Petersen, Rudolf Jesper.

Petersen, Rudolf Jesper, born 15-06-1905 in Atzerballig on the Island Alsen, Denmark, as the son of the priest Peter Andreas Petersen and his wife Caecilie Marie Cathrine, born Meyer. Rudolf joined the Naval  as a cadet on 16-11-1925, age 20 and was promoted to Oberleutnant on 01-07-1931. In the new Navy he was appointed as Kapitänleutnant of the Schnellboat S9 , on 06-09-1934. He started the second war with a reconnaissance trip from Helgoland. He was again promoted now to Korvettenkapitän and transferred to the Northsea. On 15-08-1940 during a visit of High Group Commander West, General Alfred Saalwächter,   who was executed by the Russians, on 16-12-1945, age 62, there was a huge explosion in the torpedo warehouse and all ships were damaged. The fleet couldn’t sail out and probably it was a sabotage. Petersen became a Admiral Staff Officer on 20-10-1941 and prepared for a Command of the Adolf Hitler Schnellboats, which command he hold until the end of the war. Promoted on 01-04-1944 as a Kapitän sur See he received the Oak Leaves  as Commander of the Torpedo boats. Petersen here with Konrad Adenauer   became Commodore of the Navy on 23-09-1944 and Admiral OB Marine-Gruppenkommandeur West, Theodore Krancke

 appreciated him very much. With only 40 Torpedo boats at the end of the war he couldn’t take too much risk anymore. Petersen was the leader of a court against the sailors, Martin Schilling, from Ostfriesland, Fritz Wehrmann , from Leipzig and Alfred Gail from Kassel, accused of dissertation, after they had heard of the surrender of the German troops., on 04-05-1945.

     

The sailors were still executed on the Torpedo boat “Buea” on 10-05-1945, though Petersen had lowered his war flag on 08-05-1945 already, German discipline. Petersen was trailed after the war, but was acquitted from homicide in 1953. Living in Flensburg, were the new chancellor Gross Admiral, Karl Dönitz  had his temporary headquarters together with Minister of Armaments and War Production, Albert Speer. 

Petersen died in a strange accident. During New Year’s Eve he got some firework rockets in the face, discharged by the local youth and died in hospital, age 71, on 02-01-1983.  He is buried with his wife Anne Marie, born Rost , who he married in 1954 who died age 82, on 19-10-1971, on the cemetery Addelby in Flensburg and only steps of the graves of Kapitänleutnant zur See, Commander of the Dönitz train “Auerhahn” Asmus Jespen,

  Admiral and signer German surrender 1945, Hans Friedeburg,

    who committed suicide after signing the surrender papers and Kapitän zur See, Kommandeur Marineschule Mürwik, Wolfgang Lüth

     

Lüth was shot in the head by 18 year-old Matrose Mathias Gottlob a German guard, not knowing the last password. The court ruled that Gottlob was not guilty and he was cleared of any fault in the killing of Kapitän zur See Wolfgang Lüth.