L 33" which crashed in Little Wigborough, Essex on 24 September 1916. Schirlitz was taken prisoner of war by the British and was released in November 1919.^[1]

Awards

• Iron Cross (1914) 2nd and 1st Class
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918
• German Cross in Gold on 1 December 1944 as Vizeadmiral in fortress La Rochelle^[2]
• Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 11 March 1945 as Vizeadmiral and commander of fortress La Rochelle^{[3][Note 1]}

Notes

1. According to Scherzer as commander Atlantic coast and commander of fortress La Rochelle.^[4]

References

Citations

1. Dörr 1996, p. 203.
2. Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 407.
3. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 377.
4. Scherzer 2007, p. 662.

Bibliography

• Dörr, Manfred (1996). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Überwasserstreitkräfte der Kriegsmarine—Band 2: L–Z [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Surface Forces of the Navy—Volume 2: L–Z] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2497-6.
• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
• Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
• Range, Clemens (1974). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Kriegsmarine [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Navy]. Stuttgart, Germany: Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 978-3-87943-355-1.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.

External links

• Ernst Schirlitz @ Deutsche Marinearchiv
• Ernst Schirlitz @ Ritterkreuzträger 1939-45
• Ernst Schirlitz @ Geocities at the Wayback Machine (archived October 29, 2009)