Vizeadmiral Bernhard Rogge: Most Successful Surface Warfare Officer of WWII

Bernhard Rogge stood six feet three inches tall and weighed around 220 pounds. He carried his body with control and excelled at sports. His military bearing exuded confidence and he was a strong leader and a deeply religious man. His demeanor commanded respect, and he was the officer-gentleman par excellence. He always wore neatly starched and ironed clothes, and his whole appearance, from his precisely combed hair to his manicured fingernails and spit-polished shoes, showed that he paid careful attention to the details of life. He was a machine who always did his duty with 100 percent of his being. He took responsibility for everything that happened to him and around him. 

            Bernhard Friedrich Carl Edgar Rogge was born on 4 November 1899. His maternal grandmother was Jewish, so by Halacha (Jewish law), he would be considered a Jew. It appears he did not really care about his Jewish background until the advent of the Third Reich, when he was classified as a “Quarter-Jew.” 

            The two things that charted Rogge’s course through the dark and mysterious waters of the Third Reich were his faith in God and his unswerving dedication to the German navy even while it was under Hitler.  Rogge’s lengthy career spanned four navies. He served under the Kaiser, the Weimar Republic, the Third Reich and the Federal Republic of Germany. At the age of fifteen, he volunteered for the navy and by 1917, he had become an ensign. During WWI, he served on cruisers, including the Moltke during the great sea battle of Jutland. After the Great War, he continued to serve in different capacities in the navy. After Hitler took over in 1933, Rogge experienced several problems from Nazi hardliners, but the commander of the German navy, Admiral Erich Raeder, took Rogge’s case to Hitler and the Führerawarded Rogge the German-Blood Declaration (Deutschblütigkeitserkl?rung) allowing Rogge to describe himself as an “Aryan” in government documents.  However, even with this special clemency, Nazi fanatics continued to harass Rogge and his wife, Anneliese née Frahm. She and her mother committed suicide on 9 April 1939 due to persecution (she too had Jewish ancestry). After the tragedy of losing his wife, all he had left in the world was his naval career and a dog, a small terrier named Ferry, who was often onboard with Rogge as a crew mascot. After 1939, available records indicate, Rogge faced little overt harassment due to his Jewish background although the threat of Nazi persecution lingered due to his Jewish ancestry and relatives. 

            Although his “Aryanization” happened in 1939, he did not have many problems in general with his naval career during the 1930s. From 1935 until 1936, he served as the first officer on the cruiser Karlsruhe during a world training cruise where he spent considerable time in Japan getting to know many Japanese naval officers, one of them being Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto (the mastermind of the Pearl Harbor attack from 7 December 1941). At the 1936 Olympics, Rogge served as a yacht sailing judge and helped train the German Olympic Sailing team (many captains of which were naval officers under Rogge). From 1938 until 1939, he commanded the sail training ship Albert Leo Schlageter. 

            After war broke out, Rogge’s duties changed. By winter 1939-1940, he prepared for his command of the ship Atlantis or Ship-16 (formerly known as Goldenfels), a merchant ship built for the Hansa line in 1937. On taking this command, Rogge was tasked with converting this ship into a warship. It was a rough start because the ship had to go through many stages of development before it was ready for war, but ultimately, this ship and its accomplishments would secure Rogge’s name in the history of naval warfare.

            At the beginning of World War II, the German navy was numerically inferior to the British and had to devise ways to compensate for this weakness. One of the well-known areas in which the Germans succeeded in doing this was by producing hundreds of U-Boats. But another less known strategy, nonetheless an effective one, was the Germans use of surface raiders, also called auxiliary cruisers or Q-Ships. These ships masqueraded as merchant ships until they got close to an enemy. Then they would drop hidden doors, revealing their guns, and order the opposing ship to surrender or be destroyed. To their enemies, they were known as “mystery ships” or “rattlesnakes of the oceans.”

            According to Rogge, his mission was “to harass and to do damage to the enemy for as long as possible and at constantly changing places, to disrupt his sea-borne trade and to tie up his forces.” He said their “task was not to sink every ship we sighted, but to spread alarm and despondency among the enemy, to force him to sail his ships in escorted convoys and to upset the economy of his dominions and colonies.” 

