SOME OF THE PRISONERS HELD AT
SPECIAL CAMP 11

1934

This profile is based on a copy of Generalmajor Stengel’s microfilmed service record housed at the United States National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C. Supplemental Sources are listed below.

NAME: Generalmajor Bruno Wilhelm Kurt Christoph Rudolf Stengel

PW NO:          560334

RANK:            Generalmajor

CAPTURED:   2nd May 45

DATE:             Luebeck

 

PERSONAL
DATE OF BIRTH:     5 September 1893

PLACE OF BIRTH:   Dresden/Saxony

DATE OF DEATH:   1958

PLACE OF DEATH: Iburg

NATIONALITY:       German

RELIGION:               Evangelical Lutheran

OCCUPATION:        Regular Soldier

HEIGHT:                    6'1"

WEIGHT:                   245 lbs

HAIR COLOUR:       Dark Brown

EYE COLOUR:         Grey

NEXT OF KIN:         Hans Stengel, Frankenthal, (Pfalz) Gut Petersau (French Zone)

 

Parents: Oberst Kurt and Elsa (née Haßler) Stengel. Oberst Stengel was killed in action on 19 November 1917 near Biache, France while commanding the 89th Infantry Brigade. Like his son, Oberst Stengel was a recipient of the Knight’s Cross of Military St. Henry Order, the highest decoration that could be bestowed on officers of the Kingdom of Saxony for bravery in war.

 

Wife: Christoph Stengel apparently married late in life (wife’s name unknown), circa 1943 to mid-1944.

 

Promotions:

• Fahnenjunker: 9 March 1914
• Fähnrich: 31 August 1914
• Leutnant: 16 October 1914 (Patent 18 February 1913)
• Oberleutnant: 17 May 1918 (RDA later changed to 20 June 1918 (111))
• Hauptmann: 1 August 1927 (1)
• Major: 1 October 1934 (57)
• Oberstleutnant: 1 August 1937 (9)
• Oberst: 1 June 1940 (19)
• Generalmajor: 1 December 1943 (9)

Commands & Assignments:

• Easter 1900-Easter 1903: Attended Bürgerschule (Civic School) in Dresden.
• Easter 1903-Easter 1904: Attended Bürgerschule in Chemnitz.
• Easter 1904-1905: Attended the Royal Gymnasium (High School) in Chemnitz.
• 1905-1912: Attended the Royal Gymnasium in Dresden.
• Easter 1913-Easter 1914: Attended the Wettiner Gymnasium in Dresden; attained his certificate of graduation from that institution.
• 9 March 1914: Entered the Army as a Fahnenjunker in the Royal Saxon 7. Infanterie-Regiment König Georg Nr.106.
• 2 August 1914: In the field with Infantry Regiment 106.
• 3 September 1914-12 October 1914: Wounded in the upper thigh/hospitalized.
• 12 May 1915: Wounded in the chin, breast and left arm/hospitalized.
• 15 September 1915: Transferred to the Replacement Battalion of Infantry Regiment 106.
• 28-31 December 1915: Detached to the Gas Protection Course in Berlin.
• 11 March 1916: In the field with Infantry Regiment 106.
• 1 April 1916-30 April 1917: Adjutant of the II. Battalion of Infantry Regiment 106.
• 1 May 1917: Leader of the 2nd Company of Infantry Regiment 106.
• 11-16 June 1917: Detached to the Gas Protection Course in Berlin.
• 21 October 1917: Poisoned by gas attack/hospitalized.
• 22 November 1917: Transferred to the Replacement Battalion of Infantry Regiment 106.
• 7 June 1918: Released from hospital and appointed Adjutant of District Command II, Leipzig.
• 17 November 1918: Returned to the Replacement Battalion of Infantry Regiment 106.
• 18 March 1919: Transferred to Volunteer Border Defense Battalion 2.
• 16 April 1919: Transferred to Volunteer Border Jäger Regiment 4.
• 4 March 1920: Leader of the Signals Platoon of the III. Battalion of the 4th Saxon Border Jäger (Reichswehr) Regiment 38 of Reichswehr-Brigade 19.
• 20 April 1920: Adjutant of the I. Battalion of the 4th Saxon Border Jäger (Reichswehr) Regiment 38 of Reichswehr-Brigade 19.
• 1 January 1921: Transferred to the 11th (Saxon) Infantry Regiment as Adjutant of the Training Battalion upon the formation of the new Reichsheer from the Übergangsheer or Transitional Army.
• 1 October 1923: Transferred to the Mortar Company of the 11th (Saxon) Infantry Regiment.
• 18 October 1926-16 November 1926: Detached to the Combat School Course at Döberitz.
• 1 March 1927: Chief of the 9th Company of the 11th (Saxon) Infantry Regiment, Leipzig.
• 9-30 June 1929: Participated in a firing course at Dresden.
• 24 October 1933-3 November 1933: Detached to the Firing Course for Heavy Infantry Weapons at Döberitz.
• 1 October 1934: Chief of the 13th and 14th (Mortar) Companies of Infantry Regiment “Leipzig.”
  
