Battle for Castle Itter
Battle for Castle Itter, World War II military engagement in which U.S. soldiers joined forces with renegade German troops to turn back a Waffen-SS assault on a stronghold in Tirol, Austria, where elite French political figures were being held prisoner by the Nazis. The battle took place on May 5, 1945, only three days before the official end of the war in Europe. It is thought to be the only time that Americans and Germans fought as allies during World War II.
Castle Itter (German: Schloss Itter) in the Austrian Alps existed as a fortress since at least the 13th century and was rebuilt in 1532. It was renovated in 1878 and became a hotel early in the 20th century. In 1940, after the Anschluss brought Austria into the Third Reich, the castle was rented out to the German government. In 1943 it came under the administrative control of Dachau, a concentration camp about 90 miles (145 km) away, and was made into a special SS detention facility for prisoners who had potential value as hostages.
The last prisoners of Castle Itter were mostly elderly French men who had been high-ranking government officials before falling into disfavour with Vichy France or the Third Reich. Two prisoners were former French premiers: Édouard Daladier, who had signed the Munich Agreement but was arrested in African exile, and Paul Reynaud, who had consistently opposed Germany. Former generals Maxime Weygand, who was caught trying to flee the country in 1942, and Maurice Gamelin, who unsuccessfully resisted the German advance in spring 1940, were also held at the castle. Other notable prisoners included Léon Jouhaux, a trade unionist who had opposed the Vichy government; Jean-Robert Borotra, a champion tennis player who had served as Vichy minister of sport before falling afoul of the regime; François de La Rocque, a former fascistic orator who was arrested after breaking with the collaborationists; and Michel Clemenceau (son of the late Premier Georges Clemenceau), who had lately turned against the Vichy regime. In addition, several women were incarcerated along with their spouses or partners, and two people—a sister of Gen. Charles de Gaulle and a relative of Gen. Henri Giraud—were held because of their family connections to enemies of the regime.
The prisoners occupied cells converted from hotel guest rooms and had a service staff from Dachau. They had adequate food and were free to walk within their compound. Nevertheless, they came to fear for their lives in 1945, as Germany rapidly lost ground in the war. Dachau’s commandant fled to Castle Itter as the camp was being liberated by U.S. troops, but on May 2 he committed suicide. Two days later, Castle Itter’s own commandant and camp guards abandoned their posts, leaving the prisoners in charge but unable to leave because hostile Germans remained nearby. The prisoners had already sent their Yugoslavian handyman, Zvonimir Čučković, to get help from the advancing Americans. Čučković made contact with U.S. troops in Innsbruck, but the castle was outside their division’s military jurisdiction. In defiance of orders, Maj. John T. Kramers dispatched a small rescue group.
Not knowing the fate of Čučković, the Itter prisoners sent out a second emissary, the cook, Andreas Krobot. He encountered Maj. Sepp Gangl, a Wehrmacht officer who had given up the Nazi cause and was leading a small band of German soldiers. Gangl then made contact with Capt. Jack C. Lee, Jr., a U.S. tank commander, and the two officers stealthily visited the castle and reconnoitered. Back with his unit, Lee organized a rescue party, but no tank other than Lee’s own made it back to the castle.
Taking charge of the castle defense, Lee prepared to withstand a siege. His small group relied on the help of Gangl’s men and of Capt. Kurt-Siegfried Schrader, a Waffen-SS officer who, like Gangl, had come to reject Nazism. The expected Waffen-SS assault came on the morning of May 5, 1945. Some of the prisoners assisted in the castle defense, wielding small arms left behind by their guards. Waffen-SS attackers shot and killed Gangl, destroyed Lee’s tank, and damaged the castle walls. As the defenders’ ammunition was about to run out, a column of tanks organized by Kramers finally arrived in the afternoon and scattered the attackers. Lee was eventually awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his heroism.