Richard Alexander Conrad Bernhard Burkard von Müllenheim-Rechberg (

Spandau Spandau () is the westernmost of the 12 boroughs of Berlin, boroughs () of Berlin, situated at the confluence (geography), confluence of the Havel and Spree (river), Spree rivers and extending along the western bank of the Havel. It is the smalle ...

, 25 June 1910 — Herrsching am Ammersee, 1 June 2003) was a German diplomat and author. After his career as a naval officer in the ''

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi 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 It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic.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 military branch, branche ...

'', he entered the diplomatic career of the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen constituent states have a total population of over 84 ...

. He was the highest-ranking survivor of the battleship Bismarck.

Early life

Burkard

Freiherr (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , ) and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and in ...

von Müllenheim-Rechberg was a member of the Müllenheim family, an old

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

family which originated from

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

. After receiving his ''

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

'' in 1929, he entered the Reichsmarine, the

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

navy. He became an aide to the German

military attaché A military attaché or defence attaché (DA),Defence Attachés
''Geneva C ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Second World War

At the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, von Müllenheim-Rechberg served on several vessels. In May 1941, he experienced the sinking of the battleship Bismarck as fourth artillery officer with the rank of lieutenant commander, thereby becoming the highest-ranking survivor of the ship. He was rescued by the British cruiser ''

Dorsetshire Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to th ...

'' and, after initial detention in England, was transported to Canada to the

Bowmanville POW camp The Bowmanville POW camp, also known as ''Camp 30'', was a Canada administered Prisoner of war camp, POW camp for German soldiers during World War II located on 2020 Lambs Road in the community of Bowmanville, Ontario in Clarington, Ontario, Can ...

Bowmanville, Ontario Bowmanville is a community of approximately 40,000 people located in the Municipality of Clarington, Regional Municipality of Durham, Durham Region, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately east of Toronto, and east of Oshawa along Highway 2 (Ontar ...

, from early April 1942 until it closed in April 1945. He was later brought back to England in spring 1946 in preparation for repatriation. On 1 February 1943, he was promoted to the rank of

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

Diplomatic career

From 1947 to 1949, von Müllenheim-Rechberg studied at the University of Frankfurt. In 1949, he passed the state examination in

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

. In 1952, he entered the diplomatic service of the

Federal Foreign Office The Federal Foreign Office (, ; abbreviated AA) is the Foreign minister, foreign ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany, a federal agency (Germany), federal agency responsible for both the country's foreign policy and its relationship with ...

. He was a member of the West German

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

delegation in Paris in 1955 and participated at the NATO conference in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

in 1956. In 1965, he became the West German ambassador to the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

during the tenure of

Moïse Tshombe Moïse Kapenda Tshombe (sometimes written Tshombé; 10 November 1919 – 29 June 1969) was a List of people from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congolese businessman and politician. He served as the president of the secessionist State of ...

as a

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

. von Müllenheim-Rechberg would later write a book about Tshombe's kidnapping by Francis Bodenan in 1967 and his death during his imprisonment in

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

in 1969. He continued his diplomatic career as a

consul general A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

in Toronto in 1968. That same year, he received the Grand Cross 1st Class of the Federal Republic of Germany. He ended his diplomatic career as his country's ambassador to

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

from 1971 to 1975.

Publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mullenheim-Rechberg, Burkard Freiherr von 1910 births 2003 deaths Ambassadors of Germany to the Democratic Republic of the Congo Ambassadors of West Germany German battleship Bismarck Reichsmarine personnel Kriegsmarine personnel Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany German barons People of the Congo Crisis