Curt Bräuer (24 February 1889 – 8 September 1969) was a German career

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

. Born in Breslau, in what is modern-day

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, Bräuer entered service in the German foreign ministry in 1920. From 1928 to 1930, he was a member of the

German Democratic Party The German Democratic Party (, DDP) was a liberal political party in the Weimar Republic, considered centrist or centre-left. Along with the right-liberal German People's Party (, DVP), it represented political liberalism in Germany between 19 ...

. On 1 August 1935, he joined the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

. At the outbreak of

World War II 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 ...

in September 1939, Bräuer was posted at the German embassy in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Later that year, Bräuer was named as

envoy Envoy or Envoys may refer to: Diplomacy * Diplomacy, in general * Envoy (title) * Special envoy, a type of Diplomatic rank#Special envoy, diplomatic rank Brands *Airspeed Envoy, a 1930s British light transport aircraft *Envoy (automobile), an au ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, and served in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

beginning on 14 November 1939. Bräuer was Germany's representative in Norway at the time of the invasion of Norway in April 1940. Until the invasion, the official German foreign policy was to respect Norwegian neutrality, a line which Bräuer is said to have agreed with and worked toward. However, on the evening of 8 April 1940, the envoy received orders from

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

— he was to be

Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

's representative and deliver a German

ultimatum An ; ; : ultimata or ultimatums) is a demand whose fulfillment is requested in a specified period of time and which is backed up by a coercion, threat to be followed through in case of noncompliance (open loop). An ultimatum is generally the ...

for the occupation of Norway to the Norwegian government the next morning.Henrik O. Lunde. ''Hitler's Pre-Emptive War: The Battle for Norway 1940'' Casemate Publishers, Nov 1, 2010. pg. 226 The Norwegian government refused the German demands and left the capital as it became clear that Norway was becoming overrun with German troops. In the following days, Bräuer tried to convince the Norwegian government and

King Haakon VII Haakon VII (; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was King of Norway from 18 November 1905 until his death in 1957. The future Haakon VII was born in Copenhagen as Prince Carl of Denmark. He was the second son of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess ...

to capitulate and to name

Vidkun Quisling Vidkun Abraham Lauritz Jonssøn Quisling (; ; 18 July 1887 – 24 October 1945) was a Norwegian military officer, politician and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, Nazi collaborator who Quisling regime, headed the government of N ...

as prime minister. The Norwegian government refused these demands and vowed to resist the German invasion as long as possible. On 16 April, Hitler recalled Bräuer from Oslo, deciding that the Norwegian resistance to the invasion dictated that the country be administered by a more

authoritarian personality The authoritarian personality is a personality type characterized by a disposition to treat authority figures with unquestioning obedience and respect. Conceptually, the term ''authoritarian personality'' originated from the writings of Erich Fr ...

. Hitler named Josef Terboven— an enthusiastic Nazi — to assume the position of '' Reichskommissar'' for Norway. Terboven wielded near-dictatorial powers in Norway until war's end. After his recall from Norway, Bräuer left the diplomatic service and was sent to the front as a lieutenant colonel in the

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

. He spent eight years as a prisoner-of-war in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

In popular culture

Bräuer was portrayed by Austrian actor Karl Markovics in the 2016 Norwegian war film '' The King's Choice'', a role that earned him an Amanda Award 2017 for Best Actor in a Supporting Role .

In popular culture

References

See also