×
Home Intro People Events Equipment Places Maps Books Photos Videos Other Reference FAQ About
     

World War II Database

Anton Schmid file photo [25441]

Anton Schmid

SurnameSchmid
Given NameAnton
Born9 Jan 1900
Died13 Apr 1942
CountryAustria, Germany
CategoryMilitary-Ground
GenderMale

Contributor:

ww2dbaseAnton Schmid was born in 1900 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary. In the 1930s, after working some years as an electrician, he opened up a shop selling radios. He was married to Stefi Schmid, with whom he had one daughter. In 1940, he was drafted into the German Army. He was initially posted to Poland, and later saw action during the invasion of the Soviet Union. By the fall of 1941, at the rank of feldwebel (sergeant), he was posted to Vilnius, Lithuania in charge of a unit responsible for linking up soldiers returning from the rear to their units. As his post was at the Vilnius train station, he witnessed the deportation of Jews. He wrote to his wife:

ww2dbaseOriginal German:

ww2dbaseWill Dir noch mitteilen, wie das ganze kam: hier waren sehr viele Juden, die vom litauischen Militär zusammengetrieben und auf einer Wiese außerhalb der Stadt erschossen wurden, immer so 2000 – 3000 Menschen. Die Kinder haben sie auf dem Wege gleich an die Bäume angeschlagen. Kannst Dir ja denken.

ww2dbaseTranslation

ww2dbaseI will tell you how this came: there were many Jews here, who were rounded up by the Lithuanian militia and were shot in a field outside of the city, always around 2000 - 3000 people. The children were already killed on the way by bashing them against trees. You can imagine.

ww2dbaseSchmid attempted to save the Jews by employing some as forced laborers for his unit, by releasing a small number of them on false reasons, by transporting them out of Vilnius in military trucks, by issuing false identification, and by hiding a small number of them in his apartment and in his office. By the end of 1941, he had become active in the Jewish resistance. He was warned by Jewish resistance leaders that his superiors had now known of a certain Austrian who was friendly toward the Jews, but Schmid refused to lessen his efforts. He was caught in late Jan 1942 and was tried for treason. "I only acted as a human being and desired doing harm to no one", he wrote to his wife in his final letter. Found guilty, he was executed in Apr 1942.

ww2dbaseIn 1967, the Yad Vashem of Israel declared Anton Schmid a Righteous Among the Nations.

ww2dbaseSources:
Wikipedia
Yad Vashem

Last Major Revision: Mar 2016

Anton Schmid Timeline

9 Jan 1900 Anton Schmid was born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary.
31 Dec 1941 Anton Schmid hosted the leadership of the Dror Jewish underground in his apartment in Vilnius, Lithuania to celebrate the new year.
13 Apr 1942 Anton Schmid was executed by his superiors in Vilnius, Lithuania as a traitor; he had helped about 250 Jews escape from certain death.
16 May 1967 The Yad Vashem of Israel declared Anton Schmid a Righteous Among the Nations.
8 May 2000 Germany renamed a military base in Rendsburg in northern Germany Feldwebel-Schmid-Kaserne in honor of Anton Schmid.




Did you enjoy this article or find this article helpful? If so, please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 per month will go a long way! Thank you.

Share this article with your friends:

 Facebook
 Reddit
 Twitter

Stay updated with WW2DB:

 RSS Feeds




Visitor Submitted Comments

1. Commenter identity confirmed David Stubblebine says:
21 Mar 2016 09:52:51 AM

"All that is needed for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing," the saying goes. It would have been easy for Anton Schmid to do nothing, as many other Germans did, but he did something. It may not have been enough to stem the tide, but it was something. It was more than a lot of others could have done but did not.
2. Anonymous says:
8 Dec 2017 12:14:08 PM

Anton was a real g
3. Vince says:
13 Apr 2021 02:15:38 PM

A very courageous man.
I hope his wife and daughter survived.
A true hero.
4. Anonymous says:
26 Apr 2021 10:31:17 PM

When exactly was this published?

All visitor submitted comments are opinions of those making the submissions and do not reflect views of WW2DB.

Posting Your Comments on this Topic

Your Name
Your Email
 Your email will not be published
Comment Type
Your Comments
 

Notes:

1. We hope that visitor conversations at WW2DB will be constructive and thought-provoking. Please refrain from using strong language. HTML tags are not allowed. Your IP address will be tracked even if you remain anonymous. WW2DB site administrators reserve the right to moderate, censor, and/or remove any comment. All comment submissions will become the property of WW2DB.

2. For inquiries about military records for members of the World War II armed forces, please see our FAQ.

Change View
Desktop View

Search WW2DB
More on Anton Schmid
Event(s) Participated:
» Operation Barbarossa
» Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust

Famous WW2 Quote
"All that silly talk about the advance of science and such leaves me cold. Give me peace and a retarded science."

Thomas Dodd, late 1945


Support Us

Please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 a month will go a long way. Thank you!

Or, please support us by purchasing some WW2DB merchandise at TeeSpring, Thank you!