            Rogge’s Atlantis could change its appearance to mirror ships from Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Russia. Using artificial stacks, masts, and superstructures, Rogge’s crew could dramatically change the ship’s appearance to confuse even the most experienced sea captain. Sometimes Rogge’s crew had “women passengers” with wigs and dresses pushing baby carriages on the deck to give the illusion to others that it was a passenger ship. The engineers armed the ship with six 5.9-inch main gun batteries, cannons (one 75mm, two 22mm and two 37mm), and multiple torpedo tubs. The transformation process was involved, but with German engineering and organizational skills, Rogge’s men slowly but surely turned this merchant vessel into a man-of-war attack ship. As Rogge said, “We’ll be proud of our ship by the time she has put on her makeup. But like so many ladies, she takes an interminable time preparing.” 

            Since Rogge had served in the educational department of the German navy, he was able to hand pick his officer corps and high-ranking NCOs for his ship. On 31 January 1940, Admiral Raeder discussed in detail Rogge’s mission—find enemy ships and destroy them. On 1 April 1940, Rogge’s ship made its way to the open ocean disguised as the Russian vessel Kim. By 16 April, Rogge was able to sail past the British blockade and enter the vast expanse of the Atlantic Ocean.             For the next two years, Rogge hunted throughout the Atlantic and Indian Oceans and captured or sank numerous ships. One of the most exciting prizes his crew captured was the British steamer Automedon. Before Rogge and his men sank her after cannibalizing her supplies and fuel, they seized several bags full of documents—some of which would prove invaluable to the war effort and allow Rogge to have a significant impact on the manner in which Japan conducted the invasion of Asia in 1941-42. They were “highly confidential” document drawn up by the British War Cabinet for its “Commander-in-Chief Far East,” detailing the British military strength in East Asia, including the number of Royal Air Force units, the number and type of ships, an assessment of Australia’s and New Zealand’s military roles, copious notes on the Singapore fortifications, and the assessment of the feasibility of Japan entering the war. Most importantly, the secret documents made it clear that no “effective reinforcement” or “counterstrike capabilities” could take place for at least a year after a possible Japanese assault because the British Empire was under too much pressure nearer to home. Rogge turned these documents over to the Japanese, who, on behalf of Emperor Hirohito, awarded him a samurai sword for his contribution to their success. Besides Rogge, only Reichsmarschall Hermann G?ring and Field-Marshal Erwin Rommel received samurai swords from the Japanese Emperor. Japanese war planners appreciated the confirmation that the only major credible military force that could oppose their expansionist aims in the Pacific was the American fleet based at Pearl Harbor. For his accomplishments, Hitler awarded Rogge the Knight’s Cross (equivalent of the American Medal of Honor), and Rogge continued his hunting.

            Rogge continued racking up kills all throughout the world until 22 November 1941 when the British heavy cruiser Devonshire caught him resupplying U-Boat 126, and, after a gun battle, sank the Atlantis. 

After Atlantis settled on the bottom of the ocean, Rogge found himself in lifeboats with his men; the vast majority of his 350-man crew survived the battle. Soon thereafter, U-126 resurfaced and then towed Rogge and his lifeboats to occupied France. While traveling home, Rogge fell into a deep depression. He knew he would no longer be master of his own little world on a ship and had to return to the land dominated by Hitler. He despised the Führer and felt God was not on the side of the Nazis or the Third Reich. He also was returning to an empty house, and his dead wife’s ghost haunted him. Rogge later wrote to a friend that he believed God was now taking care of his wife and he should feel OK that the Love of his life was taken care of. He also mused that God gives people hardships to make them stronger. 

            Eventually, after making landfall at Nantes, France, Rogge made his way to Berlin to report to his superiors about his mission. Rogge was the most successful surface raider commander of the war, sinking or capturing 22 enemy ships for a combined displacement of 150,000 metric-tons while being at sea for 655 straight days and traveling over 102,000 miles.  The Atlantis had destroyed or captured three times the tonnage of the notorious pocket-battleship Admiral Graf Spee and he was one of the most successful surface warfare officers Germany ever produced. In the modern history of naval warfare, Rogge also holds the record for staying at sea for the most days without docking in port. On 31 December 1941, in a private ceremony, Hitler awarded Rogge the Oak Leaves to his Knight’s Cross (a second Medal of Honor!) for his amazing accomplishments. 

            From April 1942 until September 1944, Rogge served as the educational inspector for the navy, a position that he fulfilled with professionalism and skill. On 1 March 1943, he became a rear admiral. At the end of the war, he commanded the First Battle Group (Task Force 1) in the Baltic in late 1944 and early 1945 and helped the army with fire support, especially around Riga and the Kurland pocket. Without Rogge’s support of the army in the Baltic, the Kurland pocket would have never continued its resistance, tying down thousands of Russian soldiers in 1944 and 1945. By keeping a 30-mile corridor open at Riga, Rogge helped 29 divisions and much of their equipment to escape Russian encirclement in 1944. Moreover, he used the battleships’ 14-inch guns under his command to good effect killing thousands of Soviet soldiers and destroying their supplies. 

