Karl-Günther von Hase (15 December 1917 – 9 May 2021) was a German diplomat and Secretary of state. As head of the Press and Information Office of the Federal Government, he served as spokesman of government under three chancellors. He was ambassador to the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1977. He was then

Director General A director general, general director or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''general directors'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'') is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer ...

of the

ZDF ZDF (), short for (; ), is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Launched on 1 April 1963, it is run as an independent nonprofit institution, and was founded by all federal states of Germany ( ...

, a German public-service television broadcaster, retiring in 1982.

Life

Hase was born in Gut Wangern, Breslau,

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

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 States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

(now

Gmina Żórawina __NOTOC__ Gmina Żórawina is a rural gmina (administrative district) in Wrocław County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. Its seat is the village of Żórawina, which lies approximately south of the regional capital Wrocław. ...

, Poland). His father, Günther von Hase (1881–1948) was a Prussian

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

and a police officer from 1920 to 1934, ending his career as a Oberst der Landespolizei and Stabschef in Berlin. His mother was Ina von Hase née Hicketier (1882–1972). He attended the humanistic in Berlin, completing with the

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 1935. He entered a military career as a

Fahnenjunker ''Fahnenjunker'' (short Fhj or FJ, ; ) is a military rank of the Bundeswehr and of some former German armed forces. In earlier German armed forces it was also the collective name for many officer aspirant ranks. It was established by the ''Pre ...

of the Artillerieregiment 19 Hannover / Celle, studying at the ''Kriegsschule'' Potsdam in 1936/37. Hase served 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 ...

in World War II on fronts in Poland, France, Russia (where he was wounded in 1942), and Italy. He was a

in the

Generalstab The German General Staff, originally the Prussian General Staff and officially the Great General Staff (), was a full-time body at the head of the Prussian Army and later, the German Army, responsible for the continuous study of all aspects of ...

. After his uncle

Paul von Hase Karl Paul Immanuel von Hase (24 July 1885 – 8 August 1944) was a Nazi Germany, German career soldier and figured among the members of the German_resistance_to_Nazism, resistance against Adolf Hitler's Nazism, Nazi regime. Life Von Hase was bo ...

participated in the

20 July plot The 20 July plot, sometimes referred to as Operation Valkyrie, was a failed attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler, the chancellor and leader of Nazi Germany, and overthrow the Nazi regime on 20 July 1944. The plotters were part of the German r ...

and was executed, he was dismissed from the Generalstab and sent to Schneidemühl, now in Poland. Hase married Renate Stumpff, the daughter of

Generaloberst A ("colonel general") was the second-highest general officer rank in the German '' Reichswehr'' and ''Wehrmacht'', the Austro-Hungarian Common Army, the East German National People's Army and in their respective police services. The rank w ...

Hans-Jürgen Stumpff Hans-Jürgen Stumpff (15 June 1889 – 9 March 1968) was a German general during World War II and was one of the signatories to Germany's unconditional surrender at the end of the war. Military career Stumpff joined the Grenadier Regiment "Pr ...

, on 13 February 1945 in a ' (a wartime remote wedding), and they later had five daughters. He was a prisoner of war in Russia, returning in 1949. Hase attended a school for diplomats in

Speyer Speyer (, older spelling ; ; ), historically known in English as Spires, is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in the western part of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the r ...

in 1951, which at the time accepted students without a university background. Hase had his first job in the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...

in 1952. In 1958, he became director of its press department, a secretary of state function. From 1961, he was head of the department West II, responsible for the NATO, defense, Great Britain, U.S., Central America and South America, and Africa south of the Sahara. Hase became director of the press and information office of the Federal Government ('')'' in 1962, serving as spokesman of the federal government (''Regierungssprecher'') under chancellors

Adenauer Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a German statesman and politician who served as the first chancellor of West Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the first leader of the Christian Democrati ...

