Marinebrigade Ehrhardt
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The Marinebrigade Ehrhardt, also known as the Ehrhardt Brigade, was a
Freikorps (, "Free Corps" or "Volunteer Corps") were irregular German and other European military volunteer units, or paramilitary, that existed from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. They effectively fought as mercenary or private armies, regar ...
unit of the early
Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...
. It was formed on 17 February 1919 as the Second Marine Brigade from members of the former
Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Wilhel ...
under the leadership of
Hermann Ehrhardt Hermann Ehrhardt (29 November 1881 – 27 September 1971) was a German naval officer in World War I who became an anti-republican and anti-Semitic German nationalist Freikorps leader during the Weimar Republic. As head of the Marinebrigade E ...
. The Brigade was used primarily in the suppression of the
Bavarian Soviet Republic The Bavarian Soviet Republic, or Munich Soviet Republic (german: Räterepublik Baiern, Münchner Räterepublik),Hollander, Neil (2013) ''Elusive Dove: The Search for Peace During World War I''. McFarland. p.283, note 269. was a short-lived unre ...
and the
First Silesian Uprising The Silesian Uprisings (german: Aufstände in Oberschlesien, Polenaufstände, links=no; pl, Powstania śląskie, links=no) were a series of three uprisings from August 1919 to July 1921 in Upper Silesia, which was part of the Weimar Republic ...
, both in the first half of 1919. In March 1920, faced with its imminent disbanding by orders of the government in Berlin, the Marine Brigade was one of the main supporters of the
Kapp Putsch The Kapp Putsch (), also known as the Kapp–Lüttwitz Putsch (), was an attempted coup against the German national government in Berlin on 13 March 1920. Named after its leaders Wolfgang Kapp and Walther von Lüttwitz, its goal was to undo the ...
that tried to overthrow the Weimar Republic. After the putsch failed and the Brigade was disbanded in May, many of the former members formed the secret
Organisation Consul Organisation Consul (O.C.) was an ultra-nationalist and anti-Semitic terrorist organization that operated in the Weimar Republic from 1920 to 1922. It was formed by members of the disbanded Freikorps group Marine Brigade Ehrhardt and was respons ...
under Ehrhardt's leadership. Before it was banned in 1922, it carried out numerous assassinations and murders in a continuation of the attempts to overthrow the Republic.


Formation and structure

On 27 January 1919, during the Revolution of 1918–1919 that broke out following Germany's defeat in
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, communist putschists from
Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
and
Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsha ...
captured important buildings in Wilhelmshaven and declared it a socialist council republic (). When the putschists encountered isolated resistance, they entrenched themselves in the city's 1,000-man barracks. About 300 officers and professional soldiers of the former Imperial Navy, including
Corvette Captain Corvette captain is a rank in many navies which theoretically corresponds to command of a corvette (small warship). The equivalent rank in the United Kingdom, Commonwealth, and United States is lieutenant commander. The Royal Canadian Navy uses ...
() Hermann Ehrhardt, then armed themselves and stormed the barracks using rifles and machine guns. In the morning of 28 January, the 400 putschists surrendered. The fighting had left a total of eight dead on both sides. The "storming of the 1,000-man barracks" was later considered the Marine Brigade's birth. The Reich government then decided to raise volunteer troops in Wilhelmshaven to fight other soviet republics such as the one in
Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
that lasted until 4 February 1919. Wilhelmshaven was chosen because it was a former port of the Imperial Navy and full of soldiers, many of whom were opposed to radical leftist efforts to set up communist governments in Germany. On 13 February 1919 an advertisement appeared in the Wilhelmshaven daily newspaper of the Majority Social Democrats, the party that led the Reich government in Berlin. It contained in part the following:
Call for the formation of a government brigade in Wilhelmshaven. The Reich government has given me the order to form a government brigade in Wilhelmshaven, which, directly subordinate to the government, will be at the government's disposal for the order Protection East signed by the head of the Naval Station North Sea, ndreas
Michelsen Michelsen is a Danish-Norwegian patronymic surname meaning "son of Mikkel/ Michael". There are related English, German, Swedish and other spellings of this name. People with the name Michelsen include: People * Albert Michelsen (1893-1964), Americ ...
.
The advertisement was run repeatedly and later included the "prevention of internal unrest" as one of its purposes. It was mainly former members of the Imperial Navy who reported for the new force. On 17 February 1919 Ehrhardt received the order to assemble it under the name "Second Marine Brigade Wilhelmshaven". The order allowed him to determine the political orientation of the members of his brigade. It was to be a mobile unit and deployed throughout the Reich in the event of insurrections. After 24 March the Marine Brigade Wilhelmshaven was subordinate to the Guard Cavalry Rifle Division. The Brigade initially consisted of four infantry companies with a total of 367 men. In the course of further growth and the formation of new units, it was transferred on 30 March 1919 to
Jüterbog Jüterbog () is a historic town in north-eastern Germany, in the Teltow-Fläming district of Brandenburg. It is on the Nuthe river at the northern slope of the Fläming hill range, about southwest of Berlin. History The Slavic settlement of ' ...
south of Berlin and divided into the 3rd and 4th Marine Regiments and a brigade staff. The 3rd Marine Regiment had six infantry companies, the first made up of deck officers, the second of engineer trainees, and the third of NCOs. The other companies were formed from the enlisted ranks. Also attached to the regiment was the (assault company) which was made up of officers, midshipmen, and cadets. In addition to six infantry companies, the 4th Marine Regiment had a machine gun company, an engineering company, and a battery of 7.7 centimeter field guns. After its transfer to Munich on 29 April 1919, the Second Marine Brigade Wilhelmshaven had the following organization: brigade staff; Marine Regiment 3 with 1st and 2nd battalions; Marine Regiment 4 with 1st and 2nd battalions; Wilhelmshaven company; assault company; mortar company with two medium and six light mortars; pioneer company; flamethrower platoon; 1st battery with four 7.7 centimeter field guns; and 2nd battery with four light field howitzers and 12 heavy machine guns. The strength of the brigade at the time was about 1,500 men.


