Klaus von Bismarck (6 March 1912 – 22 May 1997) was the Director General of the

Westdeutscher Rundfunk Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln (''West German Broadcasting Cologne''; WDR, ) is a German public-broadcasting institution based in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia with its main office in Cologne. WDR is a constituent member of the conso ...

(West German Broadcasting) from 1961 to 1976, and the president of the ARD broadcasting association in 1963-1964. He was also the president of the

German Evangelical Church Assembly The German Evangelical Church Assembly (German ''Deutscher Evangelischer Kirchentag'', DEKT) is an assembly of lay members of the Evangelical Church in Germany, that organises biennial events of faith, culture and political discussion. History ...

from 1977 to 1979 and a member of its presidium from 1950 to 1995, as well as president of the

Goethe-Institut The Goethe-Institut (, GI, en, Goethe Institute) is a non-profit German cultural association operational worldwide with 159 institutes, promoting the study of the German language abroad and encouraging international cultural exchange and ...

from 1977 to 1989. During

World War II 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 ...

, Bismarck served as an officer in the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. According to his memoirs, published in 1992, while serving as an adjutant on the Russian front in 1941 he refused to obey Hitler's

Commissar Order The Commissar Order (german: Kommissarbefehl) was an order issued by the German High Command (Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, OKW) on 6 June 1941 before Operation Barbarossa. Its official name was Guidelines for the Treatment of Political Commissars ...

to execute all captured Communist political commissars attached to the Soviet Army. He was a great-great nephew of German Chancellor

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of J ...

, and was the son of Gottfried von Bismarck (1881–1928). Klaus von Bismarck was the last owner of the family's estates in formerly German

Farther Pomerania Farther Pomerania, Hinder Pomerania, Rear Pomerania or Eastern Pomerania (german: Hinterpommern, Ostpommern), is the part of Pomerania which comprised the eastern part of the Duchy and later Province of Pomerania. It stretched roughly from the Od ...

, including Kniephof (now Konarzewo, Poland), where Otto von Bismarck spent his childhood. Bismarck received an honorary

Doctor of Theology Doctor of Theology ( la, Doctor Theologiae, abbreviated DTh, ThD, DTheol, or Dr. theol.) is a terminal degree in the academic discipline of theology. The ThD, like the ecclesiastical Doctor of Sacred Theology, is an advanced research degree equiva ...

degree (Dr. h. c. theol.) from the

University of Münster The University of Münster (german: Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, WWU) is a public university, public research university located in the city of Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. With more than 43,000 students and over ...

. He was one of the eight signatories of the

Memorandum of Tübingen The Memorandum of Tübingen (German:''Tübinger Memorandum'') was a memorandum dealing with West German foreign policy, written by eight prominent German Protestant academics and scientists. It was sent to the German Bundestag in 1961. The memoran ...

which called for the recognition of the Oder-Neiße line as the official border between

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

and spoke against a possible nuclear armament of

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

Awards and decorations

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia est ...

(1939) 2nd Class (9 October 1939) & 1st Class (18 June 1940) *

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. The Knight' ...

** Knight's Cross on 31 December 1941 as ''

Oberleutnant () is the highest lieutenant officer rank in the German-speaking armed forces of Germany (Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the Swiss Armed Forces. Austria Germany In the German Army, it dates from the early 19th century. Trans ...

'' and leader of the II./Infanterie-Regiment 4 ** 669th Oak Leaves on 26 November 1944 as ''

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

'' and commander of Grenadier-Regiment 4 *

Grand Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

(3 October 1973) * Grand Federal Cross of Merit with Star (1982) * Grand Federal Cross of Merit with Star and Sash (2 June 1989) * Commander of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( it, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) is the senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking ...

(1989)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bismarck, Klaus Von 1912 births 1997 deaths People from Goleniów County People from the Province of Pomerania

Klaus Klaus is a German, Dutch and Scandinavian given name and surname. It originated as a short form of Nikolaus, a German form of the Greek given name Nicholas. Notable persons whose family name is Klaus * Billy Klaus (1928–2006), American baseba ...

German Protestants German male journalists German television journalists German Army officers of World War II 20th-century German journalists Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Commanders of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Westdeutscher Rundfunk ARD (broadcaster) people Westdeutscher Rundfunk people