On December 26, 1911, in Drosdowen, East Prussia, Ernst Tiburzy was born. Very little is known of Tiburzy's early life and in fact, even much of his early military career also remains unknown. Tiburzy, who survived World War Two, did not speak much of his service and on the extremely rare occasions he attended German veteran reunions, when asked why he went to so few, he said they were reminders of days best left forgotten. What can be pieced together is that Tiburzy was originally a member of the Sturmabteilung (SA; Storm Detachment) which was the paramilitary wing of the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP; National Socialist German Workers' Party). The SA played a major role in the rise to power of the NSDAP, often using intimidation tactics and outright brute force against opposing political rivals. During the Nacht der Langen Messer (Night of the Long Knives) in 1934, the SA was turned upon by the NSDAP and SA men and leadership were executed between June 30 and July 2 which was spun by the NSDAP as preventing a coup. In reality, it was to ensure that the now Chancellor Adolf Hitler would retain his power. The SA, while it remained in existence, never regained any measure of power. That Tiburzy was a member of the SA came from a newspaper report dated April 3, 1945 that described his actions that won him the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes (Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross). In the article, his rank was said to be that of SA-Sturmbannführer which was the equivalent to a U.S. Army Major.
Tiburzy, however, did not remain active in the SA and was certainly not in it in 1945 because by 1939, most of the SA membership was called up for military service and Tiburzy was no exception. He entered the German Heer (Army) but exactly when isn't known nor is the unit(s) he served with known. What can be said is that he did serve on the Eastern Front in an infantry unit and suffered significant injuries to the point that he was no longer able to serve in the Heer. It was during this time period that Tiburzy was awarded the Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse (Iron Cross 2nd. Class), the Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse (Iron Cross 1st. Class), the Verwundetenabzeichen 3. Klasse (Wound Badge in Gold (3rd. Class)), and the Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen (Infantry Assault Badge). Some believe that following his convalescence, Tiburzy entered into the Regierung des Deutschen Reiches (Government of the Third Reich) in one of the many ministries, specifically the Reichsministerium für die Besetzten Ostgebiete (RMBO; Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories), and this is due to Tiburzy wearing the fur lined Einheitsfeldmütze (field cap) favored by RMBO officials, to include the large government official regulation adler (eagle) on the front of the Einheitsfeldmütze. What rank he may have held in the RMBO is unknown nor is his length of service in the RMBO known. At some time in late 1944 or even at the start of 1945, Tiburzy either was called up to serve in the Volkssturm (the national militia) or he himself enlisted. This was because the Volkssturm was made up of men 16 to 60 who were not currently in military service, had non-essential employment, were unfit, overage or even underage, and even men still recovering from war wounds. In addition, men who could not serve in the military services due to permanent injuries sustained while in service were also accepted into the Volkssturm. Thus, Tiburzy was eligible to become a part of this militia but more importantly, he was an experienced and decorated soldier who was needed to train and lead men that, for the most part, had no training at all. Because of his previous rank and service, Tiburzy was given the Volkssturm rank of Bataillonsführer and assigned to Volkssturm-Bataillon 25/82. The unit was part of the forces commanded by General Otto Lasch in the city of Königsberg which, beginning in late January to April 9, 1945, battled elements of the Russian 3rd. Belorussian Front. Initially, the Germans managed to stabilize the area around the city which allowed civilians and wounded to be evacuated and supplies to get to the city's defenders. But on April 2, 1945, the Russians commenced a four day bombardment of the city and its defenses and on April 6, 1945, the Russian 39th., 43rd., and 50th. Armies plus the 208th. Rifle Division and the 11th. Guards Army moved off their start lines to take Königsberg. Tiburzy was in the thick of the fighting and early in February, he led a contingent of Volkssturm to retake a defensive trench that Russian infantry had managed to occupy. Using grenades, he and his men managed to dislodge the Russians and Tiburzy himself destroyed two T-34 medium tanks using Panzerfaust during the assault. Some 48 hours later, another Volkssturm defensive position was overrun by Russian infantry supported by tanks. Tiburzy, on his own initiative, led Volkssturm-Bataillon 25/82 in a counterattack that threw back the Russians from their gains and the Volkssturm were able to reestablish the defensive position. During the combat, Tiburzy added another three T-34 tanks to his kill tally, again using Panzerfaust. For these actions, Tiburzy was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on February 10, 1945 and he became one of only four Volkssturm men to earn such an esteemed decoration.
The photograph of Tiburzy is one of his most well known. He is known to have suffered an injury to his right eye as he appeared in the very last Die Deutsche Wochenschau (The German Weekly Review) newsreel, No. 755, wearing an eye patch. He is wearing the RMBO Einheitsfeldmütze as discussed above. His feldbluse is likely that worn by RMBO officers which typically had a collar that matched the color of the wool and was devoid of shoulder boards. His Bataillonsführer rank is denoted by the black collar tabs with four silver pips. Interestingly, the rank of SA-Sturmbannführer was identical except the collar tab color was red rather than black. Perhaps the reporter for the newspaper article mistook his Volkssturm rank for that of the SA. Still, his former membership in the SA is shown by his wearing two Die Dienstauszeichnung der NSDAP (NSDAP Long Service Award) ribbons, one for 10 years of service and the other for 15 years of service. Assuming Tiburzy joined the SA when he turned 18 in 1929, from February 1925 to January 1933, the time served in the NSDAP was doubled in regards to the award. Thus, by 1935, he would have had ten years and by 1940, another five years. The third ribbon, closest to the buttons, is for the Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse. Around his throat is the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes while on his feldbluse pocket is his Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse, Verwundetenabzeichen, and Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen. The other award is the SA-Sportabzeichen für Kriegsverletzte (SA Sports Badge for War Wounded) which was a special version of the SA-Sportabzeichen. Only those with a validated disability could earn the SA-Sportabzeichen für Kriegsverletzte whose scored events typically excluded the physical fitness (Leibesübungen) tests of the regular SA-Sportabzeichen and had modified basic exercises (Grundübungen) and field exercises (Geländesport). Not visible in the photograph, Tiburzy wore the Volkssturm armband around the lower left sleeve of his feldbluse. Incidentally, the armband was the only uniform item within the Volkssturm that was standard across all Volkssturm units.
What happened to Tiburzy following the fall of Königsberg isn't known nor what happened to him following the defeat of Germany. He did survive the conflict as mentioned earlier though what he did in civilian life isn't told nor if he served any time as a POW. He died in Papenburg, Germany on November 14, 2004 at the age of 92.
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