Nicolaus von Below
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Georg Ludwig Heinrich Nicolaus von Below (20 September 1907 – 24 July 1983) was an officer in the German ''
Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
'' and an adjutant to Adolf Hitler.


Early life

Below was born on the estate of Jargelin near
Anklam Anklam [], formerly known as Tanglim and Wendenburg, is a town in the Western Pomerania region of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the banks of the Peene river, just 8 km from its mouth in the ''Kleines Haff'', the western ...
in the Province of Pomerania. He was a member of the German aristocracy.


Service

He trained as a pilot in 1929 at the ''
Deutsche Verkehrsfliegerschule The Deutsche Verkehrsfliegerschule (DVS), German Air Transport School, was a covert military-training organization operating as a flying school in Germany. It began during the Weimar Republic in Staaken, Berlin in 1925 and its head office was tra ...
'' (DVS—German Air Transport School). From 1929 to 1933 he served with the ''
Reichsheer ''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 ...
'' 12th Infantry Regiment. Below then joined the German Air Force and served with Jagdgeschwader 132 "Richthofen" and then transferred to Jagdgeschwader 26. Below became German dictator
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 ...
's Air Force (''
Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
'') military adjutant in 1937. Below's task was to be the link between Hitler and the air force leadership. Hitler generally disliked and was suspicious of soldiers with aristocratic backgrounds. This was particularly true as the tide of
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 opposing ...
turned against Germany. But Below, with the rank of
colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...
, was one of the few members of Hitler's entourage to continually serve in a close capacity for so many years. During the time between the Christmas and New Year's holiday of 1944, Hitler told Below: "I know the war is lost, the enemy's superiority is far too great." But Hitler, still dwelling on the 20 July Plot to kill him, placed the blame on traitors. He then told Below: "We will never surrender, we may go down, but we will take a world with us."


Berlin 1945

Hitler, presiding over a rapidly disintegrating
Third Reich Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
, retreated to his '' Führerbunker'' in Berlin on 16 January 1945. As his long serving Luftwaffe adjutant, Below traveled with Hitler back to Berlin. Early on, Hitler continued to utilize the undamaged wing of the
Reich Chancellery The Reich Chancellery (german: Reichskanzlei) was the traditional name of the office of the Chancellor of Germany (then called ''Reichskanzler'') in the period of the German Reich from 1878 to 1945. The Chancellery's seat, selected and prepared ...
, where he held afternoon military conferences in his large study. However, that practice ended and all the military briefing conferences were moved down into the ''Führerbunker''. By April, to the Nazi leadership, it was clear that the Battle for Berlin would be the final battle of the war. On 12 April 1945, Below was a guest of Albert Speer to see the last performance of the
Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...
before the city was captured by the
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...
. He later wrote: "The concert took us back to another world." On 15 April,
Eva Braun Eva Anna Paula Hitler (; 6 February 1912 – 30 April 1945) was a German photographer who was the longtime companion and briefly the wife of Adolf Hitler. Braun met Hitler in Munich when she was a 17-year-old assistant and model for his ...
was moved into the room next to the room Hitler occupied in the ''Führerbunker''. Below wrote the following of her: "She was charming and obliging and showed no weakness right up to the last moment." By 27 April, Below was part of a very small group which were present for the military briefings. General Krebs was the only senior military officer still present and Reich propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, who had moved into the bunker complex with his family, now also was present. On 29 April, after the wedding of Hitler and Braun, Below was a witness to the
last will and testament of Adolf Hitler A last is a mechanical form shaped like a human foot. It is used by shoemakers and cordwainers in the manufacture and repair of shoes. Lasts typically come in pairs and have been made from various materials, including hardwoods, cast iron, and ...
. He did not sign the Political Testament but added his signature to the Private Testament of the document. Thereafter, Below asked Hitler if he could leave the ''Führerbunker'' and attempt to make it out of Berlin to the west. Hitler granted him permission to leave. On 30 April, Below left Berlin carrying a letter from Hitler to Field Marshal
Wilhelm Keitel Wilhelm Bodewin Johann Gustav Keitel (; 22 September 188216 October 1946) was a German field marshal and war criminal who held office as chief of the '' Oberkommando der Wehrmacht'' (OKW), the high command of Nazi Germany's Armed Forces, duri ...
explaining the recent events of betrayal and extolling the sacrifices of the German people.


Post-war

He was arrested by the British in 1946 and held until 1948. After the war, Below wrote a memoir of his experiences as an adjutant to Hitler from 1937 to 1945, ''At Hitler's Side'' (2001) (). He died on 24 July 1983 in
Detmold Detmold () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with a population of . It was the capital of the small Principality of Lippe from 1468 until 1918 and then of the Free State of Lippe until 1947. Today it is the administrative center of t ...
,
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 ...
.


Notes


References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Below, Nicolaus Von 1907 births 1983 deaths People from Vorpommern-Greifswald Luftwaffe personnel of World War II Nicolaus People from the Province of Pomerania Adjutants of Adolf Hitler