Adalbert Schnee


Otto Adalbert Schnee was a Korvettenkapitän with Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. He commanded the submarines,,, and, sinking twenty-one merchant ships on twelve patrols, for a total of of Allied shipping, and received the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves.

Career

Schnee was a member of Hitler's Nazi party. He joined the Reichsmarine in April 1934. After serving aboard the light cruiser, he transferred to the U-boat arm in May 1937. He spent two years on board the Type IIB U-boat, under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Otto Kretschmer, completing five combat patrols as 1.WO, between October 1939 and January 1940.
Schnee's first command, from January to July 1940, was the Type IIA submarine, in which he sailed on only a single short patrol in April supporting "Operation Weserübung".
His next command, between July and October 1940, was the Type IIC U-boat. In her he sailed on three more patrols around the coasts of the British Isles sinking two ships for a total of 3,188 tons, and damaging one of 15,434 tons.
Schnee commanded the Type IIB training boat during November 1940, but as this class of submarine were withdrawn from front-line service, in January 1941 Schnee was given command of the newer, larger Type VIIC U-boat.
Schnee sailed on seven combat patrols in U-201 between April 1941 and August 1942, sinking 19 merchant ships and damaged two others. He also sank two British Royal Navy auxiliary warships, the fighter catapult ship and the anti-submarine naval trawler. In August 1941 he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, and in July 1942 with the Oak Leaves.
In October 1942 Schnee joined the BdU staff. In his position as the Geleitzugs-Admiralstabsoffizier, he planned and organized operations against Allied convoys.
In September 1944 Schnee took command of the new Elektroboot, one of only two Type XXI U-boats to go on patrol. U-2511s first and only patrol began on 3 May 1945 at Bergen. The next day Schnee received the cease-fire order, prior to the German surrender, and a few hours later spotted a group of British warships. Simulating an attack, he evaded the destroyer screen, closed to within of the British cruiser, and then left the area without being detected. U-2511 returned to Bergen on 5 May to surrender as ordered. Schnee spoke to officers from Norfolk a few days later, who could not believe that U-2511 was able to get so close without any sonar contact. Schnee is said to have requested a comparison of the respective ships' logs, which confirmed his account. His Leitender Ingenieur on this patrol was Gerd Suhren.

Post-war

After the war Schnee was not tried for his Nazi activities. He served for six months in the German Mine Sweeping Administration. In October 1945 he was called to testify at the trial of Heinz-Wilhelm Eck and the officers of, for their actions after the sinking of. Although appearing for the defence, Schnee was forced to admit he would not have acted as Eck did. He then worked for some years as a commercial representative before becoming the director of a sailing school on Elba. He was also for many years the chairman of the Verband Deutscher Ubootfahrer. In 1980 Schnee published an article in the official VDU periodical defending the German festivities following the funeral of Admiral Dönitz, which had been severely criticized, and in which not only war veterans but also members of German Neo-Nazi associations had taken part. He said that the German song Deutschland, Deutschland über alles had been “spontaneously sung by the crowd, including the first verse” and had been “the most beautiful farewell present for the deceased man.” Schnee died in 1982.

Awards