Heinz Schweizer

Heinz Schweizer (18 July 1908 – 5 June 1946) was a German bomb disposal officer in the Luftwaffe of the Wehrmacht, holding the rank of Captain (Hauptmann). Beginning in 1940, he served in a house demolition and bomb disposal unit (Sprengkommando) based in Düsseldorf-Kalkum during World War II. Renowned for his expertise in defusing unexploded ordnance and saving lives, Schweizer was celebrated by Nazi propaganda as a hero, described as a "man with nerves of steel". although, by the later stages of the war, this formal training was replaced by on-the-job experience and examination, similar to the British system. Each demolition and bomb clearance unit, or Sprengkommando, was led by an officer (or, in German, an Oberfeuerwerker, meaning "Senior NCO explosive ordnance technician") and included three or four Feuerwerker. Basic tasks, such as excavating buried bombs after air raids, were carried out by forced labourers, including common criminals and political prisoners, but not prisoners of war (POWs). In German-occupied territories, local citizens were also conscripted for such labour. These forced labourers were overseen by Luftwaffe guards. Relations between Luftwaffe personnel and prison labourers remained cordial,

Knight's Cross award On 28 June 1943, Schweizer was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for his work defusing numerous bombs and developing innovative methods to neutralise unexploded ordnance and delay-action bombs. Some of these techniques are still employed by German bomb disposal units today to address World War II-era bombs. He is particularly remembered for his courageous efforts to save a group of political prisoners from execution toward the end of the war.

Role in saving political prisoners In 1945, Schweizer learned that "the SS, Gestapo, and other authorities ordered the killing of political prisoners so that they would not fall into enemy hands." In March 1945, he was ordered to return approximately 100 forced labourers involved in an evacuation to their penitentiary subcamp in Lüttringhausen, where their deaths were almost certain. This was evidenced by the murder of 60 other prisoners during the final phase of Nazi war crimes. Defying this order, Schweizer, with the assistance of his junior officer, Oberleutnant Werdelmann, devised a pretext. Claiming an urgent need for additional personnel to defuse unexploded bombs, he retained custody of the original group and secured the release of 50 more forced labourers. Shortly after, he surrendered with these prisoners to the United States Army in Bergisches Land.

After the War and death Schweizer was released from U.S. Army captivity in July 1945, aided by testimony from former prisoners and forced labourers who spoke favourably of his actions to save them during the war. Ignoring warnings, he returned to his family in Biesenthal, near Eberswalde, within the Soviet-occupied zone of Allied-occupied Germany. In June 1946, he was fatally shot in Biesenthal by a Soviet Army soldier, who was reportedly intoxicated at the time. The exact circumstances of his death remain unclear.