Date of birth:

January 10th, 1904 (Bromberg/Posen, Germany)

Date of death:

August 25th, 1982 (Düsseldorf/Northrhine-Westphalia, Germany)

Nationality:

German (1933-1945, Third Reich)

Son of General der Kavallerie Hugo Max von Kayser (1873-1949)
Bruno-Heinz von Kayser was a Kriegsberichter (Warcorrespondent) attached to the Fallschirmtruppe. He was engaged as Leutnant with Sturzkampfgeschwader 1 in the "Weserübung" operation in 1940, as well as the campaign in France. He worked for the "Berliner Illustrierte Nachtausgabe" by this time. As far as known, his participation with the Fallschirmtruppe, 1. Fallschirmjäger-Division started by the jump on Corinth, in 1941. Then, Crete, Russia and Italy. He became well known from the "Gran Sasso" action on 12 September 1943. Von Kayser, together with other war correspondant, Oberjäger Toni Schneiders, took the photos and filmed the liberation of Mussolini carried out by Fallschirmjäger of the Lehr-Bataillon (in fact, I./FJR 7) - Operation Eiche. Von Kayser then worked for the "Illustrierte Beobachter" newspaper. He was part of the group, led by Oberleutnant von Berlepsch, which landed on the plateau of Campo Imperatore.
He was promoted to Hauptmann in 1945 and became a POW of the English army. Finally he returned to Germany in 1945.

He was not only a famous war correspondent, but also a very famous dancer, even before the war! He, together with his wife, Melitta, formed a famous dancer couple in the 20s and 30s. Bruno and Melitta were the first German professional ballroom dancers. They won the German championship in 1929, and the European one, from that same year till 1937. After the war, he started again with his passion and was one of the founders of the International Council of Ballroom Dancing, whose head office was located in London. Bruno played in a film called "Der erste Ball" (1955).

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• Photo 1: Public Domain
• Photo 2:
• - Die Ordensträger der Deutschen Wehrmacht (CD), VMD-Verlag GmbH, Osnabrück, 2002
  - Davis B., Uniforms and Insignia of the Luftwaffe; Volume 1: 1933-1940, Arms and Armour, London, 1999, ISBN: 1-85409-497-1
  - Patzwall K., Scherzer V., Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941-1945, Geschichte und Inhaber Band II, Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall, Norderstedt, 2001, ISBN 3-931533-45-X
  - Von der Heydte Major, "Muss ich sterben, will ich fallen...", Biography