The Last Nazi to Surrender in WW2二战最后投降的纳粹

加雷思·戴维斯 何丹萍

Lieutenant Wilhelm Dege’s incredible story has been previously untold outside Germany， but he is thought to be the last Nazi to surrender after World War Two and was once awarded Germany’s highest medal the Iron Cross.

In an exclusive interview， Eckbart Dege， 74， a retired German academic， described in detail the precise historic moment his father finally handed over his pistol.

Upon war being declared in 1939， the German military High Command could no longer obtain the necessary observations through the international meteorological network which were controlled and encrypted by the allies. To fight effectively， the Germans were forced to establish their own weather station in the Arctic. Weather reports were so crucial to German military strategy， Lieutenant Dege was commissioned to lead Operation Haudegen， which established a base on the remote Norwegian peninsular of Svalbard， near the North Pole.

They transmitted reports for a year from August 5， 1944 until the eleven-man team learned of the German surrender from their wireless transmitter in May 1945.

After twelve gruelling months surviving Polar bear attacks and being under constant threat of British Commando ambushes， they were ordered to destroy all their scientific and communications equipment.

The marooned soldiers were left with only a rowboat until a tiny Norwegian sealer boat called Blasel， arrived on September 3， 1945 to take the men of Haudegen back to Norway.

Dr Dege told the tale of the comedic scene on the night of his father’s surrender. “My father and his comrade Reyer went to the beach to greet the Norwegians，” he said. The captain， L. Albertsen of Tromsø， and the cook of the ship rowed ashore.

“My father greeted them in English， but the captain was totally confused， since he did not understand English. Then my father switched to Norwegian， which he spoke fluently， having been interpreter in the German Army in Norway from 1940 to 1943.

“He asked the captain： ‘Shall we start our official business right here on the beach or may I invite you to our station for a coffee and a schnapps？’ The Norwegian captain answered： ‘Real coffee and a good German schnapps？ Yes， of course.’ So the Haudegen people treated the Norwegians to all the good food， drinks， cigarettes they still had in their provisions.

“In the early morning hours of September 4， 1945 the Norwegian captain became a bit nervous. My father asked： ‘What is the matter？’ The captain answered： ‘The Navy authorities in Norway have ordered me to first ask you to surrender.’

“My father then replied： ‘Why don’t you ask me？’ to which the captain said， ‘I don’t know how such things are done.’

“My father answered ‘I don’t know either’ and took his pistol from his holster， put it on the table， pushed it over to the Norwegian captain and said ‘With this I surrender.’ The Norwegian captain was very astonished. All he could say， was ‘May I keep the pistol？’

“Then my father formulated a document of surrender in Norwegian， which both men signed. That was the surrender of the last German military unit of WWII—in many ways a strange surrender.”

After their return to civilian life Wilhelm Dege and his unit tried to meet up every year after the war for a reunion although this was dangerously complicated during the Cold War with tensions high between East and West Germany.

“The year these eleven men spent in cramped quarters in a hostile environment of cold， gales and darkness shows how superb camaraderie and an understanding leadership were able to maintain high morale and helped the group to master the horrors of the Arctic night，” Eckbart said.

“In the beginning yearly reunions of the Haudegen men only took place in East Germany. The West German ‘Haudegen’ men were always invited to join， but nobody dared to travel there because of the Cold War politics of the time.”

“In 1984， a few years after the death of my father in 1979， I accepted an invitation from the East German Haudegen men and joined their reunion with my family. Then we were given a tip that the East German State Security the Stasi had watched these forbidden ‘military comrades’ reunions’ and were planning a raid for the next reunion.”

“So these Haudegen reunions came to an abrupt end. A few years after German reunification， the tradition of yearly reunions was taken up again. With fewer and fewer Haudegen members alive， these reunions have come to a natural end.”                                                  ■

威廉·德格中尉的故事令人難以置信，此前在德国以外并不为人所知，而一般认为，他是二战最后投降的纳粹，服役期间曾被授予德军最高荣誉“铁十字勋章”。

74岁的德国退休学者埃克巴特·德格是威廉·德格中尉的儿子。在接受独家采访时，他详细回顾了他的父亲最终交出手枪的历史性时刻。

1939年宣战后，德军最高指挥部无法再通过由盟军控制和加密的国际气象网获得必要的观测数据。为了有效作战，德军不得不在北极建立自己的气象站。天气报告对德军制定策略至关重要，德格中尉受命领导“击剑行动”，在偏远的挪威斯瓦尔巴特群岛上靠近北极的地方建立了一个气象站。

自1944年8月5日开始，德格中尉带领的11人观测队向指挥部发送天气报告近一年，直到1945年5月，他们通过无线通信得知德国投降的消息。

他们经历了12个月的艰苦生活，不仅要抵抗住北极熊的袭击，还要时时提防英国突击队的伏击。如今，他们受命摧毁所有科技和通信设备。

这支受困的观测队只有一艘小船，无法离岛。直到1945年9月3日，一艘名为布拉塞尔的挪威小型海豹船抵达该岛，将“击剑”观测队带回了挪威。

德格博士娓娓讲述了父亲投降当晚颇带喜剧色彩的场面。他说：“我父亲和队友雷耶到海滩迎接挪威人。”海豹船船长L.阿尔贝特森来自特罗姆瑟，他和该船厨师划小船上了岸。

“父亲用英语和他们打招呼，但船长一脸茫然，因为他不懂英语。于是，父亲改说挪威语，1940年到1943年他一直在驻扎挪威的德军中担任翻译，他的挪威语说得很流利。

“他问船长：‘我们是就在海滩上办理公务呢，还是可以请您到我们的气象站先喝杯咖啡或杜松子酒？’船长回答说：‘正宗的咖啡和上好的德国杜松子酒？当然，我很乐意。’就这样，观测队队员将压箱底的美食、佳酿和香烟都拿出来款待挪威人。

“1945年9月4日清晨，挪威船長显得有些紧张。父亲问：‘怎么了？’船长回答说：‘挪威海军部门命令我首先要求你投降。’

“父亲于是问：‘那你为什么不要求我呢？’船长回说：‘我不知道这种事情该怎么办。’

“父亲一边说着‘我也不知道’，一边从枪套里掏出手枪放到桌上，一把推到船长面前说‘我缴械投降’。船长非常吃惊，最后只挤出一句：‘我可以留着这把手枪吗？’

“后来，父亲用挪威语写了一份投降书，双方都签了字。这就是二战最后一支德军的投降经过，很多方面都显得很奇怪。”

威廉·德格和队友战后回归了平民生活，他们试图每年举行一次聚会，尽管这在冷战时期很危险也很困难，因为那时东西德关系紧张。

埃克巴特说：“在严寒、狂风和黑暗的恶劣环境中，这11人挤在狭小的气象站度过了将近一年。这一年的经历显示出崇高的战友情谊和通情达理的领导如何能让团队保持高昂的士气，帮助他们战胜了恐怖的北极之夜。

“最初，观测队的年度聚会只在东德举办。来自西德的队员每年都会收到聚会邀请，但碍于当时的冷战政策，没有人敢去赴约。

“父亲于1979年去世，几年后的1984年，我接受了来自东德队员的邀请，带上家人一同参加聚会。聚会上，我们得知，东德国家安全局斯塔西一直监视这些明令禁止的‘战友聚会’，并计划在他们下次聚会时发起突袭。

“于是，队员聚会戛然而止。德国统一数年后，这一年度聚会的传统又被提起。不过，随着观测队队员一个个离世，这样的聚会也自然而然地画上了句号。”                                  □

（译者为“《英语世界》杯”翻译大赛获奖者）