View source for Heinrich Severloh

{{short description|German soldier (1923–2006)}}
{{Infobox military person
|name= Heinrich Severloh
|birth_date= 23 June 1923
|death_date={{death date and age|2006|1|14|1923|6|23|df=yes}}
|birth_place=[[Eldingen|Metzingen]], [[Weimar Republic]]
|death_place= [[Lachendorf]], [[Germany]]
|placeofburial=
|image =
|caption=
|nickname=
|allegiance={{flag|Nazi Germany}}
|branch= [[File:Balkenkreuz.svg|24px]] [[German_Army_(1935–1945)|Heer]]
|serviceyears= 1941–1944
|rank= [[Gefreiter]]
|commands=
|unit= 19th Light Artillery Division, 321st Artillery Regiment, 352nd Infantry Division
|battles= [[World War II]]
* [[Normandy landings|D-Day]]
|awards=
|laterwork=
}}

'''Heinrich "Hein" Severloh''', also known as the '''Beast of Omaha''', (23 June 1923 – 14 January 2006) was a soldier in the German [[352nd Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|352nd Infantry Division]] stationed in Normandy in 1944. Severloh became notable for a memoir he published in the German language ''WN 62 – Erinnerungen an Omaha Beach Normandie, 6. Juni 1944'' {{efn| {{ISBN|978-3-932922-11-4}} }}, in 2000 and translated into English as ''WN 62: A German Soldier's Memories of the Defence of Omaha Beach, Normandy, June 6, 1944''{{efn|{{ISBN|978-3932922237}} }}, in 2006. In the book, Severloh claims that - as a machine gunner - he inflicted over 1,000 and possibly over 2,000 casualties to the American soldiers landing on [[Omaha Beach]] on [[D-Day]].<ref name=Scotsman/><ref name="SSQQ-Omaha Beach">{{cite web | url=http://www.ssqq.com/travel/oslo2010dday1a.htm | title=The Story of D-Day and Omaha Beach: The Situation Leading up to D-Day | publisher=SSQQ | access-date=June 13, 2019}}</ref> However, Severloh's claim is not viewed as credible by either US or German historians. Total US casualties (killed, wounded, and missing) from all sources along the five-mile length of Omaha Beach on D-Day are estimated at 2,400.New documents recently uncovered put the death toll at closer to 6,000. <re{{cite web|url=https://dod.defense.gov/Portals/1/features/2016/0516_dday/docs/d-day-fact-sheet-the-beaches.pdf|title=D-Day: The Beaches|website=Dod.defense.gov|access-date=22 April 2019}}</ref>

== Early life ==
Severloh was born into a farming family<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZZUhAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Hein+Severloh%22|title=The second front|first1=Douglas|last1=Botting|first2=Time-Life|last2=Books|date=1 March 1979|publisher=Time-Life Books|isbn=9780809424986|access-date=22 April 2019|via=Google Books}}</ref> in [[Eldingen|Metzingen]] in the [[Lüneburg Heath]] area of North Germany, close to the small city of [[Celle]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Aw1AAAAIAAJ&q=%22Hein+Severloh%22|title=Invasion--they're coming!: The German account of the Allied landings and the 80 days' battle for France|first=Paul|last=Carell|date=22 April 1963|publisher=Dutton|access-date=22 April 2019|via=Google Books}}</ref>

== Service in the Wehrmacht ==
Conscripted into the [[Wehrmacht]] on 23 July 1941, at the age of 18, Severloh was assigned to the 19th Light Artillery Replacement Division in [[Hanover]]. In August, he was transferred to France to join the 3rd Battery of the 321st Artillery Regiment, where he trained as a [[dispatch rider]]. In December 1942, he was sent to the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]] and assigned to the rear of his division to drive sleighs. As punishment for making dissenting remarks, he was forced to perform physical exertions that left him with permanent health problems and necessitated six-month convalescence in a hospital. After this, he went on leave to his family's farm to help gather the harvest.{{cn|date=June 2021}}

In October 1943, Severloh was sent for [[Non-commissioned officer#Germany|non-commissioned officer]] training in [[Braunschweig|Brunswick]], but was recalled after less than a month to rejoin his unit which had been reclassified as the [[352nd Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|352nd Infantry Division]]<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ni4aE2aEy88C&q=%22Heinrich+Severloh%22|title=Nothing Less Than Victory: The Oral History of D-Day|first=Russell|last=Miller|date=22 April 1995|publisher=HarperCollins Publishers|isbn=9780688143442|access-date=22 April 2019|via=Google Books}}</ref> and was stationed in Normandy.

