World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseKarl-Jesco von Puttkamer was born in Franfurt an der Oder, Prussia, Germany Empire into an aristocratic family. He joined the German Navy in 1917 and served aboard a heavy cruiser in WW1. During the inter-war years, he was initially a member of a para-military Freikorps, but later he re-joined the German Navy and received his first command in 1928. Between 1933 and 1935 he was a naval liaison officer at the General Staff of the Army, and then he was appointed the naval liaison officer to Adolf Hitler. When the war began in Europe in 1939, he was at the rank of Fregattenkapitän. In Sep 1943, he was promoted to the rank of Konteradmiral. He was injured during the failed 20 Jul 1944 assassination of Adolf Hitler. On 23 Apr 1945, near the end of the war, he was sent to the Berghof near Berchtesgaden, Bavaria, Germany to destroy documents. After the war, he was captured by the Allies and remained imprisoned until May 1947. He passed away in Munich, Bavaria, Germany.

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