Deployments

The Brigade's first deployment took it to
Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...
on 17 April 1919, where it joined units of the Maercker Free Corps in preventing the attempt to establish a soviet republic there. After the defeat of the northern communist forces, the Brigade marched to the industrial cities of central Germany to fight the local communist uprisings in the region. From there it was transferred to
Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...
, where it was kept ready as part of a large contingent of government units to fight against the
Bavarian Soviet Republic The Bavarian Soviet Republic, or Munich Soviet Republic (german: Räterepublik Baiern, Münchner Räterepublik),Hollander, Neil (2013) ''Elusive Dove: The Search for Peace During World War I''. McFarland. p.283, note 269. was a short-lived unre ...
. The Brigade's advance into Munich without command orders to do so led to fierce street fighting in which the combined government units crushed the workers' uprising. The Freikorps' brutal actions in the street battles, including looting and the mistreatment and shooting of those arrested, illustrated the increasing independence of the Freikorps movement in the fight against revolutionaries. By the summer of 1919, Navy leadership was considering disbanding the Marine Brigade. In August 1919 it went to
Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( pl, Górny Śląsk; szl, Gůrny Ślůnsk, Gōrny Ślōnsk; cs, Horní Slezsko; german: Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ; la, Silesia Superior) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located ...
where local free corps, reinforced by groups such as the Marine Brigade, easily repressed the
First Silesian Uprising The Silesian Uprisings (german: Aufstände in Oberschlesien, Polenaufstände, links=no; pl, Powstania śląskie, links=no) were a series of three uprisings from August 1919 to July 1921 in Upper Silesia, which was part of the Weimar Republic ...
of local Poles against German control of the region. In November the Brigade was transferred a camp near Berlin, and in March 1920 the German government issued orders for it to be disbanded. The order was consistent with the
Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...
, which limited the size of the Republic's army, the
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 ...
, to 100,000 soldiers. The Brigade's leaders were determined to resist and appealed to Reichswehr General
Walther von Lüttwitz Walther Karl Friedrich Ernst Emil Freiherr von Lüttwitz (2 February 1859 – 20 September 1942) was a German general who fought in World War I. Lüttwitz is best known for being the driving force behind the Kapp–Lüttwitz Putsch of 1920 wh ...
. Lüttwitz, one of the organizers of the Freikorps in 1918 and 1919 and an ardent monarchist, appealed to Reich President
Friedrich Ebert Friedrich Ebert (; 4 February 187128 February 1925) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the first President of Germany (1919–1945), president of Germany from 1919 until his death in office in 1925. Eber ...
and Reich Armed Forces Minister
Gustav Noske Gustav Noske (9 July 1868 – 30 November 1946) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). He served as the first Minister of Defence (''Reichswehrminister'') of the Weimar Republic between 1919 and 1920. Noske has been a cont ...
to stop the disbandment. When Ebert refused, Lüttwitz triggered the
Kapp-Lüttwitz Putsch The Kapp Putsch (), also known as the Kapp–Lüttwitz Putsch (), was an attempted coup against the German national government in Berlin on 13 March 1920. Named after its leaders Wolfgang Kapp and Walther von Lüttwitz, its goal was to undo the ...
when he marched at the head of the Marine Brigade into Berlin. On the night of 12/13 March 1920, it occupied the government quarter of Berlin with from 2,000 to 6,000 men. It made up only a small fraction of the total free corps forces, which totaled around 30,000 men. The government issued a proclamation calling on Germany's unions to defeat the putsch by means of a general strike. It received massive support, and by 18 March the putsch had failed. After the coup collapsed, Vice Chancellor
Eugen Schiffer Eugen Schiffer (14 February 1860 – 5 September 1954) was a German lawyer and liberal politician. He served as Minister of Finance and deputy head of government from February to April 1919. From October 1919 to March 1920, he was again deputy h ...
built "golden bridges" for Lüttwitz, Ehrhardt and Kapp to persuade them to surrender peacefully. The new Reichswehr leader
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 Germany ...
spoke highly of the Brigade's discipline in a daily order issued on 18 March and the next day assured Ehrhardt in writing of protection from arrest. Only then did the Brigade march out of Berlin, singing and flying flags as it had when it marched in. When boos were raised from an unfriendly crowd at the
Brandenburg Gate The Brandenburg Gate (german: Brandenburger Tor ) is an 18th-century neoclassical monument in Berlin, built on the orders of Prussian king Frederick William II after restoring the Orangist power by suppressing the Dutch popular unrest. One ...
, they summarily fired machine guns into the crowd. Twelve dead and thirty seriously wounded were left on the pavement. The Ehrhardt Brigade was officially disbanded effective 31 May 1920. A large part of it was taken into the
German Navy The German Navy (, ) is the navy of Germany and part of the unified ''Bundeswehr'' (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Mari ...
() as "reliable cadres"; many of the rest went underground in various organizations including the Union of Former Ehrhardt Officers, the
Viking League The Viking League (German: ''Bund Wiking'') was a German political and paramilitary organization in existence from 1923 to 1928. It was founded on 2 May 1923 in Munich by members of the banned Organisation Consul as the successor to this group ...
() and the Sport Club Olympia. Ehrhardt brought many from the Brigade into the new
Organisation Consul Organisation Consul (O.C.) was an ultra-nationalist and anti-Semitic terrorist organization that operated in the Weimar Republic from 1920 to 1922. It was formed by members of the disbanded Freikorps group Marine Brigade Ehrhardt and was respons ...
, which he led. It used murders and assassinations in its continued fight to overthrow the Weimar government until it was banned in 1922. Ehrhardt fled to Switzerland in 1934 because of the Nazi internal purge known as the
Night of the Long Knives The Night of the Long Knives (German: ), or the Röhm purge (German: ''Röhm-Putsch''), also called Operation Hummingbird (German: ''Unternehmen Kolibri''), was a purge that took place in Nazi Germany from 30 June to 2 July 1934. Chancellor Ad ...
. Two years later he went to Austria where he ran the manorial estate near
Lichtenau im Waldviertel Lichtenau im Waldviertel is a town in the district of Krems-Land in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. Population References

Cities and towns in Krems-Land District {{LowerAustria-geo-stub ...
. He died there in 1971 without having taken part in any further political or military activity..