== Omaha Beach ==
{{See also|Normandy landings}}
[[File:Omaha map.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Location of resistance nest 62 (WN 62)]]
[[Omaha Beach]] extends for {{convert|6|mi|km|sigfig=1}} from east of [[Sainte-Honorine-des-Pertes]] to west of [[Vierville-sur-Mer]]. The beach defences at Omaha consisted of eight concrete bunkers containing 75&nbsp;mm or greater artillery, 35 pillboxes, 18 anti-tank guns, six mortar pits, 35 [[Nebelwerfer]] (multi-barrel rocket launchers), 85 machine gun nests, 6 tank turrets and supporting infantry.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=xJs6WStOP2oC&dq=%22Hein+Severloh%22&pg=PA186] {{dead link|date=April 2019}}</ref>

[[Infantry]] deployments on the Beach consisted of five [[Company (military unit)|companies]] concentrated at 15 strongpoints called ''Widerstandsnester'' ("resistance nests"), numbered WN-60 in the east to WN-74 in the west. Severloh was part of WN-62, the largest strongpoint defending Omaha Beach.<ref name=TheBeach>{{cite web|url=http://www.omaha-beach.org/The%20Beach/TheBeach.html|title=The Germans at Omaha-Beach|work=omaha-beach.org|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120614051007/http://www.omaha-beach.org/The%20Beach/TheBeach.html|archive-date=2012-06-14}}</ref>

The [[Omaha Beach#Plan of attack|American plan of attack]] divided Omaha Beach into ten sectors, codenamed Able, Baker, Charlie, Dog Green, Dog White, Dog Red, Easy Green, Easy Red, Fox Green, and Fox Red. WN-62 at the eastern side of Omaha Beach overlooked both Easy Red and Fox Green sectors.

=== Widerstandsnest 62 ===
[[File:Severloh Stellung.jpg|thumb|right|View out of a foxhole from WN-62]]
WN-62 covered an area {{convert|332|m|ft|abbr=on}} long by {{convert|324|m|ft|abbr=on}} between {{convert|12|and|50|m|abbr=on}} above the beach, depending on the distance from the shore, with a good overview of the beach area. The foxhole Severloh fired from{{Efn|{{coord|49|21|36|N|0|50|50|W|type:landmark_region:FR|display=inline|name=MG42 Foxhole at Widerstandsnest 62}} }} was {{convert|170|m|abbr=on}} from the sea wall and around {{convert|450|m|abbr=on}} from the landing area of the first wave of [[Higgins Boats]].

On D-Day (June 6, 1944) WN-62 was manned by 27 members of the [[716th Static Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|716th Static Infantry Division]] and 13 members of Severloh's 352nd Division, whose task was to direct fire of the [[10.5 cm leFH 18M|10.5 cm howitzer]] artillery batteries located five kilometres inland at [[Houtteville]].<ref>([http://www.luckyjack.ch/History%20Seiten/D%20Day%201944/WN62_1944.html Full list of WN-62 personnel] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120626170728/http://www.luckyjack.ch/History%20Seiten/D%20Day%201944/WN62_1944.html |date=2012-06-26 }})</ref>
[[File:MG 42, detalle, réplica coleccionista, Madrid, 2015.JPG|thumb|left|[[MG 34]] with inserted 7.92×57&nbsp;mm ''Gurt 34'' [[ammunition belt]]]]
Defences included two type H669 concrete [[casemate]]s, one empty and the other with a [[7.5 cm kanon PL vz. 37|75&nbsp;mm artillery piece]], a [[5 cm Pak 38|50&nbsp;mm anti-tank gun]], two [[5 cm Granatwerfer 36|50&nbsp;mm mortars]], a twin-barrelled 7.92&nbsp;mm [[MG 34]] machine gun on an anti-aircraft mount and two prewar Polish [[Ckm wz.30]] machine guns. Another 50&nbsp;mm anti-tank gun covered the rear, and the perimeter was ringed by [[barbed wire]] and [[Land mine|anti personnel mines]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pbase.com/image/111489427|title=D-Day Normandy Battlefield Tour 2009: WN 62 Map |first=John|last=Locke |publisher=PBase |date=February 25, 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120407082021/https://www.pbase.com/image/111489427 | archive-date= April 7, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Severloh was assigned to a Senior Lieutenant Bernhard Frerking as an [[Batman (military)|orderly]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xT0vAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Hein+Severloh%22|title=U.S. News & World Report|date=22 April 1994|publisher=U.S. News Publishing Corporation|access-date=22 April 2019|via=Google Books}}</ref> While Frerking coordinated the artillery fire of the battery at Houtteville from a bunker, Severloh says he manned an [[MG 42]] machine gun,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eV3dgE0uaIgC&dq=%22Hein+Severloh%22&pg=PA144|title=The Fighting First: The Untold Story Of The Big Red One on D-Day|first=Flint|last=Whitlock|page=144|date=29 April 2009|publisher=Basic Books|isbn=9780786738687|access-date=22 April 2019|via=Google Books}}</ref> and fired on approaching American troops with the machine gun and two [[Karabiner 98k]] rifles; while a sergeant whom he did not know, kept him supplied with ammunition from a nearby ammo bunker until 15:30. He claimed to have fired over 13,500 rounds with the machine gun and 400 with the rifles.{{cn|date=April 2024}}

