Bruno Sutkus
Encyclopedia
Bruno Sutkus was a German
sniper
in the 68th Infantry Division
on the Eastern Front of World War II
, and was credited with 209 kills. Every kill was recorded in an individual "sniper's book" and had to be confirmed by at least one observer and authenticated by the battalion commander. Facsimile copies of various diary pages are reproduced in Sutkus' memoir. other soldiers and superior authority. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Sutkus held lectures for Lithuanian soldiers and presented his wartime records to Lithuanian officers.
Sutkus was born in Tannenwalde (suburb of Königsberg
in East Prussia
). His father was Lithuanian, which meant that Sutkus was not automatically German, German nationality had to be applied for. Since no application was made he remained officially Stateless until 1941 when he became a naturalized German. He joined the Hitler Youth
in 1938, achieving the rank of a Scharführer. When he was 18 years old he became a member of the SA
, where his shooting skills were acknowledged, and he was given a rifle to take home and practise marksmanship.
Sutkus trained as a sniper from August 1943 through the end of December 1943 at the Sniper School Vilnius
, before being assigned to the 196th Grenadier Regiment of the 68th Infantry Division. In January 1945 while recovering from a wound he was promoted and informed that he had been appointed as an instructor at a sniper school.
In his autobiography, Sutkus describes that after the war he came into contact with the Lithuania
n resistance (cf. Forest Brothers
), how he was captured and severely tortured by the KGB
. He was in possession of forged documents declaring him to be Stateless and of having worked throughout the war as a farm labourer, but knew the Russians suspected him of having served in the Wehrmacht as a sniper. So Sutkus decided to stay together with several Lithuanians he knew who were deported to Siberia
for forced labor, partly to escape Soviet attentions, and expecting deportation anyway. By the time the Russians had the evidence to try him for the "war crime" of being a sniper, West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer
had negotiated amnesties for many Germans being detained in the Soviet Union. He worked on collectives, in the Taiga forests and down the pits at Sheernkov from 1949 until 1971 when he was allowed to relocate to Vilnius
. Sutkus went into voluntary banishment to accompany a Lithuanian woman, Antoniena, (d.1995) nineteen years his senior, who had been linked to the Resistance. He had a son, Vytautas, by her in 1951. In 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Sutkus, now Lithuanian after having been forced to accept Soviet citizenship, visited Germany. In 1994 he received a certificate of German citizenship and passport, and relocated to Germany in 1997.
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
sniper
Sniper
A sniper is a marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles....
in the 68th Infantry Division
68th Infantry Division (Germany)
The 68th Infantry Division was a formation of the German Army during World War II. It was formed in 1939, and was initially committed to the German invasion of Poland. It took part in the Battle of France in 1940, and then Operation Barbarossa in 1941 as part of Army Group South. The 68th remained...
on the Eastern Front of World War II
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
, and was credited with 209 kills. Every kill was recorded in an individual "sniper's book" and had to be confirmed by at least one observer and authenticated by the battalion commander. Facsimile copies of various diary pages are reproduced in Sutkus' memoir. other soldiers and superior authority. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Sutkus held lectures for Lithuanian soldiers and presented his wartime records to Lithuanian officers.
Sutkus was born in Tannenwalde (suburb of Königsberg
Königsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
in East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
). His father was Lithuanian, which meant that Sutkus was not automatically German, German nationality had to be applied for. Since no application was made he remained officially Stateless until 1941 when he became a naturalized German. He joined the Hitler Youth
Hitler Youth
The Hitler Youth was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party. It existed from 1922 to 1945. The HJ was the second oldest paramilitary Nazi group, founded one year after its adult counterpart, the Sturmabteilung...
in 1938, achieving the rank of a Scharführer. When he was 18 years old he became a member of the SA
Sturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
, where his shooting skills were acknowledged, and he was given a rifle to take home and practise marksmanship.
Sutkus trained as a sniper from August 1943 through the end of December 1943 at the Sniper School Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
, before being assigned to the 196th Grenadier Regiment of the 68th Infantry Division. In January 1945 while recovering from a wound he was promoted and informed that he had been appointed as an instructor at a sniper school.
In his autobiography, Sutkus describes that after the war he came into contact with the Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n resistance (cf. Forest Brothers
Forest Brothers
The Forest Brothers were Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian partisans who waged a guerrilla war against Soviet rule during the Soviet invasion and occupation of the three Baltic states during, and after, World War II...
