Walter Warzecha

Walter Wilhelm Julius Warzecha (23 May 1891 – 3 August 1956) was a German naval commander and high-ranking officer of the Kriegsmarine. Serving in the rank of General Admiral he succeeded General Admiral Hans-Georg von Friedeburg as the last Oberbefehlshaber der Kriegsmarine after the end of World War II.

Biography Walter Warzecha was born on 23 May 1891 in Schwiebus (modern Świebodzin). His father, Max Warzecha, was mayor of the town of Neuruppin, but the family came from Silesia.

World War I On 1 April 1909 Warzecha joined the Kaiserliche Marine as a Seekadett. His first post was aboard the heavy cruiser where he was promoted to Fähnrich zur See in April 1910. Between 1911 and 1916 he served on the dreadnought battleship , and there was promoted to the rank of Leutnant zur See in September 1912, and then to Oberleutnant zur See on 2 May 1915.

From August 1916 until the end of World War I he served as the commanding officer of various submarines; , and , and sank nine ships totalling 22,612 GRT, and damaged ten more for a total of 55,808 GRT.

Interbellum After the war Warzecha settled in Wilhelmshaven and then Kiel, where he started a family and became a father of four. Following the re-militarisation of Germany he returned to active duty within the Marinestation der Nordsee, with the rank of Kapitänleutnant from 1920. Promotion to Korvettenkapitän followed in 1928 and then to Fregattenkapitän in 1933. In 1934 Warzecha became Chief of Staff of the Marinestation der Ostsee in the Baltic. Warzecha served as the commander of the pocket battleship between October 1937 and October 1938. War Merit Cross 2nd Class 1st Class Knight's Cross with Swords (25 January 1945) Saxe-Ernestine House Order, Knight's Cross 1st Class with Swords Friedrich-August Cross, 2nd and 1st Class Hanseatic Cross of Hamburg U-boat War Badge (1918) High Seas Fleet Badge