Ernst Gadermann

Dr. med. Ernst Gadermann
Born	25 December 1913 Wuppertal
Died	26 November 1973 (aged 59) Hamburg
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Luftwaffe
Rank	Oberstabsarzt
Unit	StG 2, SG 2
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Other work	Professor of Cardiology

Oberstabsarzt Dr. med. Ernst Gadermann^{[Note 1]} (born 25 December 1913 in Wuppertal – died 26 November 1973 in Hamburg) was a German World War II doctor in the Sanitätsdienst. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. After World War II he became a well known cardiologist.

Military career

Gadermann joined the Luftwaffe in 1941, where he worked as a doctor in Sturzkampfgeschwader 2 "Immelmann" on the Eastern Front. In addition to his medical work, he was quickly coopted to the wing staff.

Later he became an observer and gunner in the III. Group. During World War II he flew more than 850 combat missions in Junkers Ju 87 (Stuka) aircraft as a rear gunner.^{[Note 2]} From May 1944 until 8 February 1945, he flew with the most decorated German serviceman of the war, Hans-Ulrich Rudel. On this last mission, a 40 mm shell hit their Ju 87. Rudel was badly wounded in the right foot and crash landed inside German lines. Gadermann saved Rudel's life by pulling him from the severely damaged Ju 87 and stemming the bleeding. Later, Rudel's leg was amputated below the knee. Gadermann served the remainder of the war in a Medical Observation Center in Brunswick.

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st class
• German Cross in Gold on 17 October 1943 as Stabsarzt (military doctor) in the III./Sturzkampfgeschwader 2^[1]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 19 August 1944 as Stabsarzt and Gruppenarzt of the III./Sturzkampfgeschwader 2^[2][3]

Later life

After the war Gadermann worked as heart and circulatory specialist in Hamburg. There in 1947 he and Adolf Metzner developed the basics of the first telemetric measurements of the ECG in athletes. Gadermann was chief of the 1972 Summer Olympics sports medicine faculty. He died of a heart attack on 26 November 1973 in Hamburg on his way to a lecture.

Notes

1. In German a Doctor of Medicine is abbreviated as Dr. med. (Doctor medicinae).
2. For a list of Luftwaffe ground attack aces see List of German World War II Ground Attack aces

References

Citations

1. Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 128.
2. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 190.
3. Scherzer 2007, p. 324.

Bibliography

• Brütting, Georg (1992) [1976]. Das waren die deutschen Stuka-Asse 1939 – 1945 [These were the German Stuka Aces 1939 – 1945] (in German) (7th ed.). Stuttgart, Germany: Motorbuch. ISBN 978-3-87943-433-6.
• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
• Obermaier, Ernst (1976). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe 1939–1945 Band II Stuka- und Schlachtflieger [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Luftwaffe 1939–1945 Volume II Dive Bomber and Attack Aircraft] (in German). Mainz, Germany: Verlag Dieter Hoffmann. ISBN 978-3-87341-021-3.
• Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.