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Georg Wolff (14 February 1914 – 1996) was a German SS
Hauptsturmführer __NOTOC__ (, ; short: ''Hstuf'') was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was used in several Nazi organizations such as the SS, NSKK and the NSFK. The rank of ''Hauptsturmführer'' was a mid-level commander and had equivalent seniority to a ...
and journalist. During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Wolff was a Head of Division III for the
Sicherheitspolizei The ''Sicherheitspolizei'' ( en, Security Police), often abbreviated as SiPo, was a term used in Germany for security police. In the Nazi era, it referred to the state political and criminal investigation security agencies. It was made up by the ...
command in
Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
. He was later a leading editor for
news magazine A news magazine is a typed, printed, and published magazine, radio or television program, usually published weekly, consisting of articles about current events. News magazines generally discuss stories, in greater depth than do newspapers or new ...
''
Der Spiegel ''Der Spiegel'' (, lit. ''"The Mirror"'') is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of 695,100 copies, it was the largest such publication in Europe in 2011. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...
'', from 1952 until his retirement in 1978. It was in this latter capacity that Wolff, along with
Rudolf Augstein Rudolf Karl Augstein (5 November 1923 – 7 November 2002) was a German journalist, editor, publicist, and politician. He was one of the most influential German journalists, founder and part-owner of ''Der Spiegel'' magazine. As a politician, he ...
, conducted the 1966 interview with
Martin Heidegger Martin Heidegger (; ; 26 September 188926 May 1976) was a German philosopher who is best known for contributions to phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. He is among the most important and influential philosophers of the 20th centur ...
, " Only a God Can Save Us".


Early life

Georg Wolff was the son of primary school teacher, Friedrich Wilhelm Wolff, and Dora. Wolff’s mother came from an upper class background, her father a financial auditor in the rail industry. The family owned their own home and Wolff grew up in relative comfort and security with his older brother, Hans.


