Vincenz Müller (5 November 1894 – 12 May 1961) was a military officer and

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

who served in the

Imperial German army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the leadership of Kingdom o ...

, 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 ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

, and after the war in the

National People's Army The National People's Army (, ; NVA ) were the armed forces of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (DDR) from 1956 until 1990. The NVA was organized into four branches: the (Ground Forces), the (Navy), the (Air Force) and the (Bord ...

of the (East)

German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

, where he was also a politician. Müller eventually became a member of the East German parliament, the ''

Volkskammer The Volkskammer (, "People's Chamber") was the supreme power organ of East Germany. It was the only branch of government in the state, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs were subservient to it. The Volkskammer was initia ...

'', and served as chief of staff of the National People's Army.

Early career

Müller was born in the

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria ( ; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingd ...

into a non-military family, being the son of a tanner. He completed high school at the Metten Abbey gymnasium and joined the Württemberg Army's pioneer force. As a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

he spent much of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

with the German military mission to the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. He was wounded by a grenade fragment at

Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...

, and was then transferred to

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

and the Persian Front, returning to Germany after contracting

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

and

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...

. In 1917 he returned to Turkey as a tactics instructor for Turkish officers. After the war, he continued to serve with the ''

Reichswehr ''Reichswehr'' (; ) was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first two years of Nazi Germany. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshaped ...

'' in a variety of staff roles and was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Nazi Germany

After Hitler's appointment as chancellor on 30 January 1933, Müller served from 1933 to 1935 as head of the construction of the

mobilization Mobilization (alternatively spelled as mobilisation) is the act of assembling and readying military troops and supplies for war. The word ''mobilization'' was first used in a military context in the 1850s to describe the preparation of the ...

system in the General Staff of the Military District Command VII, in Munich. His top superior was Lieutenant General

Wilhelm Adam Wilhelm Adam (28 March 1893 – 24 November 1978) was an officer in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. Following the German surrender after the Battle of Stalingrad, he became a member of the National Committee for a Free Germ ...

. He then worked until 1937 as head of the mobilization in

German General Staff 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 Imperial German Army, German Army, responsible for the continuous stu ...

of the army. After visiting the Wehrmacht Academy, Müller served from 1938 to 1940 as First General Staff Officer (Ia) of

Army Group An army group is a military organization consisting of several field army, field armies, which is self-sufficient for indefinite periods. It is usually responsible for a particular geographic area. An army group is the largest field organizatio ...

2, in

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...

. During this time he was promoted to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...

. During this period, he is known to have had some contact with the conservative anti-Nazi resistance in the army through Erwin von Witzleben, but did not commit himself as an active plotter. If his political affiliations remained unclear, Müller showed complete willingness to serve the Nazis' military plans and advance his ''Wehrmacht'' career. As a staff officer he was involved in planning Operation Tannenbaum, the aborted 1940 invasion of Switzerland, and

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

, the invasion of 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 ...

. By 1943, Müller had become a Generalleutant ( major-general) and was given command of the 56th Infantry Division, part of Fourth Army of

Army Group Centre Army Group Centre () was the name of two distinct strategic German Army Groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created during the planning of Operation Barbarossa, Germany's invasion of the So ...

. By 1944 Müller was commander of XII Corps. Müller found himself thrust into prominence during events in the

Byelorussian SSR The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, Byelorussian SSR or Byelorussia; ; ), also known as Soviet Belarus or simply Belarus, was a republic of the Soviet Union (USSR). It existed between 1920 and 1922 as an independent state, and ...

in late June 1944. Along with the rest of Fourth Army, the XII Corps was encircled east of

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

by Soviet forces during the latter's strategic offensive,

Operation Bagration Operation Bagration () was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Byelorussian strategic offensive operation (), a military campaign fought between 22 June and 19 August 1944 in Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Byelorussia in the Eastern ...

