Otto Salman

Otto Eduard Salman (5 July 1908 - 21 April 1970) was a German U-boat commander during World War II. Under Salman's command, the submarine U-52 was credited with sinking 13 Allied ships during 7 different patrols, totaling 56,333 gross register tons (GRT). Salman, along with Admiral Hans-Georg von Friedeburg, are the only two naval recipients of the Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross. Salman was later a part of the broader Nuremberg trials due to his close association with Großadmiral Karl Dönitz. Following the war Salman became the party secretary for the CDU/CSU. Life

Early career Otto Eduard Salman was born on 5 July 1908 in Schöneberg, Berlin. Previous to Salman's enlistment in the military he worked in the German merchant navy (German: Handelsmarine). On 9 December 1941 Salman was awarded the German Cross in gold (German: Deutsches Kreuz in Gold), a notable military award for "for repeated exceptional acts of bravery or troop leadership".

Adjutant Following Salman's service in the U-boat fleet he would serve as an adjutant, advisor, and Generalstabsoffizier (General Staff Officer) to the Oberkommando der Marine as part of the BdU-Op (BdU - Operationsabteilung) beginning in 1943 under Großadmiral Karl Dönitz. Salman would later serve as head of the Training Department for U-Boat personnel in 1944, later being awarded the Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross on 2 May 1945. For a brief period Salman served as the direct adjutant and personnel officer for Dönitz and the Oberkommando der Marine.

Nuremberg

Prisoners of Central Continental Prisoner of War Enclosure No. 32, code-named Camp Ashcan, Salman being among them Salman was interrogated during the Nuremberg trials due to his role as a staff officer with the Oberkommando der Marine and his close personal association with Karl Dönitz. During his interrogation at Camp Ashcan in Bad Mondorf, Salman stated that he often made efforts to rescue or tow lifeboats and give aid to survivors of sunken ships, however, he and other U-boat instructors were orally ordered by Dönitz to discontinue this process. Salman died on 21 Apr 1970 in Kiel, Germany.

Awards

U-boat War Badge (30 April 1940) Iron Cross 2nd Class (6 May 1940) Iron Cross 1st Class (1 August 1940) German Cross in Gold (9 December 1941) War Merit Cross 2nd Class with Swords (20 April 1943) War Merit Cross 1st Class with Swords (1 September 1943) Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross (2 May 1945)