World War II

With Hitler’s seizure of control in 1933, Wolff began to work with the
Sturmabteilung The (; SA; literally "Storm Detachment") was the original paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party. It played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s. Its primary purposes were providing protection for Nazi ral ...
.Heiko Buschke: ''Deutsche Presse, Rechtsextremismus und nationalsozialistische Vergangenheit in der Ära Adenauer''. Campus, Frankfurt 2003, , S. 113 He undertook voluntary training with the daily newspaper Nordischer Kurier in
Itzehoe Itzehoe (; nds, Itzhoe) is a town in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. As the capital of the district Steinburg, Itzehoe is located on the Stör, a navigable tributary of the Elbe, 51 km (31.7 mi) northwest of Hamburg and 24  ...
, before returning to
Wittenberge Wittenberge () is a town of eighteen thousand people on the middle Elbe in the district of Prignitz, Brandenburg, Germany. Geography Wittenberge is situated at the right (north-eastern) bank of the middle Elbe at its confluence with the Stepen ...
and studying economics for a semester at the
University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in ...
. Wolff engaged in Voluntary Labour Service, and then completed two years of military service. Wolff next studied journalism with
Franz Six Franz Alfred Six (12 August 1909 – 9 July 1975) was a Nazi official, promoter of the Holocaust and convicted war criminal. He was appointed by Reinhard Heydrich to head department Amt VII, Written Records of the Reich Security Main Office ( ...
in
Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...
, but ended his studies prematurely after two or three semesters. Though Wolff had not finished a degree, Six used his influence as
Brigadeführer ''Brigadeführer'' (, ) was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) that was used between the years of 1932 to 1945. It was mainly known for its use as an SS rank. As an SA rank, it was used after briefly being known as ''Untergruppenf ...
in the SS to advance Wolff to the position of full time lecturer with the
Sicherheitsdienst ' (, ''Security Service''), full title ' (Security Service of the ''Reichsführer-SS''), or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Established in 1931, the SD was the first Nazi intelligence organization ...
. This came about in March 1938, with Wolff operating in Königsberg. Wolf’s superior SS-
Sturmbannführer __NOTOC__ ''Sturmbannführer'' (; ) was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank equivalent to major that was used in several Nazi organizations, such as the SA, SS, and the NSFK. The rank originated from German shock troop units of the First World War ...
, Kurt Gritschke, awarded the Nazi Party Member (membership number 4.982.494) for "excellent achievement" in 1940. Wolff was, according to Gritschke, "in every respect National Socialist". Wolff served in the SS-
Einsatzkommando During World War II, the Nazi German ' were a sub-group of the ' (mobile killing squads) – up to 3,000 men total – usually composed of 500–1,000 functionaries of the SS and Gestapo, whose mission was to exterminate Jews, Polish intellectu ...
in 1940, under SS-
Standartenführer __NOTOC__ ''Standartenführer'' (short: ''Staf'', , ) was a Nazi Party (NSDAP) paramilitary rank that was used in several NSDAP organizations, such as the SA, SS, NSKK and the NSFK. First founded as a title in 1925, in 1928 it became one of ...
Franz Walter Stahlecker Franz Walter Stahlecker (10 October 1900 – 23 March 1942) was commander of the SS security forces (''Sicherheitspolizei'' (SiPo) and the ''Sicherheitsdienst'' (SD) for the ''Reichskommissariat Ostland'' in 1941–42. Stahlecker commanded ''Eins ...
in Norway. He then served until the end of the war as a Head of Division III of the
Sicherheitspolizei The ''Sicherheitspolizei'' ( en, Security Police), often abbreviated as SiPo, was a term used in Germany for security police. In the Nazi era, it referred to the state political and criminal investigation security agencies. It was made up by the ...
command in
Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
. There he was responsible for the "reports from Norway" sent to the
Reich Security Main Office The Reich Security Main Office (german: Reichssicherheitshauptamt or RSHA) was an organization under Heinrich Himmler in his dual capacity as ''Chef der Deutschen Polizei'' (Chief of German Police) and ''Reichsführer-SS'', the head of the Nazi ...
. SS General Six continued to promote his former student Wolff during this period. A circular sent on 13 February 1942 recommends a detailed report by Wolff on "current events" in Norway to every officer in the Reich Security Main Office, by virtue of its "objective portrayal and comparative value". The report, that reached
Reinhard Heydrich Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich ( ; ; 7 March 1904 – 4 June 1942) was a high-ranking German SS and police official during the Nazi era and a principal architect of the Holocaust. He was chief of the Reich Security Main Office (inclu ...
, analyses why the "destruction of the Norwegian people’s will to resist" had not been successful. Wolff was ultimately promoted to the position of
Hauptsturmführer __NOTOC__ (, ; short: ''Hstuf'') was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was used in several Nazi organizations such as the SS, NSKK and the NSFK. The rank of ''Hauptsturmführer'' was a mid-level commander and had equivalent seniority to a ...
in the SS, a role corresponding to captain in the modern army. By the end of the war, both Wolff and his brother Hans, who had been chairman of the district court in
Köpenick Köpenick () is a historic town and locality (''Ortsteil'') in Berlin, situated at the confluence of the rivers Dahme and Spree in the south-east of the German capital. It was formerly known as Copanic and then Cöpenick, only officially adopt ...
, had fallen from influence. From 1944 the
Reichskommissar (, rendered as "Commissioner of the Empire", "Reich Commissioner" or "Imperial Commissioner"), in German history, was an official gubernatorial title used for various public offices during the period of the German Empire and Nazi Germany. Germa ...
had taken charge of domestic affairs in occupied Norway.


