Hans-Ulrich Rudel
After the war, Rudel for a time moved to South America where he became a close friend and confidante of the Argentine president Juan Perón, and Paraguay's dictator and Nazi admirer Alfredo Stroessner. Even without a leg, he remained an active sportsman, playing tennis, skiing, and even climbing the highest peak in the Americas, Aconcagua (6,962 meters or 22,841 feet). He also ascended the second highest volcano on Earth three times, the Llullay-Yacu in the Argentine Andes (6,739 meters or 22,109 feet).
Rudel returned to West Germany in 1953 and joined the German Reich Party. During 1953 on Rudel's return to Germany he published a war diary entitled "Trotzdem" (Nevertheless, or In Spite of Everything).[7] Discussion ensued in Germany on Rudel being allowed to publish the book because he was a known Nazi. In the book he supported almost every Nazi policy. This book was later re-edited and published in the United States as a book of memoirs called Stuka Pilot[8] that supported the German invasion of the Soviet Union as the Cold War intensified.
He became a successful businessman in post-war Germany.
Rudel died in Rosenheim in 1982, and was buried in Dornhausen.
In 1976 Rudel was involved in what came to be known as the Rudel Scandal. Two high ranking Bundeswehr generals, Karl Heinz Franke and Walter Krupinski, were forced into early retirement.
Rudel was a teetotaler and non-smoker. His fellow pilots coined the phrase Hans-Ulrich Rudel, er trinkt nur Sprudel (Hans-Ulrich Rudel, he drinks only mineral water).
[
Quotation
| “ | Verloren ist nur, wer sich selbst aufgibt. ("Lost are only those who abandon themselves.") | ” |
[
Works
- Wir Frontsoldaten zur Wiederaufrüstung (We Frontline Soldiers and Our Opinion to Rearmament of Germany), Hans Ulrich Rudel, (booklet), private publication, Buenos Aires, 1951
- Dolchstoß oder Legende (Daggerthrust or Legend), Hans Ulrich Rudel, (booklet), private publication, Buenos Aires, 1951
- Trotzdem, Hans-Ulrich Rudel, Plesse Verl. Schütz; Auflage: 8. Aufl. (1950) eventually published in Germany during 1953
- Stuka Pilot, Hans Ulrich Rudel (Author), Lynton Hudson (Translator), Douglas Bader (Preface), Ballantine Books; New York, 1st American paperback edition (1958) a substantially re-edited edition of the Trotzdem
- Stuka Pilot (War and Warrior), Hans-Ulrich Rudel, Legion for the Survival of Freedom (October 1987)
- Mein Kriegstagebuch: Aufzeichnungen eines Stukafliegers (My war diary: Recordings of a dive bomber flier), Hans-Ulrich Rudel,(Wiesbaden : Limes, c1983).
- Mein Leben in Krieg und Frieden (My life in war and peace), Hans-Ulrich Rudel, (Rosenheim : Deutsche Verlagsgesellschaft, c1994).
[
References
- Notes
- ^ Just,p 43
- ^ Just, p12
- ^ For an explanation of the meaning of Luftwaffe unit designation, see Organization of the Luftwaffe during World War II
- ^ Piekalkiewicz, Den Annen Verdenskrig 6, p. 95
- ^ For a list of Luftwaffe ground attack aces see List of German World War II Ground Attack aces
- ^ Pilotenbunker.de - Rudel Biography
- ^ Trotzdem, Hans-Ulrich Rudel, Plesse Verl. Schütz; Auflage: 8. Aufl. (1950)
- ^ Stuka Pilot, Hans Ulrich Rudel (Author), Lynton Hudson (Translator), Douglas Bader (Preface), Ballantine Books; New York, 1st American paperback edition (1958)
- Bibliography
- Berger, Florian, Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern. Die höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges. Selbstverlag Florian Berger, 2006. ISBN 3-9501307-0-5.
- Brütting, Georg. Das waren die deutschen Stuka-Asse 1939 - 1945. Motorbuch, Stuttgart, 1995. ISBN 3-87943-433-6.
- Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945. Podzun-Pallas, 2000. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
- Just, Gunther. Stuka Pilot Hans Ulrich Rudel. Schiffer Military History, 1986. ISBN 0-88740-252-6.
- Piekałkiewicz, Janusz. Den Annen Verdenskrig 6, Norsk Peter Asschenfeldt AS, 1988. ISBN 82-401-0523-8.
- Rees, Philip. Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890. Simon & Schuster, 1991. ISBN 0-13-089301-3.
- Tauber, Kurt P. Beyond Eagle and Swastika: German Nationalism Since 1945. Wesleyan University Press, 1967.
[
External links
- Hans-Ulrich Rudel in the German National Library catalogue
- Rudel at 'Achtung Panzer!'
- Hans-Ulrich Rudel (many photos)
- Rudel's tombstone from "Graves of World War II personalities"
- Rudel's combat with Soviet fighter ace Lev Shestakov
- Rudel´s combat footage from German Wartime Newsreels (Die Deutsche Wochenschau)
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Oberstleutnant Hans-Karl Stepp |
Commander of Schlachtgeschwader 2 Immelmann August 1, 1944-February 8, 1945 |
Succeeded by Major Friedrich Lang |
| Preceded by Oberstleutnant Kurt Kuhlmey |
Commander of Schlachtgeschwader 2 Immelmann April, 1945-May 8, 1945 |
Succeeded by none |
|
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Rudel, Hans-Ulrich |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | German World War II Stuka pilot |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 2 July 1916 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Konradswaldau, Germany |
| DATE OF DEATH | 18 December 1982 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Rosenheim, Germany |
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