Uniform, insignia and standards

Members of the Marine Brigade wore the field gray uniform of the
Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (german: Deutsches Heer), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the l ...
, although the assault company all had crew uniforms without rank insignia. Attached to the collar of the field blouse was the Guard Star with anchor. From about February 1919 members of the Marine Brigade wore the badge of the Second Marine Brigade Wilhelmshaven as a special insignia on the left upper arm. The badge was made of silver tinplate and showed, within an egg-shaped rope, a Viking ship sailing with a single man at the helm. At the bottom was an ornamented panel with the inscription "Wilhelmshaven" in
fraktur Fraktur () is a calligraphic hand of the Latin alphabet and any of several blackletter typefaces derived from this hand. The blackletter lines are broken up; that is, their forms contain many angles when compared to the curves of the Antiqu ...
script. Below it were two oak twigs consisting of three leaves with an acorn bound together with ribbons. After the brigade was disbanded, successor organizations continued to use the insignia in a modified form with the inscription "Wilhelmshaven" replaced by "Ehrhardt". As field insignia, the assault company and each battalion of the Marine Brigade flew the Imperial War Flag (). From about October 1919 members of the brigade adorned themselves with anti-Semitic markings, such as when they wore swastikas on their helmets returning from operations against the insurgents in Upper Silesia. File:Freikorps - Marinebrigade Ehrhardt OF-5 (Verbandführer) 1919-1933.png, Verbandsführer File:Freikorps - Marinebrigade Ehrhardt OF-3 (Verbandgruppenführer) 1919-1933.png, Verbandsgruppenführer File:Freikorps - Marinebrigade Ehrhardt OF-2 (Einheitsführer) 1919-1933.png, Einheitsführer File:Freikorps - Marinebrigade Ehrhardt OF-1 (Zugführer) 1919-1933.png, Zugführer File:Freikorps - Marinebrigade Ehrhardt OR-6 (1919-1933).png, Gruppenführer File:Freikorps - Marinebrigade Ehrhardt OR-3 (1919-1933).png, Gruppenführer-Stellvertreter File:Freikorps - Marinebrigade Ehrhardt OR-2 (1919-1933).png, Gefolgsmann (gedient) File:Freikorps - Marinebrigade Ehrhardt OR-1 (1919-1933).png, Gefolgsmann Source:


The Ehrhardt song

When the Brigade was demobilized in 1920, one of its members composed a song that became known as the Ehrhardt Song. It was sung wherever people wanted to demonstrate a nationalistic and anti-republican stance.


