German War Cemetery Schönau am Königssee

This war cemetery contains the graves of 910 German soldiers and 55 German civillians who were killed during the Second World War.

- Gustav Kastner-Kirdorf (born February 2, 1881 in Trumpfsee-Warnitz; died May 4, 1945 in Berchtesgaden) was a German aviator who served in the Luftwaffe during the First and Second World Wars.

With the outbreak of the First World War, Kirdorf acted from August 4 to September 10, 1914 as General Staff Officer and Chief of the Deputy Flying Detachment of the XIV Corps (German Reich). He acted in several positions and was not injured. From January 1919 to June 1919 he was commander of Neuruppin Airport. He left the army on June 8, 1919.
From April 1, 1934 to the end of June 1938, Kirdorf became chief of flight readiness for the Ministry of Aviation (Nazi Germany). After a few other positions he became Chief of the Staff Office of the Luftwaffe on February 1, 1939. In April 1943 he was given another position.
On May 4, 1945, Kastner-Kirdorf committed suicide by shooting himself in the head. In his book, Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters, Richard Winters relates that he found Kastner-Kirdorf's body on Göring's private property in Berchtesgaben.

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Source

• Text: Kaj Metz
• Photos: Koos Winkelman