Karl-Ludwig Barths
| Karl-Ludwig Barths | |
|---|---|
| Born |
13 May 1920 Kolbatz |
| Allegiance |
.svg.png){kind=small} Nazi Germany |
| Service/branch | Heer |
| Years of service | 1937–45 |
| Rank | Major |
| Commands held | Heeres-Sturmgeschütz-Brigade 393 |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross |
Karl-Ludwig Barths (born 13 May 1920) is a former German officer and businessman who lived and worked for nearly a decade in Canada.
Life in War and Peace
Barths was born in Kolbatz (now Kołbacz) near Stettin (now Szczecin).[1] After completing secondary school[1] he entered the German army, called Wehrmacht, in 1937.[2]
In World War II he fought in nearly in all significant battle fields as in Poland, France, Greece, Russia and the Baltic. At the end of the war he was held in Soviet captivity. This hard time he described in his book Jungmann. Erlebte und erzählte Episoden 1939-1949, which has been published in 2007.[3]
After return from captivity he became an export/import apprentice in Hamburg.[1] In 1953 he started working for Volkswagen, where he became responsible for the company's business in North America.[3] In 1963 Barths moved to Toronto in Canada where he was president of Volkswagen Canada Ltd.[1] There he also held the offices of a governor of the town's Central Hospital and director of the Toronto Symphony.[1] In 1972 Barths moved to Wolfsburg in Germany where he was chairman of the Volkswagen Versicherungsdienst Gmbh until 1985.[4] From 1972 to 2000 he was president of the Deutsch-Kanadische Gesellschaft (German-Canadian Society).[3] As of 2014 he lives in Taunus/Hesse, Germany.
Awards and decorations
- Iron Cross (1939)
- Eastern Front Medal
- Panzer Assault Badge
- Honour Roll Clasp of the Army (29 September 1941)[5]
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 14 January 1945 as Hauptmann and commander of Heeres-Sturmgeschütz-Brigade 393[6]
References
Quotations
- 1 2 3 4 5 Parker, Charles Whately; Greene, Barnet M., eds. (1969). Who's who in Canada. An illustrated biographical record of men and women of the time. 58. International Press. p. 632.
- ↑ "Ritterkreuzträger Karl-Ludwig Barths". Retrieved 2012-02-03.
- 1 2 3 "Karl-Ludwig Barths". Deutsch-Kanadische Gesellschaft. 2011-07-01. Retrieved 2012-02-03.
- ↑ Edelmann, Heidrun (2011). Vermögen als Vermächtnis. Leben und Werk der Stifter Christian und Asta Holler. Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag. pp. 173–174, 207.
- 1 2 3 Thomas & Wegmann 1985, p. 23.
- ↑ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 105.
Bibliography
- Barths, Karl-Ludwig (2007). Jungmann: Erlebte und erzählte Episoden 1939 - 1949 [Jungmann: Experienced and told episodes 1939–1949] (in German). Berlin, Germany: Pro-Business-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-8680-5030-1.
- 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.
- 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: Scherzer's Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
- Thomas, Franz; Wegmann, Günter (1985). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Deutschen Wehrmacht 1939–1945 Teil I: Sturmartillerie [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the German Wehrmacht 1939–1945 Part I: Assault Artillery] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-1447-2.