Otto Kähler

Otto Kähler (3 March 1894 – 2 November 1967) was a German admiral during World War II. He commanded the German auxiliary cruiser Thor, a merchant raider, on two combat patrols and sank or captured 12 ships, for a combined tonnage of 96,547 gross register tons (GRT) of Allied shipping. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. Kähler relinquished command of Thor on 20 July 1941 to Günther Gumprich.

This article is about the German admiral. For the Austrian physician, see Otto Kahler.

Otto Kähler
Born	(1894-03-03)3 March 1894
Died	2 November 1967(1967-11-02) (aged 73)
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Kriegsmarine
Rank	Konteradmiral
Commands held	Gorch Fock German auxiliary cruiser Thor
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

He was appointed the commander of the naval forces in Brittany in September 1944. He was captured by US forces soon thereafter. Repatriated February 1947, he died in Kiel on 2 November 1967.[1]

Awards

• Iron Cross (1914) 2nd Class (1 October 1915)[2]
• U-boat War Badge (1918)[2]
• Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class & 1st Class[2]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 22 December 1940 as Kapitän zur See and commander of auxiliary cruiser Thor (HSK 4)[3]
  • 583rd Oak Leaves on 15 September 1944 as Konteradmiral and sea-commander of the fortress Brest[4]

References

Citations

1. Neitzel, Sönke (July 19, 2013). Tapping Hitler's Generals: Transcripts of Secret Conversations 1942–45. 6335: Frontline Books.CS1 maint: location (link)
2. Dörr 1995, p. 298.
3. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 248.
4. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 88.

Bibliography

• Dörr, Manfred (1995). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Überwasserstreitkräfte der Kriegsmarine—Band 1: A–K [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Surface Forces of the Navy—Volume 1: A–K] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2453-2.
• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.