Date of birth:

December 6th, 1919 (Essen, Germany)

Date of death:

August 3rd, 1990

Nationality:

German

Erich Ludwig Krummel finished School in 1937 with a so called short Matura in 1937. He absolved the Reichsarbeitsdienst and was educated as aircraft pilot during that time. When world word two began, he joined the wehrmacht luftwaffe and became a "Bordfunker", because he did not pass the pilot examination. His job was controlling communication between the own squadron and those of enemys. He told me, that one day the aircraft was hit and tho whole crew died, so that he had to land the plane. He was awarded with the iorn cross second class for this kind of Heroism.
In April 1945, only a few days befor unconditional surrender, he was kept and captivated by the red army. He was in several Gulags near Moscow, although he told me about Sibiria and Camps in Eastern Russia. He spend 4 and a half years in captivity. Whem he returned to Essen he was 30 years old. His experiences between 17 and 30 were determined with war, fear, death, killing, pain, desperation and lack of moral orientation.
The young german administration tried to reintegrate homecoming Soldiers. They made Erich, not educated or experienced in any job but war, to a ressort-leader at a a textile printing factory in Mönchengladbach. He worked overtime.

1959, ten years after he got back from the soviet hell, he married. His wife was a singer, 20 years younger than him. They got 4 children within the next nine years.

In the late seventees is mental constitution became worth. He was send to early pension in 1982, because he failed his job. From one day the other he was without job an tasks. He became strange, even the kids could not talk to him anymore. Days without conflicts and shouting in this small flat were rather seldom. His wife forced to be divorced, she was 42 and not willing, to spend the rest of her life with an psychotic and mentally deranged husband.
From that point the degeneration of mind and consciousness accelerated. In 1984 his disease was diagnosted as the Alzheimer desease, combined with Parkinson desease.

There is no doubt that this tragic development is a consequence of the psychologically unattended experiences during the 13 years in war and captivity.

He died on August 3rd 1990. He never talked much about his life, fears and angers. Every time he tried to, he was overwhelmed by his feelings and started crying.

In his last years he sometimes opened a hidden box and took out the iron cross. He looked at it for a few minutes and put it back. I was standing aside, he realized me. But he did not talk to me. I don't know why he did that or what he felt about this thing in his hands.

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• - PATZWALL, K. & SCHERZER, V., Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941-1945, Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall, Norderstedt, 2001.
  - PATZWALL, K. D., Der Ehrenpokal für besondere Leistung im Luftkrieg, Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall, Norderstedt, 2008.
  - Family
  - Suchdienst des Roten Kreuzes