Bruno Sutkus (Lithuanian: Bronius Sutkus, 14 May 1924 – 29 August 2003) was a Lithuanian-German sniper in the 68th Infantry Division of the German Army, on the Eastern Front of World War II, and was credited with 209 kills.[1] Every kill was recorded in an individual "sniper's book" and had to be confirmed by at least one observer and authenticated by the battalion commander. Facsimile copies of various diary pages are reproduced in Sutkus' memoir. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Sutkus held lectures for Lithuanian soldiers and presented his wartime records to Lithuanian officers.
Bruno Sutkus
Photo taken in autumn of 1944 in the Carpathian Mountains
Sutkus was born in Tannenwalde, then a suburb of Königsberg, East Prussia. Because his father was Lithuanian, Sutkus was not considered automatically German; he had to apply for German nationality. Since no application was made, he remained officially stateless until 1941 when he became a naturalized German. He joined the Hitler Youth in 1938, achieving the rank of a Scharführer. When he was 18 years old he became a member of the SA, where his shooting skills were acknowledged, and he was given a rifle to take home and practise marksmanship.
Sutkus trained as a sniper from August 1943 through the end of December 1943 at the Sniper School in Vilnius, before being assigned to the 196th Grenadier Regiment of the 68th Infantry Division. In January 1945 while recovering from a wound he was promoted and informed that he had been appointed as an instructor at a sniper school.
In his autobiography, Sutkus describes that after the war he came into contact with the anti-Soviet Lithuanian resistance, how he was captured and tortured by the KGB. He was in possession of forged documents declaring him to be stateless and of having worked throughout the war as a farm labourer, but knew the Russians suspected him of having served in the Wehrmacht as a sniper. So Sutkus decided to stay together with several Lithuanians he knew who were deported to Siberia for forced labor, partly to escape Soviet attention, and expecting to be deported anyway.
By the time the Russians had the evidence to prosecute him for the war crime of being a sniper, West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer had negotiated amnesties for many Germans being detained in the Soviet Union. He worked on collectives, in the Taiga forests and down the pits at Sheernkov from 1949 until 1971 when he was allowed to relocate to Vilnius. Sutkus went into voluntary banishment to accompany a Lithuanian woman, Antanina, (d. 1995) nineteen years his senior, who had been linked to the resistance. He had a son, Vytautas, by her in 1951. In 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Sutkus, now Lithuanian after having been forced to accept Soviet citizenship, visited Germany. He wrote a memoir and helped train the Lithuanian army after Lithuania gained independence, giving lectures.[2] In 1994 he received a certificate of German citizenship and passport, and relocated to Germany in 1997.
bruno, sutkus, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, february, 20. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Bruno Sutkus news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2013 Learn how and when to remove this message Bruno Sutkus Lithuanian Bronius Sutkus 14 May 1924 29 August 2003 was a Lithuanian German sniper in the 68th Infantry Division of the German Army on the Eastern Front of World War II and was credited with 209 kills 1 Every kill was recorded in an individual sniper s book and had to be confirmed by at least one observer and authenticated by the battalion commander Facsimile copies of various diary pages are reproduced in Sutkus memoir After the dissolution of the Soviet Union Sutkus held lectures for Lithuanian soldiers and presented his wartime records to Lithuanian officers Bruno SutkusPhoto taken in autumn of 1944 in the Carpathian MountainsBorn 1924 05 14 14 May 1924Tannenwalde East PrussiaDied29 August 2003 2003 08 29 aged 79 Allegiance Nazi GermanyService wbr branchArmyYears of service1943 May 8 1945RankObergefreiterUnit68th Infantry DivisionBattles warsWorld War II Eastern FrontAwardsIron Cross 2nd amp 1st classInfantry Assault BadgeWound Badge silver Sniper s Badge gold Contents 1 Biography 2 Awards 3 References 3 1 Citations 3 2 BibliographyBiography edit nbsp Bruno Sutkus in camouflage Sutkus was born in Tannenwalde then a suburb of Konigsberg East Prussia Because his father was Lithuanian Sutkus was not considered automatically German he had to apply for German nationality Since no application was made he remained officially stateless until 1941 when he became a naturalized German He joined the Hitler Youth in 1938 achieving the rank of a Scharfuhrer When he was 18 years old he became a member of the SA where his shooting skills were acknowledged and he was given a rifle to take home and practise marksmanship Sutkus trained as a sniper from August 1943 through the end of December 1943 at the Sniper School in Vilnius before being assigned to the 196th Grenadier Regiment of the 68th Infantry Division In January 1945 while recovering from a wound he was promoted and informed that he had been appointed as an instructor at a sniper school In his autobiography Sutkus describes that after the war he came into contact with the anti Soviet Lithuanian resistance how he was captured and tortured by the KGB He was in possession of forged documents declaring him to be stateless and of having worked throughout the war as a farm labourer but knew the Russians suspected him of having served in the Wehrmacht as a sniper So Sutkus decided to stay together with several Lithuanians he knew who were deported to Siberia for forced labor partly to escape Soviet attention and expecting to be deported anyway By the time the Russians had the evidence to prosecute him for the war crime of being a sniper West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer had negotiated amnesties for many Germans being detained in the Soviet Union He worked on collectives in the Taiga forests and down the pits at Sheernkov from 1949 until 1971 when he was allowed to relocate to Vilnius Sutkus went into voluntary banishment to accompany a Lithuanian woman Antanina d 1995 nineteen years his senior who had been linked to the resistance He had a son Vytautas by her in 1951 In 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union Sutkus now Lithuanian after having been forced to accept Soviet citizenship visited Germany He wrote a memoir and helped train the Lithuanian army after Lithuania gained independence giving lectures 2 In 1994 he received a certificate of German citizenship and passport and relocated to Germany in 1997 Awards editIron Cross 2nd Class on July 6 1944 Wound Badge in black on September 7 1944 Iron Cross 1st Class on November 16 1944 Sniper s Badge 1st class gold on November 21 1944 Infantry Assault Badge in silver on November 29 1944 Wound Badge in silver on March 1 1945References edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bruno Sutkus Citations edit Respublika Nr 284 1694 Grazina Asembergiene 209 kartus gyvas December 4 1995 Lithuanian newspaper Legendinis snaiperis Bruno Sutkus 8 diena in Lithuanian Retrieved 2021 07 16 Bibliography edit Lietuvos aidas Nr 93 6814 Saulius Saltenis Karo meistras May 6 1995 Lithuanian newspaper Sutkus Bruno 2003 Im Fadenkreuz Tagebuch eines Scharfschutzen i e Inside the crosshair the diary of a sniper Munin Portal nbsp Biography Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bruno Sutkus amp oldid 1210441251, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
