Kapitän zur See Hans von Davidson (1904 – 2002)

Kapitän zur See Hans von Davidson (1904 – 2002)
by Bob Davidson, Hertfordshire
Kapitän zurSee Hans von Davidson in 1944
Hans von Davidson was born on the 4th. September 1904 in Koblenz and was the second child of August von Davidson, a lawyer and his wife, Hildegard née von Thielmann. He had three sisters, Hilda (1902), Emma (1907) and Liesel (1909), at the birth
of whom his mother died. In 1912 his father remarried Elfriede née Remy, who was the
aunt of Hans’ future wife Heidi. It is thought that the family emigrated from the east
coast of Scotland in the 18th. century but, as of yet, we have been unable to make a
connection with any of the families on our database.
Hans spent his childhood in Koblenz where his
Grandfather, a General, had been the city commander and his father a partner in a law firm.
He attended the Kaiserin-Augusta-Gymnasium
High School (similar to our grammar schools
– Ed.) from 1914 to 1923 where he excelled at
sports particularly as a high jumper and rower.
In 1923 Hans joined the small German Navy
and undertook his training in Stralsund. On
graduating as a Cadet he first spent some time
on the battleship “Braunschweig” before joining the sailing ship “Niobe” (which sank
in a storm 8 years later). Whilst on the “Niobe” he visited Spain, Tenerife, Venezuela,
the Caribbean and Mexico. On his return home he was promoted to Ensign (Fahnrich)
and spent 6 months at the Naval Officers School in Flensburg. In 1926 Hans was promoted to Lieutenant and served on the cruiser “Berlin” in which he visited India, Ceylon, Indonesia, Australia, the Philippines and Japan. Then, after some months of training, he was appointed as the Gunnery Officer on T157 (a torpedo boat) for the next 2
years. After this another promotion to first Lieutenant followed and he became the
Naval Adjutant to President von Hindenburg in Berlin (who, in 1896-98 had been the
chief of staff of his own grandfather General Eduard von Davidson)
Hans, aged 2 between his father, August
von Davidson and his grandfather, General Eduard von Davidson
Hans, as an Ensign in 1925
After 3 years in Berlin Hans took command of the
yacht “Asta” in which he won the Danish “Kings
Cup”, presented by the King himself. His next appointment, at the end of 1934, was “Division’s Officer” on
the battleship “Deutschland” and a year later he was
promoted to Lieutenant Commander and took command of the Torpedo boat “Leopard” on which he
spent 4 months in Spain just before the commencement
of the civil war. Back home again Hans got engaged to
Heidi Remy and in 1936 they married. In October
1937 he was again transferred to Berlin where his duties involved liaison with the naval attaches at all the
foreign Embassies. It was in this role that he became
the personal attaché to Admiral Cunningham during
the meetings with Admiral Raeder about the Anglo/
German Naval Agreement. Then, after a short assignment to the general staff of the army (General Halder)
in December 1939 Hans achieved his ambition
when he took command of the Destroyer,
“Richard Beitzen”.
Hans at his wedding in 1936
During the winter of 1939/40 the “Richard Beitzen”, together with other destroyers took part in
three mine laying operations off the British coast.
(Newcastle, Thames estuary and Doggerbank). In
April 1940 the destroyer took part in the Narvik
campaign before returning to more offensive operations along the British south coast. During one
operation against Plymouth in November 1940 the
“Richard Beitzen” and two other destroyers sank
three small British ships and torpedoed and badly
damaged the destroyer HMS Javelin.
After repairs and a refit in Germany the “Richard Beitzen” returned to France as part of
the 5th. Z Flotilla. On the way to Brest with two other destroyers they ran into a minefield and the other two were lost. However, despite a very rough sea at the time, Hans
and the “Beitzen” managed to rescue 192 sailors from the other vessels. Its next operation was perhaps the most exciting and dangerous of the war. On the 12/13 th. February
1942 the “Richard Beitzen” with four other destroyers and twelve torpedo boats took
part in operation “Cerberus”. This was the “channel dash” by the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and heavy cruiser, Prinz Eugen. From the British side it was a
disaster as they expected the vessels to transverse the narrowest part of the channel
during the hours of darkness instead of in daylight. As a result both the Royal Navy
and Royal Air Force were caught unprepared and the only action taken was the ill-fated
attempt by six Swordfish aircraft from HMS Ark Royal to torpedo the enemy ships. All
of them were shot down and their leader, Lieutenant Commander Esmonde, a veteran
of the Bismarck chase, won a posthumous VC .
