Friedrich Lützow

Friedrich Johannes Martin Lützow (31 August 1888 – 1 November 1964) was a German naval officer who served in the Kaiserliche Marine, the Reichsmarine and the Kriegsmarine, eventually reaching the rank of Vizeadmiral during World War II. He was also a writer on naval warfare.

Following the start of World War II in Europe on Friday, 1 September 1939, when German forces invaded Poland, Lützow was called back into military service on 24 December 1939. He served as head of the propaganda department of the Kriegsmarine. In this capacity, he was the speaker of the Oberkommando der Marine (Naval High Command). He regularly held Wednesday evening's radio broadcast lectures under the title "naval warfare and naval power," in which he explained the recent events of the war at sea.

Career
Lützow joined the Imperial German Navy as a cadet on 10 April 1899 and was commissioned on 27 September 1902 while serving on SMS Weißenburg. His first posting was as adjutant on SMS Wettin. From 1905 till 1910 he served in different capacities on torpedo-boats simultaneously undergoing submarine training and finally taking over command of SMU U-4 (Germany) in 1909.

From 1910 till 1913 he served in several staff positions and attended two courses at the naval academy. At the outbreak of World War I, he was serving as the navigation officer on SMS Victoria Louise. In October 1914 he was appointed First Admiralty Staff Officer with the U-boat Command, a position he held until May 1918, when he took over command of I U-boat Flotilla in Pola. From March 1917 till May 1918 he was also in command of the light cruiser SMS Hamburg.

After the Armistice with Germany he returned to the staff of U-boat Command in December 1918, where he was charged with demobilization of the Mediterranean U-boat Command. From February till April 1919 he briefly served with the staff of North Sea Naval Station before joining the Reich Naval Office.

In 1924, after having served as Chief of Staff of North Sea Naval Station, since 1922, he took command of SMS Hamburg again. In September 1925 he became commander of the North Sea Training Division (Schiffsstammdivision der Nordsee), a post he would hold for the next two years. His last position before retiring in 1929 was as director of the admiralty staff training course (Führergehilfenlehrgang).

After retirement he continued to work at Naval Command's printing department while still teaching on the admiralty staff training course until 1931. In 1936 he joined faculty of the Turkish Naval Academy in Istanbul where he taught for three years.

In 1939 he was reactivated and served as the official spokesman of the Naval Command until spring 1945. He was taken prisoner by British forces on 8 May 1945 and held in captivity until 1947.

After the war he lived in Hermannsburg until his death in 1964.

Personal life
On 29. April 1908, Lützow married Hildegard Kinzel, the sister of Eberhard Kinzel. They had five children:
 * Werner (24 May 1909 – 24 November 1943), a Korvettenkapitän (corvette captain) in the Kriegsmarine. His last command was chief of the 4. Schnellbootflottille. On 24 November 1943, he was killed in action in the Thames Estuary on board Schnellboot S-88.
 * Elisabeth Charlotte (7 March 1911 – 29 Mai 1988)
 * Günther Friedrich (4 September 1912 – 24 April 1945)
 * Hildegard (17 October 1916 – 24 April 2003)
 * Joachim (10 October 1917 – 28 October 2001), Kapitänleutnant in the Kriegsmarine. He was commander of Minensuchboot (minesweeper) of M-4 in the 5. Minensuchflottille. He was awarded the German Cross in Gold on 30 July 1942 as Oberleutnant zur See (first lientenant at sea) on minesweeper M-19 in the 3. Minensuchflottille.

Awards

 * Iron Cross (1914) 2nd and 1st Class
 * Order of the Red Eagle 4th Class
 * Knight's Cross 2nd Class of the Albert Order
 * Knight's Cross of the House Order of Hohenzollern
 * Hanseatic Cross of Hamburg
 * Friedrich-August-Kreuz