Subordinates' opinions of Hans Dortenmann;

[leonventer]

Hi Nick,

Well, it seems there is very little in regard of personal remarks on Luftwaffe characters. I have heard a story or two, but it is non existent, comparing to what we know about some Allied pilots.

Agreed, but here are a couple of resources that are worth considering:

• "Ikaros: Persönlichkeit und Wesen des deutschen Jagdfliegers im Zweiten Weltkrieg" by Paul Robert Skawran, 1969

Skawran did war-time interviews with several prominent Luftwaffe personalities. He categorizes the pilots into various character types, and describes the psychological and physical characteristics of each one in some detail.

• "Luftwaffe Efficiency & Promotion Reports, vols. 1 & 2" by French L. MacLean, 2007

MacLean's work consists of a collection of 113 promotion reports for Luftwaffe Knight's Cross winners, written by their superiors (89 of the reports are for pilots, with 58 being for fighter pilots.)
The reports tell us, for example, that:
- Hans Ehlers came "from a simple way of life"
- Anton Döbele could "be harsh and one-sided in judging people"
- Rudolf Rademacher became "somewhat disinterested and stubborn"
- Wolfgang Schenck appeared "to have lost his spirit for battle"
- Heinz Schnaufer was "somewhat shy" and "a little too soft at the front."

Each person's report features a reproduction of the original document, a short biography, and most include a photo. Also, the appendix includes short biographies of the officers who authored the promotion reports.

Hope that helps,
Leon Venter