German naval officer, born 1902.
In March 1945, von Kamptz was appointed commandant of the German occupation force on the Danish island of Bornholm, as part of the reorganisation of military authority during the German military and civilian evacuation of the Eastern regions of German-occupied Europe before the advancing Soviet Red Army.
When the German forces occupying Denmark capitulated on May 5, von Kamptz, acting in accordance with direct orders from his superiors in the Kriegsmarine, refused to surrender to the Red Army or to the Danish resistance on Bornholm. His instructions were to surrender only to British forces.
As a result of this refusal, the Soviet Air Force bombed the towns of Rønne and Nexø on May 7-8, killing 9 Danes, destroying many hundreds of private homes, and damaging thousands. Eventually, a German general, who had only recently arrived on the island, removed von Kamptz and informed the Soviets that he was willing to discuss terms of surrender.
The Soviets occupied Bornholm (peacefully enough, and without mistreating the German POWs), and remained until April 1946. The legacy of the bombings was an enormous housing problem - which was, in part, alleviated by aid from neighbouring Sweden, which provided tools and materials for reconstruction.