            Rogge also used his ships to cover the millions of refugees leaving Prussia under the savage advance of the Soviet army, especially around Danzig in 1945. Everywhere the Soviets entered Germany they raped all the women and girls they could get their hands on and often summarily executed any boys or young men they found. In fact, the atrocity stories about the Soviets at Danzig were so horrible that many civilians committed suicide instead of falling prey to the Russian onslaught of terror. On 1 March 1945, Rogge was promoted to vice admiral. At this time, Rogge took charge of Battle Group “Rogge” (Task Force 3), which included the battleship Schlesien, heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, light cruiser Leipzig, and escorts. His flag flew on the Prinz Eugen. 

            After the war, the Allies took Rogge prisoner and then released him in September 1945, but later brought him up on criminal charges. One charge claimed he had machine-gunned survivors of a ship he sank. This charge turned out to be false. The other claim stated that he executed several men for desertion. This charge was true. He was brought to court but found innocent because he had behaved according to military law. Though Rogge had received much help from others, he did not show mercy for those who no longer wanted to fight for Nazi Germany. Rogge claimed he carried out the executions in order to ensure his men followed his orders and to maintain discipline. For a man who was devoutly religious (would Jesus have shown mercy?) and for a man who hated the Nazis so much, fulfilling his military duties by executing deserters at the very end of the war does not make sense. As a result, many have found his argument that he was adhering to the laws of the land difficult to follow. Historian Goerg Meyer said in respect of this situation: “Rogge was hard as steel.” After this trial, he settled down in Hamburg and became a businessman from 1945 until 1955.

            In 1955, Germany was able to rebuild its military and Rogge reentered the military and became the commander of NATO forces for the State of Schleswig-Holstein in 1957, holding that position until 1963. He commanded all land, sea and air forces in this region composed of German and Allied personnel during the tense Cold War.  In 1962, Rogge was the key leader in coordinating all rescue efforts during the massive flood that hit northern Germany and he commanded 8,000 Bundeswehr soldiers to rescue thousands of people’s lives. For his efforts, the government awarded him the Great Service Cross of the Federal Republic of Germany. 

            In retirement, he found love again and married his second wife Elsbeth née Schumacher.  He also continued his passion for sailboats, once again helping the German Olympic sailing team in 1972. He also co-managed the Hamburg-Atlantik line, a merchant shipping business. Being devoutly religious, he also attended Lutheran church regularly believing “that our destiny lies in God’s hands and this knowledge is our strength.” When ask how in the world he kept his men motivated and together as a unit on the high seas for 655 days, he said, “How does one exert leadership? Well, with a Christian respect for the human qualities of others, conviction and trust in oneself.”  He was so admired by fellow and enemy officers, that he was invited to the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis to talk about leadership and his exploits. While in the States, he traveled to several bases and gave lectures to American naval officers about leadership and seamanship. 

            Rogge is a mixture of contradictions. In a sense, the life of Atlantis mirrored Rogge’s own life in that what you saw on the outside did not mirror the inside. During the Hitler years, he never quite escaped persecution for his ethnicity and religious beliefs, but he wore the uniform of the Germany Navy commanded by Hitler and achieved Flag-officer rank. After the war, he sometimes had a difficult time shaking his “Nazi” past and criminal acts as a raider captain who served under Hitler. Although he was anything but a Nazi and hated Hitler, he still had to answer several questions about his background after the war. How could one be a devoted navy man and German patriot and still serve a nation ruled by the Nazis and give an oath of allegiance to Hitler? Also, he never recovered from his “Jewish-Mischling” wife’s suicide, often blaming himself for it (could he have done more to have saved her?). And he regretted the fact that he could not have children although he tried with two women. Often, when he fell into a depression, he must have feared sharing the same fate as his mother, who after suffering her mental breakdown never recovered. The fact that Rogge did not let his trials break him is a testament to his mental fortitude. He was not only a giant among WWII commanders, but was also a strong human being who, although often knocked down by life, refused to let it defeat him. He wrote his own obituary when he said, “If God decides to call me home, I should not quarrel with my destiny. I have been thankful for every day I have had on this earth. I have lived a full life.” 

For more about Hitler’s Jewish Soldiers, see my books:

https://www.amazon.com/Hitlers-Jewish-Soldiers-Descent-Military/dp/0700613587

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