• 1 April 1935: Commander of the Training Battalion of Infantry Regiment “Königsbrück.”
• 15 October 1935: Commander of the II. Battalion of Infantry Regiment 32 of the 24th Infantry Division.
• 16-26 June 1937: Detached to the Course for Battalion Commanders at the Infantry School at Döberitz.
• 26 August 1939: Commander of Infantry Regiment 476 of the 256th Infantry Division.
• 16 September 1939: Hospitalized in Dresden.
• 8 November 1939: Transferred to the Army High Command Leader Reserve (Staff Officer Berlin) – duties determined by the Chief of the General Army Office.
• 1 January 1940: Army High Command Leader Reserve – transferred to the Chief of Army Armaments and Commander of the Replacement Army (Clothing Office).
• 30 June 1941: Commander of Infantry Regiment 416 of the 123rd Infantry Division. [Commanded by Generalleutnant Walter Lichel, the 123rd Infantry Division was engaged in the invasion of the Soviet Union from 22 June 1941 under Army Group North.[1] After advancing across the Baltic States as a component of Generaloberst Ernst Busch’s 16th Army, the 123rd Infantry Division found itself holding a 30-mile-long widely spaced defensive position on Lake Seliger by the end of the year. In January 1942, the Russians launched their winter offensive against the thinly stretched Army Group North by striking across the Volkhov River in the north and between Lakes Ilmen and Seliger in the south. In the south, the Soviet 3rd Shock Army quickly overran the widely dispersed 123rd Infantry Division and linked up on 9 February 1942 with the Soviet 11th Army advancing from south of Lake Ilmen. The Russian linkup, exacerbated by Adolf Hitler’s “no retreat” order, resulted in the encirclement of General der Infanterie Walter Graf von Brockdorff-Ahlefeldt’s II Army Corps, including the battered 123rd Infantry Division, in a pocket around the town of Demyansk in the Valdai Hills.]
• 6 February 1942: Transferred to the Army High Command Leader Reserve and economically allocated to Infantry Replacement Battalion 514 – after regaining his health, further duties determined by the Deputy Commanding General of the III Army Corps and the Commander of Wehrkreis III, Berlin.
• 12 July 1942: Commander of Infantry Replacement Regiment 256 of Division Nr. 174 in Bohemia.
• 24 September 1942: Commander of Reserve Grenadier Regiment 256 of the 174th Reserve Division in the General Government (Poland). [An officer evaluation dated 1 April 1943 prepared by Generalleutnant Kurt Renner, the Commander of the 174th Reserve Division, and endorsed by General der Infanterie Siegfried Haenicke, the Military District Commander of the General Government, assessed Oberst Stengel as possessing a respectable character with a good sense of humor. While Renner noted his subordinate had good organizational talents and was well respected in professional circles, Stengel was handicapped by corpulence. This condition probably contributed to the high blood pressure that rendered him unsuitable for further frontline service. As a result, both Renner and Haenicke judged him suitable for future employment as a city or field commandant.]
• 13 June 1943: Commander of the Intervention Group of the 174th Reserve Division in the General Government (Poland).
• 23 July 1943: Transferred to the Army High Command Leader Reserve – duties determined by the Deputy Commanding General of the IV Army Corps and the Commander of Wehrkreis IV, Dresden.
• 10 December 1943: At the same time, detached to the Commander of Prisoner of War Camps in Wehrkreis XII, Wiesbaden.
• 10-19 January 1944: At the same time, detached to a course for prisoner of war affairs at Wien.
• 1 April 1944-1945: Commandant of Prisoner of War Camp for Officers (Oflag) II D at Groß Born in Pomerania.[2] [An officer evaluation dated 1 July 1944 prepared by Generalleutnant Josef Lehmann, the Commander of Prisoner of War Camps in Wehrkreis II, and endorsed by General der Infanterie Werner Kienitz, the Deputy Commanding General of the II Army Corps and Commander of Wehrkreis II, assessed Stengel’s professional and personal qualifications: Large, strong appearance. Skillful and adaptable. Shows interest and understanding for troop concerns. He is well trained in prisoner of war affairs and his camp is kept in order. Both Lehmann and Kienitz recommended his continued employment as a prisoner of war camp commandant.]
• 2 May 1945 - December 1947: Prisoner of war in British captivity.