), how he was captured and severely tortured by the KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
. He was in possession of forged documents declaring him to be Stateless and of having worked throughout the war as a farm labourer, but knew the Russians suspected him of having served in the Wehrmacht as a sniper. So Sutkus decided to stay together with several Lithuanians he knew who were deported to Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
for forced labor, partly to escape Soviet attentions, and expecting deportation anyway. By the time the Russians had the evidence to try him for the "war crime" of being a sniper, West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer was a German statesman. He was the chancellor of the West Germany from 1949 to 1963. He is widely recognised as a person who led his country from the ruins of World War II to a powerful and prosperous nation that had forged close relations with old enemies France,...
had negotiated amnesties for many Germans being detained in the Soviet Union. He worked on collectives, in the Taiga forests and down the pits at Sheernkov from 1949 until 1971 when he was allowed to relocate to Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
. Sutkus went into voluntary banishment to accompany a Lithuanian woman, Antoniena, (d.1995) nineteen years his senior, who had been linked to the Resistance. He had a son, Vytautas, by her in 1951. In 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Sutkus, now Lithuanian after having been forced to accept Soviet citizenship, visited Germany. In 1994 he received a certificate of German citizenship and passport, and relocated to Germany in 1997.
Memorable quotation
Sutkus quoted two members of the Lithuanian resistance who tried to persuade him not to join their ranks (Diary of a sniper, page 75):- "If you can live legally, you'll grow to be eighty years old. Joining the guerrillas, you will die. They will torture your parents and send them to Siberia. We can't achieve anything because the Soviet predominance is crushing. We're constantly hunted. We have no area for retreat, no supplies, and no food. Large Soviet forces are searching the woods. Often we are starving, and the wounded get no treatment. The people who support us are arrested, viciously tortured, and sent to Siberia. Sooner or later, the Soviets will choke the whole Lithuanian resistance in blood. We're all going to die. They will throw our desecrated bodies into the marketplace. Reconnaissance planes are often flying over the woods to take pictures. Spies are infiltrating our ranks. Day and night we can't feel safe in the bunkers and are therefore always moving, to, again and again, like rats, dig new bunkers in the soil. There's no other way.
- "One of us shall survive to be able to tell how we lived, fought, and died."
Awards
- Iron CrossIron CrossThe Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
2nd Class - July 6, 1944 - Wound BadgeWound BadgeWound Badge was a German military award for wounded or frost-bitten soldiers of Imperial German Army in World War I, the Reichswehr between the wars, and the Wehrmacht, SS and the auxiliary service organizations during the Second World War. After March 1943, due to the increasing number of Allied...
in black - September 7, 1944 - Iron CrossIron CrossThe Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
1st Class - November 16, 1944 - Sniper's BadgeSniper's BadgeThe Sniper's Badge is a German military award instituted on 20 August 1944 to commemorate troops who fought as snipers during World War II.-History:...
(1st class - gold) - November 21, 1944 - Infantry Assault BadgeInfantry Assault BadgeThe Infantry Assault Badge was a German war badge awarded to Waffen SS and Wehrmacht Heer soldiers during WWII. This decoration was instituted on December 20th 1939 by the Oberstbefehlshaber des Heeres, Generalfeldmarschall von Brauchitsch...
in silver - November 29, 1944 - Wound BadgeWound BadgeWound Badge was a German military award for wounded or frost-bitten soldiers of Imperial German Army in World War I, the Reichswehr between the wars, and the Wehrmacht, SS and the auxiliary service organizations during the Second World War. After March 1943, due to the increasing number of Allied...
in silver - March 1, 1945 - Mentioned in the WehrmachtberichtWehrmachtberichtThe Wehrmachtbericht was a daily radio report on the Großdeutscher Rundfunk of Nazi Germany, published by the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht regarding the military situation on all fronts of World War II....
on November 25, 1944
Reference in the Wehrmachtbericht
| Date | Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording | Direct English translation |
|---|---|---|
| 25 November 1944 | Der Scharfschütze Sutkus im Grenadier-Regiment 196 hat innerhalb von fünf Monaten 125 Gegner abgeschossen. | Sniper Sutkus in Grenadier Regiment 196 has killed 125 enemies within five months. |