Notable members

*
Kurt Blome Kurt Blome (31 January 1894 – 10 October 1969) was a high-ranking Nazi scientist before and during World War II. He was the Deputy Reich Health Leader (Reichsgesundheitsführer) and Plenipotentiary for Cancer Research in the Reich Research Coun ...
: Deputy
Reich Health Leader The National Socialist German Doctors' League (''Nationalsozialistischer Deutscher Ärztebund'', abbreviated as NSDÄB or NSD-Ärztebund) was a division of the Nazi Party with the mission of integrating the German medical profession within the f ...
under
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 ...
*
Horst Böhme Horst Böhme may refer to: * Horst Böhme (SS officer) (1909–1945), leading perpetrator of the Holocaust. * Horst Böhme (chemist) (1908–1996), German chemist * Horst Wolfgang Böhme (born 1940), German archaeologist See also *Böhme (surname ...
: SS officer involved in the
Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
*
Friedrich Bonte __NOTOC__ Friedrich Bonte (19 October 1896 – 10 April 1940) was the German naval officer commanding the destroyer flotilla that transported invasion troops to Narvik during the German invasion of Norway (Operation Weserübung) in April 1940. Bon ...
: naval officer involved in the
invasion of Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
* Günther Brandt: anthropologist at the
SS Race and Settlement Main Office The SS Race and Settlement Main Office (''Rasse- und Siedlungshauptamt der SS'', RuSHA) was the organization responsible for "safeguarding the racial 'purity' of the SS" within Nazi Germany. One of its duties was to oversee the marriages of SS p ...
*
Franz Breithaupt Franz Breithaupt (8 December 1880 – 29 April 1945) was a German SS functionary during the Nazi era. From August 1942 until April 1945, he was chief of the SS Court Main Office ''(Hauptamt SS-Gericht)''. Breithaupt was murdered by his SS aide ...
: chief of the
SS Court Main Office The SS Court Main Office (german: Hauptamt SS-Gericht) - one of the 12 SS main departments - was the legal department of the SS in Nazi Germany. It was responsible for formulating the laws and codes for the SS and various other groups of the poli ...
*
Hermann Willibald Fischer Hermann Willibald Fischer (6 February 1896 in Florence – 17 July 1922 in Saaleck Castle) was a German mechanical engineer. He was a member of an extreme right-wing terror group Organisation Consul (OC) and was one of the assassins of the German ...
: accomplice in the murder of
Walther Rathenau Walther Rathenau (29 September 1867 – 24 June 1922) was a German industrialist, writer and liberal politician. During the First World War of 1914–1918 he was involved in the organization of the German war economy. After the war, Rathenau s ...
*
Eberhard Godt Eberhard Godt (15 August 1900 – 13 September 1995) was a German naval officer who served in both World War I and World War II, eventually rising to command the '' Kriegsmarine''s U-boat operations. Biography : ''This article incorporates inform ...
: commanded German U-boat operations in WWII *
Curt von Gottberg Curt Gustav Friedrich Walther von Gottberg (11 February 1896 – 31 May 1945) was a high-ranking SS ''Obergruppenführer'' who served as Higher SS and Police Leader for central Russia and, from September 1943, as the ''Generalkommissar'' (Comm ...
: Higher SS and Police Leader for central Russia and Commissioner-General of occupied Belarus *
Erick-Oskar Hansen __NOTOC__ Erick-Oskar Hansen (27 May 1889 – 18 March 1967) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Biography Born in Hamburg, Hansen entered the army ...
:
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 ...
general *
