Werner Henke

Infobox Military Person
name=Werner Henke
born=birth date|1909|5|13|df=y
died=dda|1944|6|15|1909|5|13|df=y
placeofbirth=Rudak, Thorn
placeofdeath=Fort Hunt, Virginia


caption=
nickname=
allegiance=Nazi Germany
serviceyears=1934 - 1944
rank=Korvettenkapitän
branch=navy|Nazi Germany
commands=U-515, Feb 21 1942 – Apr 9 1944
unit=4. Unterseebootsflottille
10. Unterseebootsflottille
battles=Battle of the Atlantic (1939-1945)
awards=Spanish Cross
Iron Cross 1st Class
U-boat War Badge
Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves
relations=
laterwork=
Lieutenant Commander Werner Henke (May 13, 1909 - June 15, 1944) born in Thorn (Toruń) in Germany (now Poland) was the commander of the German submarine U-515 during the Second Battle of the Atlantic of World War II. U-515 was sunk by the American task group 22.3, commanded by Daniel V. Gallery on April 9 1944 and Kapitänleutnant Henke was captured along with about 40 of his crew.

Henke had been accused, by the British, of shooting survivors of the SS "Ceramic", a passenger ship, that U-515 had sunk on December 7 1942. Knowing this, Captain Gallery, hoping to extort intelligence from him or his crew, idly threatened to turn him over to the British if he did not cooperate. Captain Gallery was successful in getting Henke to sign a paper agreeing to cooperate with interrogators. Henke reneged on the agreement but upon seeing that their captain had agreed to talk, many of his crew signed similar agreements and lived up to them.

Henke was interned in the interrogation center in Fort Hunt, Virginia. While there his interrogators threatened to hold him to his agreement to cooperate or be extradited to England to face war crime charges. On June 15 1944, he calmly walked to the fence of the interrogation center and began to climb over. He continued to climb after a guard ordered him to stop and he was fatally shot.

Henke was posthumously promoted to Korvettenkapitän and is interred at Soldier's Cemetery in Fort George G. Meade, Maryland, along with 33 other German POW's.

A ceremony is held at the gravesite every year on the anniversary of Henke's death. Flowers are not uncommon to see in front of the grave, as well as a wreath with a ribbon the colors of the German flag.

References

* Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000). "Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945". Friedburg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
* Kurowski, Franz (1995). "Knight's Cross Holders of the U-Boat Service". Schiffer Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-88740-748-X.
* Range, Clemens (1974). "Die Ritterkreuzträger der Kriegsmarine". Stuttgart, Germany: Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 3-87943-355-0.

;External link
* [http://uboat.net/men/henke.htm uboat.net]