Genz, Alfred

Genz, Alfred, born 08-03-1916 in Berlin, Josef Goebbels (did you know) was the Gauleiter of Berlin, was a Leutnant when the war started and became an Major during the war.

He was involved in the dropping on Crete,

battle Crete on 10-05-1941, were three brothers Blücher under his command of the 1^st Company of the 1^st Fallschirm Jäger , in Hermann Goering’s Luftwaffe (did you know),  were killed in action on the first day. Hans Joachim Blücher and Wolfgang, Generalmajor der Fallschirmtruppe, Kommandeur der 9^th Division  on Crete, Bruno Braüer  and General der Flieger, Kommandeur der 1^st Fallschirmjäger Regiment, Kurt Student  were the high commanders of this operation.  It is reported that Genz was the first German soldier to enter the island of Crete from the ship during the company “Merkur”. The Sturmkompanie “Genz”, part of the First Battalion of the Major Walter Koch,  the hero of Fortress Eben Emael in Belgium in 1940 , landed early in the morning as the first soldiers with their load-sailors in the fire of three British flak batteries on the outskirts of Chania. Genz and his men jumped out, attacked the enemy, overpowered the gunners, and burst Alfred Genz was awarded with the Knight Cross of the Iron Cross for his excellent leading in this operation, on 14-06-1941, as a Oberleutnant. He ended the war as an Major and commander of the 29^th Fallschirm Jäger Regiment . Since Genz had lost his two brothers on Crete (Günther in the Parachute Regiment 3 and Harald in the 2nd / Luftwaffe- Storm Regiment 1, a fate similar to the Blücher brothers) and was the last male member of his family, he became deliberately withdrawn from combat operations, while he repeatedly complained in writing. After rebuilding the 1st Battalion after the losses on Crete, he was sent to a ground school in the Luftwaffe in January 1942 to give lessons to commanders in the Air Force field divisions. He held further training assignments and was temporarily assigned to the staff of Kurt Student. Harald and Gunther are buried together  on Maleme cemetery.

  At the end of December 1949, Genz returned home from the war. From April 26, 1956 to 31-03-1974, Genz was an officer of the Deutsche Bundeswehr’s parachute squad group, among others, in the new German Bundeswehr working  for the rebuilding of the Luftwaffe troops, as commander of the 262^th Fallschirm, Parachute, Battalion  , meanwhile an Oberst. as the first commander of the Kempten Airborough Battalion 19 in the Prinz-Franz-Kaserne and commander of the Lufttransportschule in Schongau.He retired in 1974 from the Army Service and went to Schongau, Bavaria, where he at the old age of 84, died on 23-04-2000. Oberst Alfred Genz is buried on the Westfriedhof of Munich, because his son Dr. Th Genz lived there and wanted to take care of the graveside, Close by are the graves of SA leader, Ernst Julius Röhm

      killed during the Night of the long Knives, he was shot by SS Obergruppenführer, Totenkopf” Division Theodore Eicke, also the killed SA leaders, Edmund Heines and Johannes Schweighart, The Night of the Long Knives between 30 June and 2 July 1934 saw the killing of approximately 82 SA men, including almost its entire leadership, effectively ending the power of the SA. Further the graves of Adolf Hitler’s (did you know) pilot, SS Obergruppenführer, Johan Peter “Hans” Baur

    and the Generalleutnant der Wehrmacht, Inspecteur der Fahrtruppen, Rudolf Trauch and General der Flieger, Chef Kommandeur der Luftwaffe, Josef Kammhuber.