Heer LT Ernst Jetting

[Taurus454]

LT Ernst Jetting was awarded the Ritterkreuz for his bravery at Monte Casino. He and his wife were dear friends of my wife and I. When I was stationed in Augusburg we spent many days together and he was like a grandfather to me. We spent time together at each other's home. In fact, I invited him to my change of command ceremony when I took stewardship of an artillery battery. Through his efforts, I was allowed to attend the annual OdR meeting and was embraced as a comrade by many of the Ritterkreuztragger.

Years ago, I attempted to locate an American Captain Neuman who was a Prisoner of War Camp Commandant at the end of the war. Captain Neuman took Ernst's Ritterkreuz from him while a prisoner in the camp. My efforts in locating Captain Neuman were fruitless. It was my hope that I would be able to return his Ritterkreuz to him before he passed away.

Today, I have a few momentos from Ernst. Unique pictures, the coolest of which was a photograph of him in Stalingrad. He made it out wounded on one of the last planes out of Pitomnek. He also fought in the Battle of Berlin and managed to fight his way out of the city with a few men after Hitler committed suicide.

He left his Soldbuch and a few other items to his nephew residing in old Prussia. If anyone should ever come across information about Captain Neuman or items relating to Ernst Jetting, I would be deeply grateful if you would let me know. I don't think you can understand the empty spot which resides within me now that he is gone.

Humbly submitted,

Tom

[KenS]

This Soldbuch?

http://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=334274

[Taurus454]

Thank you my friend! You do not know how much this means to me. I have sent the current owner an e-mail to buy the collection. If there is anything you would like to know about Ernst that I can explain, please do not hesitate to ask. I will also post here what I posted on that site so some of Ernst's history may reside here:

I have sent an e-mail to you regarding this collection. Ernst, his wife, my wife, and I became very close friends during my last tour in Germany. I attended the annual ODR meetings as his guest and even presented an American-German Friendship to him and others at the last ODR meeting I was able to attend.

I must say that it is a same to see this collection sold outside of his family. We had discussions the disposition of his collection on several occassions prior to his passing and I remained in touch with him up to his passing. Ernst and his wife had one child who passed away at an early age due to an illness and the passing left them devastated for the remaining years of their life. Ernst left this collection to his nephew as his intent was that it would be passed down to his family for generations to come. Quite honestly, I trully did not want to see his collection pass into the hands of someone who did not know such a wondeful pair of human beings and addressed the topic with him. Ernst and his wife assured me that his nephew would ensure it was retained in their family.

To answer your question, Ernst was awarded his RK for his actions at the Battle of Monte Corono in Italy. It is near Monte Cassino, another famous battle. I offered to take him there so he could go over the battle with me on the ground but he did not want to visit the site because it was a very painful memory for him. As I recall, he said he did visit the site one time and would not go back. He told me some fascinating stories of the Battle of Monte Corono. The one I will share his is that it was easy to tell when the Americans would attack his position. They would always proceed it with an intense artillery bombing and follow behind with their infantry. He always said the Americans had a huge amount fo equipment compared to the Germans. He successfully held the position by leading immediate counterattacks against the Americans when the artillery ceased as the advancing infantry would be close behind. The reason he said his counterattacks were successful was because the Americans would not fight but would turn and retreat at the first sign of resistance. During one such counterattack, he tripped and fell into a large crater. As he looked around, he noticed an American GI hiding in the crater. They both stared at each other for awhile and finally the American slowly reached into his field jacket. Needless to say Ernst was watching closely in case he pulled a gun and hand his hand already on the pistol at his side. The American took out a pack of cigarettes, Camels if I recall correctly, and offered him one. It was the first American cigarette Ernst had ever smoked. They finished the pack until night came and eached crawled back to their side of the line never to see each other again. Ernst was eventually wounded at Monte Corono and evacuated to a hospital. His family was notified that he was killed though he had not been. Needless to say, they were glad to learn later that he was alive. For his actions, he was awarded the RK.

