Helmuth von Ruckteschell
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Helmuth von Ruckteschell was the captain of the Nazi German commerce raider Widder during World War II, and a convicted war criminal.
[edit] Pre-World War II
Born in 1891, he was a U-boat commander during World War I, He earned a reputation as an overly aggressive commander, which caused him to be placed on a black-list of officers that the Allied powers considered to have breached the rules of war. This contrasted with his artistic and cultured nature - he was an avid reader and loved classical music.
After the war, he left Germany to escape the harassment suffered by former submariners at the hands of the victor nations. He lived in Sweden and Lapland for several years, earning a living as a lumberjack and a surveyor, before returning to Germany in the early '30's.
[edit] World War 2
Von Ruckteschell was recalled to duty in the Kriegsmarine in 1939 and placed in command of an auxiliary minelayer. Although no official records exist to support the charge, it was rumored that he kicked an enlisted man, which left him very few friends in the command structure of the Kriegsmarine.
When he took command of the Widder and sailed out into the Atlantic Ocean on May 6, 1940, he commenced a cruise (finally ending on October 31, 1940) that would sink or capture a total of ten vessels. After returning to Germany after the Widder's cruise, he took command of the commerce raider Michel on its first cruise (March 9 1942 to March 1 1943), in which fifteen ships were sunk or captured. Von Ruckteschell was then relived at his own request for health reasons. By all accounts, Von Ruckteschell was very moody and introspective. His crew found him very difficulat to get along with. In addition, he suffered from severe migrane headaches.
[edit] War crimes
Unlike other commerce raider commanders, Von Ruckteschell habitually demonstrated a complete disregard for the lives and well-being of the seamen who became his prisoners. For example, he would think nothing of either not looking for survivors or setting prisoners adrift in small boats in mid-ocean when he felt that he had too many on board. In addition, warning shots were not fired at intended victims: the first shots usually were aimed at the bridge. All of these practices earned him after the war a seven year sentence for violations of the rules of war: the only commerce raider captain to do so.
