Ernst August Köstring
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Ernst-August Köstring (20 June 1876 – 20 November 1953) was a German diplomat and officer who served during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.


Early life and military career

Born in
Imperial Russia Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor/empress, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * ...
in 1876, Ernst August Köstring grew up in
St Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
(or MoscowVladimir Vinokurov.
The role of German military diplomacy in adopting decision to attack USSR (Роль немецкой военной дипломатии в принятии решения о нападении на СССР)
''. VPK-News. 6 August 2008
) and was fluent in Russian. He left Russia just before
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
like many other Germans. He took part in the war and served under Major General
Hans von Seeckt Johannes "Hans" Friedrich Leopold von Seeckt (22 April 1866 – 27 December 1936) was a German military officer who served as Chief of Staff to August von Mackensen and was a central figure in planning the victories Mackensen achieved for German ...
in the
Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...
Seventh Army. After the war, he was retained in the Reichsheer. From 1919, he was back in the Prussian War Ministry and then detached to the
Ministry of the Reichswehr The Ministry of the Reichswehr () was the defence ministry of Germany from 1919 to 1938 during the Weimar Republic and early Nazi Germany periods. It was responsible for the '' Reichswehr'' under the leadership of the Minister of Defence and base ...
that year soon after it had been established. On 1 August 1935, he was returned to active service as a military attaché to Russia and Lithuania and sent back to Moscow. During the
invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...
, as a German military attaché in Moscow, Köstring played a key role in co-ordination between Nazi Germany and Soviet Union. In September 1939, he was involved in the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact negotiations, along with Colonel Heinrich Aschenbrenner. On 8 August 1940, Köstring was warned by General
Franz Halder Franz Halder (30 June 1884 – 2 April 1972) was a German general and the chief of staff of the Oberkommando des Heeres, Army High Command (OKH) in Nazi Germany from 1938 until September 1942. During World War II, he directed the planning and i ...
that "he would have to answer a lot of questions soon", which made him one of a few people who knew of the invasion of the Soviet Union despite the non-aggression pact. With the planned
Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...
, his position in Moscow was untenable. He was repatriated under diplomatic immunity and assigned to the ''
Führerreserve The (“Leaders Reserve” or "Reserve for Leaders") was set up in the German Armed Forces during World War II in 1939 as a pool of temporarily unoccupied high-ranking military officers awaiting new assignments. The various military branches ...
''. He visited, together with Friedrich Werner von Schulenburg, prisoner-of-war camps to recruit Soviet prisoners-of-war for the German war effort. On 1 May 1941, German military delegation, including Köstring and Hans Krebs, attended the Soviet
military parade A military parade is a formation of military personnels whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as Drill team, drilling or marching. Large military parades are today held on major holidays and military events around the ...
in Moscow in honour of
International Workers' Day International Workers' Day, also called Labour Day in some countries and often referred to as May Day, is a celebration of Wage labour, labourers and the working classes that is promoted by the international labour movement and occurs every yea ...
. On 1 September 1942, he was appointed "General Officer attached to
Army Group A Army Group A () was the name of three distinct army groups of the ''German Army (1935–1945), Heer'', the ground forces of the ''Wehrmacht'', during World War II. The first Army Group A, previously known as "Army Group South", was active from Oct ...
for Caucasian Questions" under General
Eduard Wagner Eduard Wagner (1 April 1894 – 23 July 1944) was a general in the Army of Nazi Germany who served as quartermaster-general during World War II. Life Wagner was born in Kirchenlamitz, Upper Franconia. After service during World War I, he was ...
. In that role, he worked on creating national legions among the indigenous people of the
Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...
, among them the Muslim Karachai. He arranged for Armenians, Georgians, and other Caucasian populations to fight at the front after training in Poland. Most of the Armenians deserted. The Karachai had formed an anti-Soviet committee under Qadi Bayramukov( ru) before the Germans arrived. Köstring invited them to the Bairam feast on 11 October. He was exceptionally well received and was carried shoulder-high in celebration, as was the custom. In the spring of 1943, Köstring was put into the ''Führerreserve''. In mid-June 1943, he was appointed Inspector of the German-commanded Turkic associations. On 1 January 1944, he was appointed the General of the "volunteer" organizations in the Army High Command. Throughout that period, he spent most of his time helping with the creation of
Andrey Vlasov Andrey Andreyevich Vlasov (, – August 1, 1946) was a Soviet Russian Red Army general. During the Eastern Front (World War II), Axis-Soviet campaigns of World War II, he fought (1941–1942) against the ''Wehrmacht'' in the Battle of Moscow ...
's
Russian Liberation Army The Russian Liberation Army (; , ), also known as the Vlasov army () was a collaborationist formation, primarily composed of Russians, that fought under German command during World War II. From January 1945, the army was led by Andrey Vlasov, ...
. He surrendered on 4 May 1945 to the
US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...
and he was released in 1947. He co-authored the 1946 book ''The Peoples of the Soviet Union'', which was later used by the US Army.Corliss Lamont
''United States Army had included my book, The Peoples of the Soviet Union, in a bibliography. The listing had appeared, without my knowing about it, in an Army manual entitled Psychological and Cultural Traits of Soviet Siberia, published in 1953 by the Intelligence Section of the U.S. General Staff.''
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References


Sources

* Mitcham, Samuel W. (2009) ''Men of Barbarossa: Commanders of the German Invasion of Russia'' 1941. Casemate. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kostring, Ernst August 1876 births 1953 deaths People from Serebryano-Prudsky District People from Venyovsky Uyezd German Army generals of World War II Generals of Cavalry (Wehrmacht) Major generals of the Reichswehr German military attachés German Army personnel of World War I German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United States