Journalism

Following the end of World War II, Wolff worked as a journalist and editor with ''
Der Spiegel ''Der Spiegel'' (, lit. ''"The Mirror"'') is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of 695,100 copies, it was the largest such publication in Europe in 2011. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...
''. He co-authored the 1950 series „Am Cafeehandel betheiligt" ("On those Involved in the Coffee Trade“) with Horst Mahnke, alongside whom he had studied with Franz Six in Königsberg. The series appeared in ''
Der Spiegel ''Der Spiegel'' (, lit. ''"The Mirror"'') is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of 695,100 copies, it was the largest such publication in Europe in 2011. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...
'', and attributed main responsibility for coffee smuggling to Jewish
displaced persons Forced displacement (also forced migration) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The UNHCR defines 'forced displacement' as follows: displaced "as a result of persecution, conflict, g ...
. In March 1952, Wolff became the first head of ''Der Spiegel''’s foreign affairs department and then became deputy editor-in-chief for ''Der Spiegel'' from 1959 to 1962. The research of former ''Der Spiegel'' editor Peter-Ferdinand Koch suggests that Wolff worked with former personal Press
adjudant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commissioned ...
to
Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 19 ...
,
Wilfred von Oven Wilfred von Oven (4 May 1912 – 13 June 2008) was a German journalist, publicist and civil servant who served as the Press Adjutant of Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels between 1943 and the German capitulation in 1945. Biography Wilfred vo ...
, during this time, focusing on matters of foreign reporting. Van Oven acted as South America correspond for ''Der Spiegel'' in the 1950s. Wolff alone authored over eighty cover stories for ''Der Spiegel'' in the period from 1952 until 1961. This includes stories relating to
Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...
(1952) and
John Foster Dulles John Foster Dulles (, ; February 25, 1888 – May 24, 1959) was an American diplomat, lawyer, and Republican Party politician. He served as United States Secretary of State under President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 to 1959 and was briefly ...
(1953 and 1959), eight on the legacy of German statesman
Konrad Adenauer Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (; 5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a Germany, German statesman who served as the first Chancellor of Germany, chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the fir ...
(1961/1962), one on Soviet politician
Yekaterina Furtseva Yekaterina Alexeyevna Furtseva (russian: Екатерина Алексеевна Фурцева; 7 December 1910 – 24 October 1974) was a Soviet politician and the second woman to be admitted as secretary of the Central Committee of the Comm ...
(1957), and fifteen on the consequences of global communism. The fifteen articles were published in book form by
M. DuMont Schauberg M. DuMont Schauberg is one of Germany's oldest and largest publishing houses. It was founded by Bertram Hilden in 1620. The company has been run by the Neven du Mont family since 1805, when Marcus du Mont acquired the ''Kölnische Zeitung'' ...
in 1961, under the title ''Warten auf das letzte Gefecht. Aspekte des Kommunismus. Marx, Lenin, Mao'' ("Waiting for the Last Battle. Aspects of Communism. Marx, Lenin, Mao"). In 1953, Wolff additionally wrote a sort of reflection piece in the ''Zeitschrift für Geopolitik'' (Journal for Geopolitics). The journal was published by Leske-Verlag, which was then managed by Wolff’s former teacher
Franz Six Franz Alfred Six (12 August 1909 – 9 July 1975) was a Nazi official, promoter of the Holocaust and convicted war criminal. He was appointed by Reinhard Heydrich to head department Amt VII, Written Records of the Reich Security Main Office ( ...
. The piece focused on the black population in colonial Africa, arguing that "the black person is intelligent, skilful and eager to learn, but he is lazy. They have no morals and no work ethic." In 1966, Wolff worked with his brother Hans on a Spiegel story on new German Chancellor
Ludwig Erhard Ludwig Wilhelm Erhard (; 4 February 1897 – 5 May 1977) was a German politician affiliated with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and chancellor of West Germany from 1963 until 1966. He is known for leading the West German postwar economic ...
, under whom Hans had worked in the Ministry of Economic Affairs. In the same year, Wolff created the Spiegel Department for Arts and Humanities, that he led until his retirement on 31 December 1978. He conducted several interviews for ''Der Spiegel'' in this capacity, including with
Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and litera ...
,
Max Horkheimer Max Horkheimer (; ; 14 February 1895 – 7 July 1973) was a German philosopher and sociologist who was famous for his work in critical theory as a member of the Frankfurt School of social research. Horkheimer addressed authoritarianism, militari ...
,
Arnold Gehlen Arnold Gehlen (29 January 1904 in Leipzig, German Empire – 30 January 1976 in Hamburg, West Germany) was an influential conservative German philosopher, sociologist, and anthropologist. Biography Gehlen's major influences while studyin ...
and
Martin Heidegger Martin Heidegger (; ; 26 September 188926 May 1976) was a German philosopher who is best known for contributions to phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. He is among the most important and influential philosophers of the 20th centur ...
. Wolff finished his unpublished memoirs in 1986, and gave them to media historian
Lutz Hachmeister Lutz Hachmeister (born 10 September 1959) is a German media historian, award-winning filmmaker and journalist. He particularly gained international attention for directing the 2005 film ''The Goebbels Experiment'', co-produced by the BBC and the ...
. Wolff died in 1996; because his past as SS
Hauptsturmführer __NOTOC__ (, ; short: ''Hstuf'') was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was used in several Nazi organizations such as the SS, NSKK and the NSFK. The rank of ''Hauptsturmführer'' was a mid-level commander and had equivalent seniority to a ...
had become increasingly well known, no obituary appeared in Der Spiegel.Lutz Hachmeister: ''Heideggers Testament. Der Philosoph, der Spiegel und die SS''. Propyläen, Berlin 2014, S. 171.


Selected bibliography

*''Warten auf das letzte Gefecht. Aspekte des Kommunismus''. Marx, Lenin, Mao (DuMont Schauberg, Köln 1961) * Co-authored with Horst Mahnke: 1954. ''Der Frieden hat eine Chance''. ( Leske, Darmstadt 1953). Both authors were editors for ''Der Spiegel''. Franz Six was manager of the publisher at the time. *''Wir leben in der Weltrevolution; Gespräche mit Sozialisten'' (München, List Verlag 1971). The work contained an introduction by Dieter Brumm.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolff, Georg Der Spiegel people 20th-century German male writers 20th-century German journalists SS-Hauptsturmführer University of Kiel alumni Nazi Party members German male journalists 1914 births 1996 deaths Sturmabteilung personnel Reich Labour Service members