The dark picture, which is the fourth from the right on the bottom that can not be made out in your scan, also has a very interesting story attached to it. I have the original hanging on the wall at my house and I am at work at the moment so will relate from memory. If I recall and you look closely, it is of Ernst in a fox hole outside of Stalingrad. They were stationed to the North of the city in a defensive position near the Rumanians. The picture has a radio in it and in front on the berm you can see anti-tank mines. The picture also has the PPSH-41 which he carried in Russia. I believe his radio operator can be seen in this picture but I am going from memory. In the picture, you will see Ernst looking at his shirt. When I saw the picture, I asked him what he was doing. The answer, "killing lice"! He explained the problem they had with lice and how they killed them every chance they got. During the Battle of Stalingrad, Ernst was severely wounded and he told me he was evacuated out of the pocket on one of the last planes to take out wounded prisoners, if not the last. He felt himself very lucky to get out alive and described the last days he was in the Stalingrad pocket as very grim.

Another point of note which is not in the documents, is that Ernst fought in the Battle of Berlin. He was nominated for the Eichenlaub for his actions in Berlin but given the period in the war he was not "officially" awarded it and could not claim having received it in the post war years. After Hitler killed himself and the Battle of Berlin seemed lost, Ernst led his platoon and fought their way of Berlin and escaped the Russian trap.

Ernst eventually surrendered to the Americans and was put in an American POW camp. His treatment there was harsh and they were not provided with ample food, water, or toilets making life miserable. Many American enlisted men tried taking his medals but Ernst resisted. He gave me the name of the the person who tooks his awards after he put a gun to his head and threatened to shoot him if he did not give them up. I tried to locate the man and contacted the Center for Military History (if I remember the name correctly) to get information. My request was lost in a fire that broke out in their building and I never had a chance to follow up. I was hoping to reunite him with his medals if I could find the man who took them from him but he passed away before I could do so.

Needless to say, things just got worse for Ernst and he was turned over to the Russians where he spent many years in a Caucus Gulag. He related many stories to me and broke down crying once as he recalled all of his good friends who died in the camp from poor treatment. Things got so bad after a few years that the Germans refused to work and told the Russians to shoot them because they felt they were only going to be worked to death anyway. The Russian prison commander and guards proved to be reaosnable. They explained that if they killed the Germans they would be executed for not completing their work quota. They showed the Germans that they were actually getting an equal share of the food that was being provided to the camp. The Germans were on the same rations as the guards since the commander had ordered all food be divided equally with one exception, Vodka was withheld from the Germans. In exchange for continuing to work, the Russian Commander promised them a share of the Vodka. The Germans had no choice but to agree and got drunk with guards that day. Everybody was so hung over they could not work the next day but after the hangover ended, they went back to work. The Germans and Russians agreed to hunt and trap local game to supplement their food rations and would send out small hunting parties and their food rations improved enough to keep more from starving. Ernst and his fellow German prisoners completed the longest tunnel in the Caucuses.

While a prisoner, the NKVD started interviewing Germans for release. It was no secret that the NKVD was executing German aristocrats rather than release them from captivity. When it was Ernst's time for questioning, he was nervous as the NKVD identified him as a potential Junker because of his last name being Jetting and he was born in Prussia. He did not let on that he could speak Russian and as he was waiting for interrogation by the NKVD, a woman who acting as translator approached him in the waiting room and told him she woud help him and what to say to the NKVD. While being interrogated, he was beaten by the NKVD because they did not like his answers. There came a time when he heard one of the NKVD say that Ernst was without a doubt an aristocrat and he deserved death. They did not know he could understand what they were saying. At that time, Ernst started yelling at them in German that if they were going to kill him then do it now, he was tired of their treatment, and they should know that he came from a farming family who had no money. The translator told them what Ernst said, after their shock wore off they laughed at him, and let him go. About a year later he was on a train to Germany.

Upon arriving in Germany, he was disappointed by his reception. They gave him one meal, a little money, and some papers to allow him to move around in Germany. Unbelievable!

I have many more stories about Ernst but I will say that when I took command of a firing battery, Ernst and our wives were the guests of honor at my change of command and follow-on reception. He gave me his belt from the war on the day I took command. I had it mounted on a large plaque with my unit crest and a picture of Ernst and our wives in the guest of honor seats on the left of the plaque and me taking the guidon on the right of the plaque. The story of his military career is signed by the two of us and is mounted on the back of the plaque.

Sincerely,

Thomas E. Maloney SR