Interviewed in 2004, he said: "It was definitely at least 1,000 men, most likely more than 2,000. But I do not know how many men I shot. It was awful. Thinking about it makes me want to throw up."<ref name=Scotsman>{{cite news |title='Beast of Omaha' weeps as he recalls slaughter of thousands on beach |url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/world/beast-of-omaha-weeps-as-he-recalls-slaughter-of-thousands-on-beach-1-1394712 |access-date=13 December 2018 |newspaper=[[The Scotsman]] |date=6 June 2004}}</ref>

===Surrender and captivity===
Severloh retreated to the nearby village of [[Colleville-sur-Mer]] with Kurt Warnecke where they surrendered the next day. Lt. Frerking, along with others from the artillery observation post, was killed near the communications bunker by American fire.<ref>McManus, J (2014) ''The dead and those about to die : D-Day : the Big Red One at Omaha Beach'' p220</ref>
[[File:Omaha Beach DSC 2565 2.jpg|right|thumb|Top Casement of WN-62, with the memorial honoring 5th Engineer Brigade]]

Severloh was first sent as a [[prisoner of war]] to [[Boston]], United States. In December 1946, he was transferred to [[Bedfordshire]], [[England]] as [[Forced labor of Germans after World War II#United Kingdom|forced labor]] working on road construction. Severloh was returned to Germany in March 1947 after his father wrote to the British military authorities saying he was needed to work back on the farm.{{cn|date=April 2024}}

== Later life and death ==
In the 1960s, an American [[military chaplain]], David Silva, who had been wounded by three bullets in the chest on Omaha Beach, was contacted by Severloh - who had found his name in the [[Cornelius Ryan]] book ''[[The Longest Day (book)|The Longest Day]]''. They later met several times, including at the 2005 reunion of Allied Forces in Normandy.{{cn|date=December 2018}} On 5 June 2004 [[RTL Group|RTL]] showed a two-hour documentary in co-production with [[CBC Radio]]: "Mortal enemies of Omaha Beach – the story of an unusual friendship," by the filmmaker Alexander Czogalla.<ref>{{YouTube|OvLd3qXsEAI|Path of Forgiveness - A Long Way Back to Omaha Beach}}</ref><ref>{{IMDb title|qid=Q123741318|title=Path of Forgiveness - A Long Way Back to Omaha Beach (2004)}}</ref>

In 2000, Severloh's memoir, ''WN 62 – Erinnerungen an Omaha Beach Normandie, 6. Juni 1944'', ghostwritten by Helmut Konrad von Keusgen, was published.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://von-keusgen.de/html/von_keusgen_buchtitel.html | title=Buchtitel | publisher=Von Keusgen | access-date=June 13, 2019 |language=de }}</ref> An extended version was published in 2002.

Severloh died 14 January 2006 in [[Lachendorf]] near his home village of [[Eldingen|Metzingen]], aged 82.

== Widerstandsnest 62 today ==
[[File:Obelisk bei Omaha Beach.jpg|right|thumb|200px|The Lower Casement of WN-62, with the Monument to the 1st Infantry Division]]
The remains of Resistance Point 62 lie just east of the American [[Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial]] and close to the viewing platform.<ref name=TheBeach /> On the top of one casemate is a monument to honor the [[Engineer Special Brigade (United States)#5th Engineer Special Brigade|5th Engineer Brigade]] and further toward the beach is the needle honoring the [[1st Infantry Division (United States)|1st Infantry Division]] (The Big Red One).

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Omaha 1944 Initial assault.jpg|{{center|Omaha Beachhead<br>Initial Assault Map}}
File:Omaha_beachhead_6_June_1944.jpg|{{center|Omaha Beachhead<br>D-Day Operations Map}}
File:Omaha_beach_fox_green.jpg|{{center|Omaha Beachhead<br>Fox Green Objectives - WN62}}
</gallery>

== References ==
{{notelist}}
{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{cite book |title= WN 62: A German Soldier's Memories of the Defence of Omaha Beach, Normandy, June 6, 1944 (English Language)|last= Severloh|first= Heinrich |year= 2006|publisher= Hek Creativ Verlag|isbn= 978-3932922237}}
* {{cite book |title= WN-62 – Erinnerungen an Omaha Beach Normandie, 6. Juni 1944 (German Language)|last= Severloh|first= Heinrich |year= 2004|publisher= Hek Creativ Verlag|isbn= 978-3-932922-11-4|oclc= 56831668}}
* George Bernage: ''Omaha – 6. Juni 1944'', Editions Heimdal, France (August 2002), {{ISBN|978-2-84048-154-6}}

== External links ==
* [http://wikimapia.org/15654196/Widerstandsnest-62 Widerstandsnest-62 on WikkiMaps]
* [https://www.flickr.com/photos/herbnl/4944781171/sizes/o/in/set-72157624790686345/ Large panorama shot taken from Severlohs position (on flikr)]

{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:1923 births]]
[[Category:2006 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Celle (district)]]
[[Category:Military personnel from the Province of Hanover]]
[[Category:German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United States]]
[[Category:German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United Kingdom]]