. Müller's corps was probably the least-damaged of the trapped forces, and on 3 July he was given overall command of the encircled units of Fourth Army, around 100,000 troops, which by 5 July were as much as 100 km behind Soviet lines. Despite signalling by radio that he was confident that a breakout could be achieved, Müller, who had joined the breakout attempt of the 18th Panzergrenadier Division, was captured by 8 July and most of Fourth Army was destroyed.

Soviet captivity

Müller showed a willingness to cooperate with the Soviets from the time of his capture, issuing an order to troops of the Fourth Army to lay down their weapons. During his time as a POW, Müller had an apparent change of views and professed to have become an anti-Nazi: within days of his capture he had joined the

National Committee for a Free Germany The National Committee for a Free Germany (, or NKFD) was an Anti-fascism, anti-fascist political and military organisation formed in the Soviet Union during World War II, composed mostly of German defectors from the ranks of German prisoners of ...

and the ''Bund Deutscher Offiziere'' led by Walther von Seydlitz-Kurzbach. He was one of a group of generals captured during Operation Bagration (including Edmund Hoffmeister, the commander of

XXXXI Panzer Corps XXXXI Panzer Corps (also written as: XLI Panzer Corps) was a Panzer (armoured) corps in the German German Army (Wehrmacht), Army during World War II. Operational history The corps was originally formed, as the XXXXI Corps, on 5 February 1940 in ...

, and Rudolf Bamler of the 12th Infantry Division) who became especially prominent in NKFD activity. Unlike many of his colleagues, however, Müller claimed to have become a staunch Communist. Along with Bamler, Müller is known to have attended special training in Krasnogorsk late in 1944, and is believed to have been recruited by the Soviet secret services to spy on fellow NKFD members, such as

Friedrich Paulus Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Paulus (23 September 1890 – 1 February 1957) was a German ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (Field Marshal) during World War II who is best known for his surrender of the German 6th Army (Wehrmacht), 6th Army during the Battle ...

The German Democratic Republic

Vincenz Müller was released relatively early from Soviet captivity, in 1948, and joined the National Democratic Party of Germany, the NDPD. From 1949 to 1952 he was the party's deputy chairman and was Vice-President of the East German parliament, the ''

''. During this period he is believed to have continued to act as an informant for East German state security. After 1952, Vincenz Müller returned to a military career and was given the responsibility of reconstructing East Germany's armed forces; he was returned to the rank of Lieutenant-General. After heading the Ministry of the Interior, and successfully developing the ''

Volkspolizei The (DVP, German for "German People's Police"), commonly known as the or VoPo, was the national uniformed police force of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1945 to 1990. The Volkspolizei was a highly- centralized agency re ...

'', he was appointed the Chief of Staff of the newly formed

- effectively the second-in-command of the East German military behind

Willi Stoph Wilhelm Stoph (9 July 1914 – 13 April 1999) was a German politician. He served as Council of Ministers of East Germany, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1964 to 1973, and again from ...

. Müller's later career is perhaps the most significant example of the East German regime's use of former Nazis and military officers, the so-called '' Ehemaligen'', in reconstructing its state apparatus. He was, however, known to be in favour of the independence of the NVA from the Soviet military, and to have maintained some contacts in the West through military and Bavarian circles (Western intelligence services in fact attempted to persuade Müller to defect during this period). He is also known to have conducted secret discussions with the West German Finance Minister, Fritz Schäffer, on a possible ''détente'' between East and West Germany. After being gradually sidelined, Müller retired in 1958 amidst longstanding concerns over his loyalty to the East German administration, and came under increasing pressure from the ''

Stasi The Ministry for State Security (, ; abbreviated MfS), commonly known as the (, an abbreviation of ), was the Intelligence agency, state security service and secret police of East Germany from 1950 to 1990. It was one of the most repressive pol ...

''. He was said to be suffering from

schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...