  • 9th January 1946 transferred to Island Farm Special Camp 11 from Camp 1
  • 28th January 1947 transferred to Camp 99 from Island Farm Special Camp 11
  • December 1947 Medical repatriation

• Prussian Iron Cross, 1st Class (1914): 8 November 1917.
• Prussian Iron Cross, 2nd Class (1914): 6 October 1914.
• 1939 Bar to the Prussian Iron Cross, 1st Class: 1 September 1941.
• 1939 Bar to the Prussian Iron Cross, 2nd Class: 1 August 1941.
• Medal for the Winter Campaign in Russia 1941/1942 (“East Medal”): 9 September 1942.
• Saxon Military St. Henry Order, Knight’s Cross: 11 June 1915. (An award date of 5 June 1915 is given by Erhard Roth in Die Verleihung des königlich sächsischen St. Heinrichs-Ordens und seiner Medaillen im Ersten Welkrieg 1914-1918.)  
• Saxon Merit Order, Knight 2nd Class with Swords: 7 December 1916.
• Saxon Albert Order, Knight 2nd Class with Swords: 20 February 1915.
• Cross of Honor for Combatants 1914-1918: 15 January 1935.
• Austrian War Commemorative Medal with Swords
• Armed Forces Long Service Award, 1st Class (25-year Service Cross): 9 March 1939.
• Armed Forces Long Service Award, 3rd Class (12-year Service Medal)
• Commemorative Medal of 1 October 1938
• Hungarian War Commemorative Medal with Swords
• Bulgarian War Commemorative Medal with Swords
• Wound Badge in Silver – World War I award: 29 June 1918.

Generalmajor Stengel’s World War I Combat Service Record:

Western Front, 1914-1917

• 23-24 August 1914: Battle of Dinant.
• 24-27 August 1914: Pursuit in the direction southwest and south of Sormonne.
• 27-30 August 1914: Pursuit to the Aisne.
• 31 August 1914-3 September 1914: Battle on the Aisne and pursuit over the Marne.
• 3 September 1914: Wounded in the upper thigh/hospitalized.
• 13-19 October 1914: Positional combat in Champagne.
• 23-29 October 1914: Battle of Lille.
• 30 October 1914-24 November 1914: Battle of Ypern.
• 25 November 1914-13 December 1914: Positional combat in Flanders and in French Flanders.
• 14-24 December 1914: December Battle in French Flanders.
• 25 December 1914-7 March 1915: Positional combat in Flanders and in French Flanders.
• 11-12 May 1915: Battle of La Bassée and Arras.
• 12 May 1915: Wounded in the chin, breast and left arm/hospitalized.
• 28 March 1916-8 April 1916: Battle of Verdun.
• 1 May 1916-12 September 1916: Positional combat in Champagne.
• 13-26 September 1916: Battle on the Somme.
• 30 September 1916-22 October 1916: Positional combat on the Yser.
• 28 October 1916-28 November 1916: Battle on the Somme.
• 21 December 1916-26 March 1917: Positional combat before Verdun.
• 27 March 1917-5 April 1917: Positional combat in the Champagne.
• 6-21 April 1917: Double Battle of the Aisne and the Champagne.

Eastern Front, 1917

• 17 May 1917-17 September 1917: Positional combat between Krewo—Smorgon—Lake Norotsch—Tweretsch.
• 18 September 1917-6 October 1917: Positional combat between Njemen—Beresina—Krewo—Smorgon—Lake Norotsch—Tweretsch.

Western Front, 1917

• 13-21 October 1917: Autumn Battle 1917 in Flanders.
• 21 October 1917: Poisoned by gas attack and hospitalized.

Supplemental Sources: