Eugen Hinnen, born near Crailsheim, Germany, had dreamed of one day entering the German Air Force since he was a young boy. His father was Swiss and his mother German, so he was born as a Swiss citizen in Germany. He spent much time watching STOL (short take off & landing) airplanes, such as the Fieseler Storch, on a local airfield. He was fortunate enough to even get to sit in the cockpit of one once. A love for aviation ran in Hinnen’s blood.
Before he could fulfill his dream he had to learn a profession such as auto mechanic, electrician, or plumber. In 1937, young Hinnen began looking for an apprenticeship but opportunities were scarce. The economic situation was bleak and many in Germany, like the rest of the world, were struggling to find work. The only possibility he really had was to take an apprenticeship as a plumber-mechanic in a plaster factory, the very factory where his father was employed. Hinnen took the position and not long after the Second World War began. (Note: Before his apprenticeship, Hinnen applied for German citizenship which was granted. He was able to keep his Swiss citizenship.)
With Germany at war, the freedom to switch careers was denied Germans and given over to the Official Work Office (Arbeitsamt). The only available employment opportunity for most youngsters was to commit to the General Work Services (Reichs-Arbeitsdienst). Soon after completing his apprenticeship at the age of 19, Hinnen was called up by the Arbeitsamt to report to a nearby airfield for training as an aircraft mechanic. Hinnen received three months of training and was transferred along with the other mechanics in his group to a military airfield in Bayreuth (NE of Nuremberg). Here they were organized and equipped for regular work at military airfields. The Reichs-Arbeitsdienst worked closely with the Wehrmacht throughout the war so while Hinnen would be working on military aircraft he wasn’t in the German Air Force.
By this time, the Russian campaign in the East had begun and Hinnen’s mechanic group was informed that they would be stationed at a military airfield somewhere in the North (e.g. Finland). Hinnen volunteered at this time to enter the actual German Air Force, in the hopes of getting into pilot training. The denial of his application led him to volunteer to be a paratrooper (fallschirmjager), a job that would keep him in the aviation field. “Once in the paratroops it was forever,” Hinnen explained.
Just before he was to set out for his station assignment with the mechanic group he received the order to enter the paratroops and was placed in Regiment 16 II Battalion 8 Company at the age of 20. Hinnen attended Fallschirmschule in April of 1944 in Wittstock.
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| Eugen Hinnen in exercice/training uniform |
He was first committed to a seaplane unit in Bulgaria near the Black Sea. Attacks were made on the Crimean isles and Russian submarines in this area. Later on Hinnen was transferred to the 2nd Battalion for fighter pilot candidates in Cherbourg. Shortly after his transfer it became obvious that he had contracted malaria during his service in the Black Sea. After he recovered he insisted on being transferred back to his old para unit, which is exactly where he “landed”.
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| Eugen Hinnen in full battle dress in Normandy |
After the D-Day invasion, Hinnen’s regiment was sent to Normandy where they took up defensive positions near Abbeville (NE of Amiens). The regiment stayed only a few days and was then transferred back to Germany. The paratroopers trained in night drops but soon received orders to turn in their parachutes and get equipped for terrestrial combat. They flew east in an armada of roughly 200 Ju-52’s (Luftwaffe transport planes) to Kowno, which was the capital of Lithuania. From Kowno, only the 2nd Battalion proceeded to Wilna (Vilnius) in 50 Ju-52’s.
Upon reaching the Wilna airfield, many of the Ju-52’s turned back due to the airfield being badly destroyed by artillery craters. A couple of the planes that chose to land toppled over because of the pock marked airstrip. The pilots of the plane Hinnen was in, along with eight others, managed to land with no problems. It was already dusk and night was fast approaching. The para’s quickly disembarked and the planes immediately took back off for home.
The airfield was attacked by Russians and Polish Partisans and the para’s were at a distinct disadvantage. Russian tanks surrounded the airfield and shelled the Germans. As night enveloped the battle, the Germans took cover wherever they could. Most of them climbed into trenches that had already been dug out by the enemy. They believed the Russians and partisans to be elsewhere, but to many of the para’s dismay…they found themselves in the very same trenches as the enemy. “A bitter and merciless battle was the result,” Hinnen shared.
These para’s were annihilated. Hand to hand combat in close quarters was the death these men faced. Hinnen’s group was in a different section of the trenches and they had no idea about the death of their fellow para’s at this time. As the morning sun rose, the battle continued. Hinnen’s group sat up their machine guns in tactically favorable positions and waited more than half the day for their comrades.
The Russian tanks pushed back the German para’s and upon recognizing a group of retreating para’s as their own, Hinnen’s group began running towards their comrades happy to finally see them. The joy was quickly snuffed out as those believed to be comrades of the German para’s opened fire on Hinnen’s group. Para’s began falling dead and the rest began running back their trenches. The enemy rushing the German para’s were actually partisans dressed in German uniforms, likely taken from the para’s who found themselves in the same trenches as the enemy.
Hinnen and his comrades were shaken, knowing that from there on out they would not be able to tell friend from foe at a distance. Not long after, Hinnen ran into several of the partisans dressed as German para’s. He believed the rouse until he hugged one of his supposed comrades and in return got rifles pressed into his gut. He would have been killed or taken prisoner if it hadn’t been for a Polish nurse from the nearby military hospital who convinced the partisans to let Hinnen go. Hinnen even witnessed one of his Sergeants being clobbered by his own pistol and drug off behind enemy lines, thanks to another partisan dressed as a German. It is likely that they stripped the Sergeant of his uniform as well.