, and was hospitalised for a period in 1960; allegations also resurfaced that he had been involved in the mass killing of 1,300 Jews in Artemovsk in 1941 and the shooting of

POW POW is "prisoner of war", a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. POW or pow may also refer to: Music * P.O.W (Bullet for My Valentine song), "P.O.W" (Bull ...

s. He died in 1961, in somewhat controversial circumstances, as he fell from the balcony of his home on the day he was scheduled to return to hospital; it was rumoured that he had committed suicide when a police vehicle drew up outside. A posthumous autobiography, ''Ich fand das wahre Vaterland'' (), was published in 1963, edited by Klaus Mammach, an SED historian.

Awards and decorations

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 ...

of 1914, 1st and 2nd class *

Wound Badge The Wound Badge () was a German military decoration first promulgated by Wilhelm II, German Emperor on 3 March 1918, which was first awarded to soldiers of the Imperial German Army, German Army who were wounded during World War I. Between the worl ...

(1918) in Black * Knight's Cross Second Class of the

Friedrich Order The Friedrich Order ( or ''Friedrichsorden'') was an order of merit of the German Kingdom of Württemberg. It was instituted on 1 January 1830 by the second king of Württemberg, Wilhelm I in remembrance of his father, King Friedrich I. In 1918, ...

with Swords *

Order of the Medjidie Order of the Medjidie (, August 29, 1852 – 1922) was a military and civilian order of the Ottoman Empire. The order was instituted in 1851 by Sultan Abdulmejid I. History Instituted in 1851, the order was awarded in five classes, with the Firs ...

, 5th Class with Swords (Ottoman Empire) * Silver Liakat Medal with Swords (Ottoman Empire) * Ottoman War Medal (Turkish: ''Harp Madalyası''; "Gallipoli Star", "Iron Crescent") (Ottoman Empire) *

of 1939, 1st and 2nd class *

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 (26 January 1942) *

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 ...

(7 April 1944) *

Patriotic Order of Merit The Patriotic Order of Merit (German: ''Vaterländischer Verdienstorden'', or VVO) was a national award granted annually in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It was founded in 1954 and was awarded to individuals and institutions for outstanding ...

in Gold (East Germany)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * *Lapp, Peter: **''General bei Hitler und Ulbricht. Vincenz Müller - Eine deutsche Karriere'', Ch. Links Verlag, Berlin 2003, **''Ulbrichts Helfer. Wehrmachtsoffiziere im Dienste der DDR'', Bernard & Graefe Verlag, 2000, . *Ehlert, Hans & Wagner, Armin: ''Genosse General! Die Militärelite der DDR in biografischen Skizzen'', Ch. Links Verlag, Berlin 2003, . * Froh, Klaus, Wenzke, Rüdiger: ''Die Generale und Admirale der NVA. Ein biographisches Handbuch.'' 4. Auflage. Ch. Links Verlag, Berlin 2000, . * Küsters, Hanns Jürgen: ''Wiedervereinigung durch Konföderation? Die informellen Unterredungen zwischen Bundesminister Fritz Schäffer, NVA-General Vincenz Müller und Sowjetbotschafter Georgij Maksimowitsch Puschkin 1955/56'', in: ''Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte'' Jg. 40 (1992) Heft 1, S. 107–153. online hier

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muller, Vincenz 1894 births 1961 deaths People from Aichach Military personnel from the Kingdom of Bavaria National Democratic Party of Germany (East Germany) politicians Members of the Provisional Volkskammer Members of the 1st Volkskammer Members of the 2nd Volkskammer Military personnel from Bavaria German Army personnel of World War I Reichswehr personnel Lieutenant generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht) German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union National Committee for a Free Germany members Lieutenant generals of the National People's Army (Ground Forces) Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in gold Recipients of the Order of the Medjidie, 5th class Recipients of the Silver Liakat Medal German military personnel who died by suicide Suicides by jumping in Germany Suicides in East Germany Deaths from falls People with schizophrenia