Erhard Erhard is a male German given name and surname, and may refer to: People *Erhard of Regensburg, bishop of Regensburg in the 7th century *Erhard Altdorfer (c. 1480–1561), German Early Renaissance printmaker, painter and architect *Erhard Arnold Ju ...

and Kiesinger. In 1967, he was elected as Intendant of the broadcaster

Deutsche Welle (; "German Wave"), commonly shortened to DW (), is a German state-funded television network, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the Federal Government of Germany. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite tele ...

, but he was requested by Kiesinger to not accept the position. Instead, he was secretary of state for the

Ministry of Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

. In 1969 when a social-liberal coalition ruled, he returned to the foreign office. He served as an ambassador to the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1977. Hase then became

(''Intendant'') of the

, a German public-service television broadcaster, succeeding its first Intendant,

Karl Holzamer Johannes Karl Holzamer (October 13, 1906 – April 22, 2007) was a German Philosophy, philosopher, Pedagogy, pedagogue and former director general of the German television station ZDF. Life Karl Holzamer was born in Frankfurt am Main and a ...

. He had little experience with broadcasting, but was a compromise candidate because other candidates could not find a majority; Hase offered diplomatic skills and a vision for the future. He is credited with expanding collaboration with broadcasters internationally during his tenure. Series were begun at the time that have continued to this day, including

heute-journal ''heute-journal'' (roughly ''Today's Journal'') is a German television news program broadcast on ZDF. History The programme premiered on 2 January 1978 as a late weekday evening 20 minute program. Originally, it was broadcast at 9 p.m. Monday ...

, '' Wetten, dass..?'', and

Politbarometer The Politbarometer (lit. ''political barometer'') is a long-standing Germany, German election poll and television program on ZDF. The program is aired monthly, usually on Friday evenings. During the program, the survey results are presented. The su ...

. He promoted technical innovations such as

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

satellite television Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location.ITU Radio Regulations, Section IV. Radio Stations and Systems ...

, and

teletext Teletext, or broadcast teletext, is a standard for displaying text and rudimentary graphics on suitably equipped television sets. Teletext sends data in the broadcast signal, hidden in the invisible vertical blanking interval area at the to ...

. After his retirement, Hase lived with his wife in

Bad Godesberg Bad Godesberg () is a borough () of Bonn, southern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. From 1949 to 1999, while Bonn was the capital of the Federal Republic of Germany, most foreign embassies were in Bad Godesberg. Some buildings are still used as br ...

. He was honorary president of the German-English Society, and kept contact with military associations, the foreign office, the ZDF, and the federal press office. Hase

turned 100 A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100. Because life expectancies at birth worldwide are well below 100, the term is invariably associated with longevity. The United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living centenarian ...

in December 2017 and died in May 2021 at the age of 103.

Publications

Hase's publications, all in German, include: * * * * * * (Imprint of Wissenschaftliche Verlagsanstalt zur Pflege Deutschen Sinngutes) * * * (part of the )

Awards

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

(1939) ** 2nd Class (28 May 1940) ** 1st Class (26 June 1940) *

German Cross The War Order of the German Cross (), normally abbreviated to the German Cross or ''Deutsches Kreuz'', was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941. It was awarded in two divisions: in gold for repeated acts of bravery or military leade ...

in Gold on 11 February 1943 as ''

Hauptmann () is an officer rank in the armies of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It is usually translated as ''captain''. Background While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has, and originally had, the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literall ...

'' in the 3./Panzer-Artillerie-Regiment 92 *

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. While it was order of precedence, lower in preceden ...

on 12 February 1945 as ''

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

'' and general staff officer with the commander of the fortress Schneidemühl (''Ia'' (operations officer) Panzer-Division "Holstein") * Austrian Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold with Star (1964) *

Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

(1965) * Orden wider den tierischen Ernst 1967 *

Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

(1972) *

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

1982 * Honorary doctorate of the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

, in Law

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hase, Karl-Gunther von 1917 births 2021 deaths Ambassadors of West Germany to the United Kingdom Christian Democratic Union of Germany politicians German men centenarians German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany People from the Province of Silesia Military personnel from Wrocław Politicians from Wrocław Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Grand Decoration with Star for Services to the Republic of Austria Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross ZDF people Deutsche Welle Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order German Army officers of World War II