Hans Albert Hohnfeldt Hans Albert Hohnfeldt (22 May 1897, in Neufahrwasser, Danzig – 31 July 1948) was a member of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) who served as ''Gauleiter'' in the Free City of Danzig and acting ''Gauleiter'' of Gau East Prussia. He also held other Party ...
:
Gauleiter A ''Gauleiter'' () was a regional leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) who served as the head of a ''Administrative divisions of Nazi Germany, Gau'' or ''Reichsgau''. ''Gauleiter'' was the third-highest Ranks and insignia of the Nazi Party, rank in ...
of the
Free City of Danzig The Free City of Danzig (german: Freie Stadt Danzig; pl, Wolne Miasto Gdańsk; csb, Wòlny Gard Gduńsk) was a city-state under the protection of the League of Nations between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig (now Gda ...
*
Dietrich von Jagow Dietrich () is an ancient German name meaning "Ruler of the People.” Also "keeper of the keys" or a "lockpick" either the tool or the profession. Given name * Dietrich, Count of Oldenburg (c. 1398 – 1440) * Thierry of Alsace (german: Dietric ...
: German ambassador to Hungary under the Nazis *
Karl Kaufmann Karl Kaufmann (10 October 1900 – 4 December 1969) was a German politician who served as a Nazi Party ''Gauleiter'' from 1925 to 1945 and as the ''Reichsstatthalter'' (Reich Governor) of Hamburg from 1933 to 1945. Early life Kaufmann was the ...
: Reich governor of Hamburg under the Nazis *
Werner Kempf Werner Kempf (9 March 1886 – 6 January 1964) was a general in the German Army rising to corps-level command during World War II. Kempf is best known for commanding the Army Detachment Kempf during the Battle of Kursk. Career Kempf joined the ...
: Wehrmacht general *
Manfred Freiherr von Killinger Manfred Freiherr von Killinger (July 14, 1886 – September 2, 1944) was a German naval officer, ''Freikorps'' leader, military writer and Nazism, Nazi politician. A veteran of World War I and member of the ''Marinebrigade Ehrhardt'' during th ...
: mastermind of the assassination of
Matthias Erzberger Matthias Erzberger (20 September 1875 – 26 August 1921) was a German writer and politician (Centre Party), the minister of Finance from 1919 to 1920. Prominent in the Catholic Centre Party, he spoke out against World War I from 1917 and as a ...
and later Nazi functionary *
Gustav Kleikamp Gustav Kleikamp (born 8 March 1896 in Fiddichow an der Oder; died 13 September 1952 in Mülheim an der Ruhr) was a German naval officer, and a Vizeadmiral in Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine. Imperial German Navy On 1 April 1913, Kleikamp entered t ...
: Vice Admiral in the Nazi
Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...
*
Hans Ulrich Klintzsch Johann "Hans" Ulrich Klintzsch (4 November 1898 in Lübbenau – 17 August 1959 in Hamburg) was a naval lieutenant from the Erhardt Brigade who later served as '' Oberster SA-Führer'', the supreme commander of the '' Sturmabteilung'' (SA), from ...
: supreme commander of 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 ...
(SA) *
Friedrich-Wilhelm Krüger Friedrich-Wilhelm Krüger (8 May 1894 – 10 May 1945) was a German war criminal and paramilitary commander acting as a high-ranking member of the SA and the SS. Between 1939 and 1943 he was the Higher SS and Police Leader in the General Govern ...
: Higher SS and Police Leader in German-occupied Poland *
Franz Maria Liedig Franz Maria Liedig (2 February 1900, Hünfeld – 30 March 1967, Munich) was a '' Kriegsmarine'' officer and member of the military resistance against Adolf Hitler. Biography Liedig volunteered the German Imperial Navy in October 1916, was educat ...
: member of the military resistance against Adolf Hitler * Ernst Lucht: admiral in the Kriegsmarine *
