Rudolf Bamler (6 May 1896 – 13 March 1972) was a German general 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 ...

. Although Bamler was a member of the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

he would later serve as a leading member of the

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

security forces.

Early life

Bamler was born in

Osterburg (Altmark) Osterburg (; nds, Osterborg) is a town in the Stendal (district), district of Stendal, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, situated approximately northwest of Stendal. Geography The town Osterburg consists of the following 11 ''Ortschaften'' or munic ...

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...

, the son of Protestant clergyman Johannes Bamler (born 1864) and his wife Anna Garlipp (1873-1932).Rüdiger Wenzke, "Rudolf Bamler – Karrierebruch in der KVP" on Hans Ehlert, Armin Wagner (eds.), ''Genosse General! Die Militärelite der DDR in biografischen Skizzen'', Christoph Links Verlag, Berlin 2003, p. 33 He enlisted in the Prussian Army and served in the

First World War 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 ...

with the 15th Division.

Abwehr

DB Museum Nürnberg - Feind hört mit! (Eisenbahn)

Bamler was attached to the

Abwehr The ''Abwehr'' (German for ''resistance'' or ''defence'', but the word usually means ''counterintelligence'' in a military context; ) was the German military-intelligence service for the ''Reichswehr'' and the ''Wehrmacht'' from 1920 to 1944. A ...

as the head of section III (

counterespionage Counterintelligence is an activity aimed at protecting an agency's intelligence program from an opposition's intelligence service. It includes gathering information and conducting activities to prevent espionage, sabotage, assassinations or ot ...

) and here he helped to encourage closer co-operation with 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 ...

and

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 ...

(SD). This role also meant that Bamler maintained a network of informers across German society rivalled only by that of the SD. Although he had a difficult personal relationship with his superior

Wilhelm Canaris Wilhelm Franz Canaris (1 January 1887 – 9 April 1945) was a German admiral and the chief of the '' Abwehr'' (the German military-intelligence service) from 1935 to 1944. Canaris was initially a supporter of Adolf Hitler, and the Nazi r ...

the two co-operated closely in supporting Canaris' friend

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...

during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

World War II

Following the outbreak of 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 ...

Bamler was appointed Chief of Staff of

Wehrkreis The military districts, also known in some English-language publications by their German name as Wehrkreise (singular: ''Wehrkreis''), were administrative territorial units in Nazi Germany before and during World War II. The task of military distr ...

VII (

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

) before a transfer to the same role in XX ( Danzig).

Samuel W. Mitcham Samuel W. Mitcham Jr. is an American author and military historian who specializes in the German war effort during World War II and the Confederate war effort during the American Civil War. He is the author of more than 40 books and has collabo ...

, ''The German Defeat in the East, 1944-45'', Stackpole Books, 2007, p. 39 Bamler was then made Chief of Staff to the XXXXVII Panzer Corps in 1940. From 1942 to 1944 he was Chief of Staff to the German Army in Norway under Generaloberst

Nikolaus von Falkenhorst Paul Nikolaus von Falkenhorst (17 January 1885 – 18 June 1968) was a German general and a war criminal during World War II. He planned and commanded the German invasion of Denmark and Norway in 1940, and was commander of German troops during ...

, having risen to the rank of lieutenant general. Bamler was then moved to the Eastern Front and from 1 to 27 June he was commander of the 121st Infantry Division, before being replaced by Helmuth Prieß. He was simultaneously commander of the 12th Infantry Division, with Gerhard Engel his replacement. Bamler's commands ended as he had surrendered to 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, after ...

on 27 June 1944 after commanding the 12th Infantry Division defending the town of

Mogilev Mogilev (russian: Могилёв, Mogilyov, ; yi, מאָלעוו, Molev, ) or Mahilyow ( be, Магілёў, Mahilioŭ, ) is a city in eastern Belarus, on the Dnieper River, about from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and from the bor ...

which had recently been surrounded during

Operation Bagration Operation Bagration (; russian: Операция Багратио́н, Operatsiya Bagration) was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Byelorussian strategic offensive operation (russian: Белорусская наступательная оп� ...

. The German troops in Mogilev were eventually defeated by the Soviet onslaught with the last radio message from the town coming from General Bamler requesting that "Captain Opke of Artillery Regiment 12 receive the Oak Leaves to the Knights Cross for repeated outstanding military exploits". This message was sent at 10 o'clock in the evening and received an hour and 14 minutes later, this would be the last message from Mogilev. Following his capture by Soviet troops he later defected to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

Later years

Bamler settled in

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

and worked as a

Stasi The Ministry for State Security, commonly known as the (),An abbreviation of . was the Intelligence agency, state security service of the East Germany from 1950 to 1990. The Stasi's function was similar to the KGB, serving as a means of maint ...

police officer there from 1946 until his retirement in 1962. He also held the rank of major general in the

Kasernierte Volkspolizei The Kasernierte Volkspolizei ( en, Barracked People's Police) was the precursor to the National People's Army (NVA) in East Germany. Their original headquarters was in Adlershof locality in Berlin, and from 1954 in Strausberg in modern-day Bran ...

. He died in

Groß Glienicke Groß Glienicke is a village located both in Berlin and Potsdam, the capital of the German state of Brandenburg. Until 2003, when it was merged into Potsdam, the Brandenburg—and main—side, was an autonomous municipality. The Berlin side is p ...

aged 77.Wenzke, p. 52

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bamler, Rudolf 1896 births 1972 deaths People from Osterburg (Altmark) People from the Province of Saxony Nazi Party members National Democratic Party of Germany (East Germany) politicians Socialist Unity Party of Germany members Lieutenant generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht) Major generals of the National People's Army (Ground Forces) German Army personnel of World War I Reichswehr personnel Stasi officers German defectors to the Soviet Union German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union National Committee for a Free Germany members Recipients of the Iron Cross, 1st class Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in silver Military personnel from Saxony-Anhalt