The Germans retreated and evacuated numerous train loads of their casualties to the West. From then on, an unconditional defense up to the last man was ordered. Wilna was an important railway junction for the Germans, because all supplies to their troops in Leningrad ran through it. The remainder of the fighting was close combat from street to street and house to house. Hinnen was wounded on a street intersection during the battle. The Germans led a counter attack and afterwards took a short break of sorts at the same intersection Hinnen was wounded at. Suddenly a shell exploded in the center of the street and everyone was sent flying. Hinnen received two shell fragments to a foot, as well as a broken ankle. He was no longer able to continue fighting and took cover for the night in a cellar along with several other wounded para’s.
The remainder of Hinnen’s group counter attacked and he waited on them to return. His waiting was in vain as they never showed up. Hinnen headed out limping along the houses looking for someone in charge. Finally he found the Command Post (CP) of a special tank unit. The wounded were loaded onto the trucks for transport to the next military hospital. There was no space for Hinnen in the trucks so he caught a ride on a tank and took cover behind the turret. A medical orderly tried taking Hinnen’s weapons from him but Hinnen refused stating, “As long as we are in the battle area and as long as I am able to shoot, I don’t give my weapon in.” Normally the wounded weren’t allowed to bear arms of any kind but Hinnen made his point very clear and was left alone.
The military hospital they arrived at was overcrowded with more than 800 wounded. The CP for General Stahel (Commander of the defense of Wilna) contacted the CP for Hitler (Rastenburg/E. Prussia). The ordered remained the same…….defend the town to the last man. General Stahel had all the para's (~25) gather round. He personally shook the hand of every para, thanked them for their service, and handed them a chocolate. This was a tradition out in the battlefield which meant that each recipient was being awarded the Iron Cross. An official promotion ceremony would take place in a quieter area in the rear later on.
At this time, Hinnen fully believed that the order to break out would come soon because the famous Panzer Division Grossdeutschland would be approaching outside of the pocket to relieve them. The moral in the hospital was low. Soldiers from different units stood around and passed on any news or gossip. Hinnen had a bed but still kept his fighting equipment on his person, using his gun as a crutch and eagerly listening for any updates on the true situation. An order was finally given for the men to break out of the Wilna pocket at midnight.
Hinnen decided to take a short nap before the breakout and drug his mattress through the street to a cellar where other soldiers were awaiting the go ahead for the breakout. He laid down with gun in arms and pockets full of grenades. Hinnen asked a comrade to wake him when they were to head out but for some reason, this individual, nor any of the men also in the cellar, took the time to wake him.
Hinnen awoke from a 12 hour long deep sleep. When he awoke, he remembers the sun shining brightly through the cellar window and realizing there wasn’t another soul with him. He was confused and “in the dark” about the situation, Hinnen said. Had his comrades successfully broken out? Had the town surrendered? Have all the Russians been taken prisoner? The questions seemed to speed through his head one after another. He got up, rifle at the ready and limped up the stairs. Spying out a window he saw Russian soldiers, their guns also at the ready, surrounding the backyard.
Looking across the backyard, Hinnen noticed that all the active German fighters had gone. Left were only German nurses, doctors, a few staff officers, and some wounded soldiers. They were separated into different groups and transported away. Hinnen had to make a decision. Should he try to secretly slip away or should he stay put? He chose to make his way back to the hospital corridor where the heavier casualties had been. They were still there and immediately began yelling at Hinnen, “You stupid! Throw your gun down! They will shoot us all when they see you fully armed!” Hinnen was stubborn and refused to lay down his arms. Fortunately no Russians came into the area. He left the hospital and threw all his weapons into a big heap. “I now recognized....I was a prisoner….this was the end…..physically I was finished.”
He made his way back to his hospital bed where he fell into another deep sleep. He was not recognized as being a “new” member among the wounded by the Russians. Of the 3,000 German soldiers who attempted to break out of the Vilna pocket, only 500 were successful in reaching the German forces outside the siege ring. Hinnen was taken prisoner on 13 July 1944. He was forced to a brutal march into the unknown with 50 fellow paratroopers and a few wounded. The group was constantly on the brink of being shot by the guards.
Roughly 800 wounded soldiers in the hospital were shot and left behind after Hinnen was taken prisoner. He spent 3 ½ months in a POW camp (195/1) in Wilna. There were roughly 4,000 prisoners from various European nations. He spent the next 3 weeks on railway transport in November of 1944 from Wilna to Moscow where they were placed in the Tambov POW camp (South of Moscow).
Hinnen was recognized as a Swiss citizen being born in Germany. He, along with ~ 350 civil refugees of neutral countries temporarily imprisoned by the Russians, were put on a special repatriation railway transport. Transport took 4 weeks to the Swiss border. He arrived on 18 November 1945 in St. Margreten, Switzerland where he resumed his original Swiss citizenship. His military service in Germany was done as a German citizen. (Note: Hinnen was NEVER a member of the Nazi party.)
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| Eugen Hinnen, 24 , front row, extreme right in Swiss Airforce Recruit School 1947 |
Hinnen could have been sentenced by Swiss military courts because military service for foreign countries was not allowed, but fortunately he wasn’t. In 1947 he fulfilled his Swiss duties in a 4 month recruit school with the Swiss Air Force. Hinnen joined the P-51 D (Mustang) Fighter Company 20 as an Airmen First Class. For more than 10 years Hinnen was the only top paratrooper in the Swiss Air Force with actual combat experience.
After recruit school he was one the 1st civil parachutist in Switzerland. He was well known for his dare devil type jumps with flares attached to his feet and opening the parachute at the lowest height. He also became one of the best marksmen on the rifle range.
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| Eugen Hinnen, Head of the first Swiss Civil Parajumper's School after WWII |
