Hans Friedrich Wilhelm Hugo Koeppen (July 31, 1876 in Minden – July 10, 1948 in Berlin) was an officer in the

Prussian army The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power. The Prussian Army had its roots in the co ...

, the German

Reichswehr ''Reichswehr'' () was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first years of the Third Reich. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshaped ...

, and a participant in the first car race around the world.

Military career

He joined the 2nd Westphalian Infantry Regiment, and in 1894 was promoted to second lieutenant. He rose through the ranks and became a full colonel in October 1939, and major general in April 1944, shortly before retiring.

Participation in The ‘Great Race’

As a lieutenant he took part in the first touring car rally around the world: the

1908 New York to Paris Race The 1908 New York to Paris Race was an automobile competition consisting of drivers attempting to travel from New York to Paris. This was a considerable challenge given the state of automobile technology and road infrastructure at the time. ...

."Germany Awaits Lieut. Hans Koeppen; From Emperor to Subaltern His Running of the Protos Car Has Aroused Enthusiasm"
''The New York Times'', July 18, 1908. Koeppen had never driven before. Koeppen's car, the Protos Wettfahrtwagen, was the first to arrive in Paris, beating the next competitor by four days. However he was penalized because he had used a rail-car for part of the journey and skipped Alaska, and thus lost first place.. See url: http://suite101.com/article/lt-hans-koeppen-and-the-1908-great-race-a180018 In 1909, his book about the race, ''Im Auto um die Welt'' ("The World by Car") was published and it made him a celebrity, or folk hero, in Germany. His fame helped to popularise the

toothbrush moustache The toothbrush moustache is a style of moustache in which the sides are vertical (or nearly vertical) rather than tapered, giving the hairs the appearance of the bristles on a toothbrush that are attached to the nose. It was made famous by such ...

in Germany, the same style later adopted by

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

Rich Cohen Rich Cohen (born July 30, 1968) is an American non-fiction writer. He is a contributing editor at '' Vanity Fair'' and ''Rolling Stone''. He is co-creator, with Martin Scorsese, Mick Jagger and Terence Winter, of the HBO series ''Vinyl''. His ...

"Becoming Adolf"
''Vanity Fair'', November 2007. Reprinted in ''

The Best American Essays ''The Best American Essays'' is a yearly anthology of magazine articles published in the United States.Robert Atwan (ed.), Adam Gopnick (guest ed.). ''The Best American Essays 2008'', Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2008. It was started in 1986 and is ...

'' 2008.

Gallery

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koeppen, Hans 1876 births 1958 deaths Major generals of the Luftwaffe Luftwaffe World War II generals