Adalbert von Blanc

Who was Adalbert von Blanc?

Adalbert Pierre Louis Karl Erich Johann von Blanc was a Fregattenkapitän with the Kriegsmarine during World War II and later a Flottillenadmiral in the Bundesmarine. During World War II he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and served as 1st Officer on the German auxiliary cruiser Orion.

Blanc joined the British controlled German Mine Sweeping Administration on 15 August 1945. Blanc held command of the 1. Minenräum-Division in Kiel. When the administration was disbanded on 31 December 1947, Blanc transferred to the follow organization called Minenräumverband Cuxhaven and became its chief.

The student Georg von Hatzfeld from Heidelberg together with his fellow student René Ledesdorff had occupied the isle of Helgoland on 18 December 1950. The two were joined by Prince Hubertus zu Loewenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg on 29 December 1950. The number of occupants had grown to 13 when Blanc was ordered by the British authorities to send two boats for the evacuation of Helgoland. Blanc refused to obey the order, even when he came under severe pressure and suspended from his command post. A legal proceeding against Blanc was initiated on 3 January 1951. The British court ruled that the order was not among his contractual obligations and he was re-instituted in his position as chief of the Minenräumverband Cuxhaven.