The Richard Beitzen at Narvik 1942
The “Richard Beitzan” returned to Norwegian
waters during the summer of 1942 and after
taking part in escort and mine laying duties was
one of the six destroyers involved in the battle
of the Barents Sea at the end of December. This
was an attempt by two pocket battleships to
intercept the Allied convoy JW51-B which
sailed from Loch Ewe in Scotland on the 22 nd
December. Although he does not mention it in his diary the operational log of the Richard Beitzan indicates that Hans was in command at the time and had a very lucky escape. With the destroyer, “Friedrich Eckholdt” they were escorting the “Admiral Hipper” and the “Lutzow” but became detached from them. Then, in the gloom of an Arctic winter day they mistook the Royal Navy cruisers, “Sheffield” and “Jamaica” for the
“Hipper and “Lutzow” and attempted to link up with them. Before the German commanders could realize their error, every gun on the two British cruisers opened up.
Being closer in, the “Friedrich Eckholdt” was hit directly amidships and sank within
two minutes with the loss of all hands. The “Richard Beitzan” escaped unharmed and
Hans von Davidson and his crew survived.
At the end of January 1943, shortly after this dramatic battle, Hans was transferred
once again to Berlin to become chief of the “Sea Officers Personal Department” under
the command of Admiral Raeder.
However, as a result of the disappointing results by the German fleet
during the Battle of the Barents Sea,
Admiral Raeder resigned and Admiral Donitz, the U-boat commander,
was named as his successor. Admiral
Donitz then made Hans his “Chief of
Staff” and the Kriegmarine decided
to concentrate on the U-boat war
which had been far more successful
than the surface raiders. After initial
successes in the early part of 1943
the allies gradually got the upper
hand and the U-boats became the
hunted rather than the hunters.
In 1944, as a result of the bombing
raids on Berlin, Admiral Donitz and
his staff moved to the small town of
Lanke, northeast of the city and then
to Flensburg-Murwik when the RusA photograph of Grand Admiral Dönitz with the hand- sian front came closer. After Hitler’s
written dedication in old German writing.
suicide Admiral Donitz was made
The translation is:Kapitän zur See von Davidson in thankful recognition President and Hans became his
and in loyal comradeship. 20.12.44 Dönitz
“Chief of Press” for a few days be-
fore the British took over. In this role, Hans accompanied Admiral von Friedeburg
during the surrender negotiations with Field Marshal Montgomery at Luneburg Heath.
On the 23rd. May 1945 Admiral Donitz and his complete staff, including Hans were
taken prisoner. Early in 1945 Hans’ wife and children left Berlin to stay with her mother near Gera in Thuringia. This was first occupied by the Americans but then handed
over to the Russians as part of the Yalta agreement. As Hans’ mother-in-law was a
landowner she was considered a “capitalist” by the Russians and the situation became
so bad that the family – like thousands of other Germans - fled to West Germany and
stayed with Hans’ brother-in-law near Baden-Baden. The family were thus united again
after a number of years of separation.
In his diary Hans mentioned where he was taken prisoner but not the date when he was
released. He was held as a political prisoner rather than as a POW and spent some time
in Northern Germany, a few months in Belgium and then back to another camp in Germany before he was suddenly released in early 1947. Unable to go back to his family
who were now living in the Russian Zone of occupation Hans went to stay with his
sister, Liesel, in Dortmund. In order to obtain food stamps he took work as a manual
worker until 1949 when his brother-in-law, Felix Eckhardt, who was the CEO of the
Dortmunder Union Brewery invited him to work in a company he had founded in Bochum making synthetic packing material. In 1957 Hans was offered the position of
head of the German Sales Department at Krupp’s where he remained until his retirement in 1969. His family moved to Dortmund in 1950 and have lived there ever since.
Hans von Davidson had three children, two
daughters and a son. Both daughters excelled in
school and at sports. Karin, the eldest married
Heinz Reverchon and they have one son, Gunther,
and three grandchildren. The youngest, Marlis,
married Horst Weitzmann who is the CEO and co
-owner of the Badische Stahwerke company in
Kehl. They have three daughters and eight grandchildren. The son, Dieter, like his father, joined
the German Navy but left after a short period and
took up a career with a German bank. The bank
sent him to South America and he now lives in
Porto Belo in the State of Santa Caratina in Brazil.
Hans in 1998 aged 94 - and still
playing golf.
Hans von Davidson had a long and active retirement. His main interest was sport and
he played tennis in his earlier years and then golf right up to his death at the grand old
age of 98. He lived, and took part, in some of the most momentous events in the recent
history of both his country and ours. As a member of our worldwide clan he deserves
his place in our history and I am honoured to record, for posterity, his remarkable life.
Note: I have used the German rank of Hans von Davidson in the title which is equivalent to a Captain in the Royal Navy - Ed.
Acknowledgements:
Marlis Weitmann, Hans von Davidson’s daughter, who provided the important and
personal photographs of her father.
Erik von Davidson who provided, in excellent English, the information from Hans von
Davidson’s Diary which made my task in writing this article so easy.