Studioportrait of Carl Hoff – 1. Räumbootsflottille

Original Wartime Studioportrait of Carl Hoff. Kapitänleutnant Carl Hoff
(11 January 1915, Strasbourg (Eifel) † 10 July 1951, Schwelm) was a Kriegsmarine officer who rose to the rank of Kapitänleutnant and became the Flottillenchef of the 1. Räumbootsflottille. He was decorated with both the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold and the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes for his leadership of fast minesweeping and escort forces during the closing stages of the Second World War.

Awards and Decorations

• German Cross in Gold (Deutsches Kreuz in Gold) – 4 November 1944, as Kapitänleutnant and Flottillenchef, 1. Räumbootsflottille

• Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) – 6 May 1945, as Kapitänleutnant and Chef, 1. Räumbootsflottille

Career Highlights

• Kriegsmarine Officer: Entered service in the German Navy and specialized in fast attack and escort units.

• Command of 1. Räumbootsflottille: Took command of the flotilla during the later stages of the war, operating primarily in the Baltic.

• Courland Evacuation: Distinguished himself during the large-scale evacuation of soldiers and civilians from the Courland pocket, where his flotilla successfully carried out operations under heavy enemy pressure.

• Recognition: Awarded the Knight’s Cross just days before the German capitulation, acknowledging his leadership in one of the Kriegsmarine’s last major tasks—saving tens of thousands of troops and refugees from Soviet capture.

• Postwar: Survived the war but died relatively young in 1951 in Schwelm at the age of only 36.

Collector’s Note

Carl Hoff’s Knight’s Cross was awarded in the final hours of the war, making it one of the last such awards to a Kriegsmarine flotilla commander. His role in the dramatic Baltic evacuation operations gives his decorations a special historical significance. Autographs or documents of Hoff are very scarce due to his early death in 1951, and items connected to him are considered highly desirable for collectors of Kriegsmarine and R-Boot flotilla history.