Diekmann's résumé of 18 August 1942 (transcript of his hand-written résumé)

It is interesting to note that in the résumé shown below, Diekmann does not mention his being awarded the Iron Cross First Class, which followed his wounding in France on 27th May 1940. As this résumé was written on 18th August 1942 it is a strange omission of fact, especially given the degree of emphasis placed on gallantry within the German armed forces and the SS in particular. Entries in italics below are my comments on the original script. See also the first page of his original handwritten résumé which was written in the Sutterlin script taught in Germany at that time.

Bad Tölz 18-8-1942

Résumé

SS-Hauptsturmführer (equivalent rank to Captain)

Adolf Diekmann

SS-Officer School

Bad Tölz

I was born on 18-12-1914 in Magdeburg, the son of Primary School teacher Hienrich Diekmann and his wife Anna (née Mohr). I have a brother and three sisters older than myself.

From Easter 1921-25 I attended the Boys Primary School II in Magdeburg. At Easter 1925 I started in the first year of the Bismarck Grammar School in Magdeburg. I left this school at the end of the seventh year after I had repeated the sixth year (this practice of repeating the whole of the sixth year if the required standard has not been met is still normal practice in Germany today). With the leaving of school, I entered the NSDAP and the SS on 1-4-1933. I voluntarily entered Work Service, at Burg near Magdeburg, on 18-5-1933 and during this time came to the decision to take my High School Graduation Certificate. For this reason I enrolled in November 1933 at the National Political Reformatory Institute in Naumburg and took my High School Graduation Certificate on 12-12-1935. From Naumburg I applied to the Special Forces and was called-up on 1-3-1936 to the SS-Signals Battalion at Berlin-Adlershof. The Signals Battalion sent me to the SS-Officers School at Bad Tölz on 4-10-1937. At Bad Tölz, I became an SS-Standartenjunker (SS-Cadet Officer) on 1-4-1938 and after completing the Number 4 Course for Platoon leaders at Tölz in Dachau, on 12-8-1938, was promoted to an SS-Standartenoberjunker (Upper Cadet Officer). As SS-Standartenoberjunker I went to the ‘Germania’ Regiment in September 1938, which marched into the Sudetenland and after promotion to Untersturmführer (2nd Lieutenant) on 9-11-1938, served on the Polish front as a Platoon Leader. For my service on the Polish Front I was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class on 14-11-1939.

On 12-2-1940 I married Medical Doctor Miss Hedwig Meinde (he originally wrote his wife's married name and then crossed it out in order to show her maiden name), daughter of Executive Secretary Mr. Bruno Meinde and his wife Hedwig and on 11-3-1942 she bore me a son, Ranier, Adolf.

Before the French Campaign in April 1940, I became A.D.C. in II Company of the SS-Regiment ‘Germainia’ and a short time after, Adjutant in the same Battalion. As Adjutant I was wounded on the 27-5-1940 at Saint Venant in Northern France and convalesced with a gunshot wound to the lungs, up to my recovery in the Reserve Military Hospital at Elbogen on the Eger (present day Loket on the river Ohre in the Czech Republic).

On the 13-9-1940 I was transferred to the first battalion ‘Germania’ at Hamburg and after I had been promoted on 1-7-1940 to Obersturmführer (Lieutenant), was appointed to lead the 3rd Company. In course of the construction of the 1st SS-Brigade in Krakau, after three months on 1-12-1940 I became Company Leader on the staff the 1st SS-Brigade, to which I belonged, up to my transfer to the SS-Officer School at Bad Tölz on 1-5-1941. I was promoted on 20-4-1942 (the 20th of April was Hitler's birthday) to SS-Hauptsturmführer (Captain) and since my transfer to the Officer Training School, I am now an Instructor in Tank tactics.

Diekmann. Adolf.

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