Karl Mauss Karl Mauss (17 May 1898 – 9 February 1959) was a German general during World War II. He commanded the 7th Panzer Division and was one of only 27 German military men to receive the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and ...
: general who commanded the 7th Panzer Division during WWII *
Karl-Jesko von Puttkamer Karl-Jesko Otto Robert von Puttkamer (24 March 1900 – 4 March 1981) was a German admiral who was naval adjutant to Adolf Hitler during World War II. Military service Puttkamer was born in Frankfurt (Oder) and was a member of the Puttkamer fam ...
: admiral and naval adjutant to Hitler *
Ernst von Salomon Ernst von Salomon (25 September 1902 – 9 August 1972) was a German novelist and screenwriter. He was a Weimar-era national-revolutionary activist and right-wing Freikorps member. Family and education He was born in Kiel, in the Prussian prov ...
: novelist and screenwriter involved in the assassination of
Walther Rathenau Walther Rathenau (29 September 1867 – 24 June 1922) was a German industrialist, writer and liberal politician. During the First World War of 1914–1918 he was involved in the organization of the German war economy. After the war, Rathenau s ...
* Bruno Sattler: SS-Sturmbannführer and head of the
Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...
in
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
* Emanuel Schäfer: SS-
Oberführer __NOTOC__ ''Oberführer'' (short: ''Oberf'', , ) was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) dating back to 1921. An ''Oberführer'' was typically a NSDAP member in charge of a group of paramilitary units in a particular geographic ...
and protégé of
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 ...
*
Otto Schniewind Otto Schniewind (14 December 1887 – 26 March 1964) was a German General Admiral during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Career Schniewind entered the Kaiserliche Marine in 1907 as a cade ...
: General Admiral in WWII *
Julius Schreck Julius Schreck (13 July 1898 – 16 May 1936) was an early senior Nazi official and close confidant of Adolf Hitler. Born in Munich, Schreck served in World War I and shortly afterwards joined right-wing paramilitary units. He joined the Nazi ...
: early senior Nazi official and close confidant of Hitler * Heinrich Schulz: accomplice in the assassination of Matthias Erzberger * Hermann Souchon: executed
Rosa Luxemburg Rosa Luxemburg (; ; pl, Róża Luksemburg or ; 5 March 1871 – 15 January 1919) was a Polish and naturalised-German revolutionary socialist, Marxist philosopher and anti-war activist. Successively, she was a member of the Proletariat party, ...
*
Ernst Werner Techow Ernst Werner Techow (12 October 1901 – 9 May 1945) was a German right-wing assassin. In 1922, he took part in the assassination of the Foreign Minister of Germany Walther Rathenau. After his release from prison Techow initially joined the Nazi p ...
: took part in the assassination of
Walther Rathenau Walther Rathenau (29 September 1867 – 24 June 1922) was a German industrialist, writer and liberal politician. During the First World War of 1914–1918 he was involved in the organization of the German war economy. After the war, Rathenau s ...
*
Heinrich Tillessen Heinrich Tillessen (27 November 1894 – 12 November 1984) was one of the murderers of Matthias Erzberger, former German minister of finance of the Centre Party. One of his brothers was Karl Tillessen, deputy of Hermann Ehrhardt in the . The oth ...
: one of the assassins of Matthias Erzberger


Literature in English

Koster, John (2018).
Hermann Ehrhardt, the man Hitler wasn’t
'' Idle Winter Press. ISBN 9781945687051


References

{{Authority control 20th-century Freikorps Bavarian Soviet Republic Naval units and formations of Germany Organizations of the German Revolution of 1918–1919 Kapp Putsch