| Original caption: “Reich Youth Leader Axmann (second from right) in conversation with his guests. Visible: General Herrlein (third from right), infantry commander at Army Headquarters, General Volckamer (first from right), chief of staff of the Inspector of Training and Education of the Army.” Holders of the Ritterkreuz (“Knight’s Cross”) meet at the Auslandshaus der Hitlerjugend (“Hitler Youth Foreign House”) at Breitehornweg 54 in Gatow, Spandau, Berlin. Axmann intended to form Hitlerjugend combat units with the Knight’s Cross holders as inspiration. The Völkischer Beobachter reported on August 9, 1942, “At the instigation of Stafchef des Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW), Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel [(September 22, 1882 – October 16, 1946)], Fifteen Knight’s Cross recipients of the Army are reportedly visiting the Hitler Youth’s military training camps to discuss their combat experiences and their service at the front, thus giving young people a vivid picture of our Army’s combat. Reich Youth Leader Axmann welcomed the Knight’s Cross recipients at the Hitler Youth’s Foreign Office in Berlin-Gatow before they embarked on their military training camps.” From left to right: Oberstleutnant Erich Löffler (March 22, 1908 – March 17, 1945), 3rd from right, fought primarily on the Eastern Front. He was awarded various medals and honors for his heroics during the war, including the destruction of multiple tanks that earned him 4 Tank Destruction Badges, visible on his sleeve. He was a close friend of Viezenz. Löffler was killed when the United States Army stormed Frankfurt in the Battle of Frankfurt, where he was Kampfkommandant. He was killed by a 105 millimeter (4.1 inch) shell from an M101 Howitzer that hit his command post. The record-holder of the Tank Destruction Badge was Oberstleutnant Günther Viezenz (February 1, 1921 – January 14, 1999), 5th from right. He single-handedly destroyed 21 enemy tanks with hand-held explosives such as a panzerfaust, satchel charge, or grenade. He was awarded 4 Tank Destruction Badges in Gold and 1 in Silver. He was a close friend of Löffler. Hauptmann Hans-Gotthard Pestke (June 17, 1914 – April 30, 2001), 7th from right and just behind Herrlein, partially obscured, won his Ritterkreuz for his capture of a Soviet artillery battery near Hindu (by the SW corner of Dagö) on October 12, 1941, conducted under his own initiative. The elimination of this hostile unit made it possible for the 61.Infanterie-Division to bring up further reinforcements (especially artillery) over the Soela Sound from Soela to Soru and land them without losses. Pestke also contributed indirectly to the capture of the other Soviet batteries in the area. He thus had a decisive share in the swift and relatively bloodless capture of the island of Dagö. He won the Oak Leaves to his Knight’s Cross on September 15-16, 1943, defending Nazi German positions in Lake Lagoda, repelling 5 Soviet attacks from Posselok. Generalmajor Friedrich Herrlein (April 27, 1889 – July 28, 1974) Stab des Oberkommando des Heeres was awarded the Ritterkreuz on August 22, 1941, as Generalmajor and Kommandant of 18.Infanterie-Division. Oberleutnant Hermann Maek (April 21, 1917 – June 5, 1980) was the Führer of 5./453.Infanterie-Regiment, when he directed a counterattack that destroyed Soviet armor as the Nazi Germans were advancing on the Volga River. The son of a police officer, Maek directed anti-tank guns that stopped the advance and captured 3 tanks. Reichsjugendführer (“Reich Youth Leader”) Artur Axmann (February 13, 1913 – October 24, 1996), 3rd from right, never won the Ritterkreuz, but he fought in France and the Eastern Front; he lost his right forearm during combat in 1941. In this photo, Axmann has an artificial arm, which is covered with a glove. Hans Guhr (October 24, 1916 – February 10, 1969), 2nd from right, was assigned to 294.Infanterie-Division, when he won the Ritterkreuz, awarded on September 10, 1942. He saw a developing Soviet Red Army attack, and driving a Kubelwagen with a machine gun and leading a scratch unit of outnumbered soldiers, Guhr broke up the attack. This enabled the Nazi Germans to hold their line on the Don River through 4 subsequent counterattacks, taking over 200 prisoners. He and his son served in the postwar Bundeswehr. Generalmajor Friedrich Jobst Volckamer von Kirchensittenbach (April 16, 1894 – April 3, 1989), Generalinspekteur für den Führernachwuchs (“Inspector General for Young Leaders”), won the Ritterkreuz 4 times for his actions in World Wars I and II. He would earn his oak leaves on March 26, 1944, as Kommandant of 8.Jäger-Division. In his 1995 memoir, Axmann recounted the construction of the Auslandshaus der Hitlerjugend: “Numerous visits by youth leaders to Germany and the Reich capital made it seem necessary to create a meeting place for them in Berlin. Thus, on the initiative of the Reich Youth Leader, the “Hitler Youth Foreign House” was built in Berlin-Gatow. The architect was Fritz Winter (March 22, 1910 – November 12, 1986), a graduate engineer. Once a supporter of communism, he had joined the ranks of young Hitler Youth architects who distinguished themselves through the exemplary design of many homes, youth hostels, leadership schools, and community facilities. Situated high above the Havel River, the Foreign House was naturally embedded in the Brandenburg pine landscape. It was built from a material formerly used in Prussia: reddish-yellow brick, with a roof covered with red shingles, in 1937-1938. The building ended at the water’s edge with a colonnade, in front of which opened a wide terrace of gneiss slabs, with a teahouse on the sloping hillside. The rooms flowed into one another, enhancing the overall effect of the interior. Each room served a specific purpose, which its interior design reflected. The dining room, with its light wooden coffered ceiling, connected to the terrace by 3 ground-level doors, the large reception room, the music room, the fireplace room, the games room, and an intimate wood-paneled library. The upper floor contained simple bedrooms, a lecture and film screening room, and a small apartment for the Reich Youth Leader. In their simplicity and solidity, all the rooms expressed true craftsmanship. The house reflected the architectural spirit of the young generation of the time. As with all Hitler Youth buildings, there was no pomp or splendor, no megalomania. The Foreign House survived the war undamaged. It was recently listed as a historical monument by the State of Berlin for architectural reasons.” Axmann’s Hitlerjugend units, composed mainly of children and adolescents, fought in the Battle of Seelow Heights and the Battle of Berlin. | |
| Image Filename | wwii2420.jpg |
| Image Size | 213.28 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 1345 x 949 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | Kriegsberichter |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | August 1, 1942 |
| Location | Gatow, Spandau |
| City | Berlin |
| State or Province | Berlin |
| Country | Germany |
| Archive | Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe |
| Record Number | 3/2/0/-/12930 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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