Michael Achmeteli
Encyclopedia
Michael Achmeteli (1895 – 1963) was a Georgian
émigré scholar, an expert on Soviet
agriculture
and sometime chief of Wannsee Institut, the SS-controlled research institute of Soviet studies in Nazi Germany
.
Born in Borjomi
, south-central Georgia, then part of the Russian Empire
, Achmeteli studied at the University of Kharkov between 1915 and 1917 and was sponsored by the government of the newly independent Georgia
to continue his studies at the University of Jena in 1919. The Soviet takeover of Georgia
precluded him from returning to his homeland. Achmeteli obtained a doctorate at Jena in 1925 and joined the Institute of Eastern Europe
in Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland
) in 1926. In 1937, the Nazi leadership transformed part of this institute into its own research institution located near Berlin
, the Wannsee Institut. Achmeteli was made the director of this new institute. He was initially on friendly terms with Alfred Rosenberg
and the authorities expected him to provide the expertise on Soviet economy. Under the pseudonym
Konstantin Michael, he wrote a book on Soviet agriculture and forced collectivization. He was dismissed as the chief of Wannsee Institut in 1940. During the World War II
years, he chaired a Berlin-based Georgian National Committee, which focused on delivering Soviet Georgian POWs from the Nazi concentration camps
through recruiting them into the Georgian Legion. After the war, Achmeteli settled in Munich
and worked as professor at the Ludwig Maximilian University. He remained in opposition to the Soviet rule in Georgia and participated in the Anti-Bolshevik Bloc of Nations
.
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
émigré scholar, an expert on Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
and sometime chief of Wannsee Institut, the SS-controlled research institute of Soviet studies in Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
.
Born in Borjomi
Borjomi
Borjomi is a resort town in south-central Georgia with a population estimated at 14,445. It is one of the districts of the Samtskhe-Javakheti region and is situated in the northwestern part of the region in the picturesque Borjomi Gorge on the eastern edge of the Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park...
, south-central Georgia, then part of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, Achmeteli studied at the University of Kharkov between 1915 and 1917 and was sponsored by the government of the newly independent Georgia
Democratic Republic of Georgia
The Democratic Republic of Georgia , 1918–1921, was the first modern establishment of a Republic of Georgia.The DRG was created after the collapse of the Russian Empire that began with the Russian Revolution of 1917...
to continue his studies at the University of Jena in 1919. The Soviet takeover of Georgia
Red Army invasion of Georgia
The Red Army invasion of Georgia also known as the Soviet–Georgian War or the Soviet invasion of Georgia was a military campaign by the Soviet Russian Red Army against the Democratic Republic of Georgia aimed at overthrowing the Social-Democratic government and installing the Bolshevik regime...
precluded him from returning to his homeland. Achmeteli obtained a doctorate at Jena in 1925 and joined the Institute of Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
in Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
) in 1926. In 1937, the Nazi leadership transformed part of this institute into its own research institution located near Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, the Wannsee Institut. Achmeteli was made the director of this new institute. He was initially on friendly terms with Alfred Rosenberg
Alfred Rosenberg
' was an early and intellectually influential member of the Nazi Party. Rosenberg was first introduced to Adolf Hitler by Dietrich Eckart; he later held several important posts in the Nazi government...
and the authorities expected him to provide the expertise on Soviet economy. Under the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Konstantin Michael, he wrote a book on Soviet agriculture and forced collectivization. He was dismissed as the chief of Wannsee Institut in 1940. During the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
years, he chaired a Berlin-based Georgian National Committee, which focused on delivering Soviet Georgian POWs from the Nazi concentration camps
Nazi concentration camps
Nazi Germany maintained concentration camps throughout the territories it controlled. The first Nazi concentration camps set up in Germany were greatly expanded after the Reichstag fire of 1933, and were intended to hold political prisoners and opponents of the regime...
through recruiting them into the Georgian Legion. After the war, Achmeteli settled in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
and worked as professor at the Ludwig Maximilian University. He remained in opposition to the Soviet rule in Georgia and participated in the Anti-Bolshevik Bloc of Nations
Anti-Bolshevik Bloc of Nations
Anti-Bolshevik Bloc of Nations was a co-ordinating center for anti-Communist émigré political organizations from Soviet and other socialist countries. The A.B.N. formation dates back to an underground conference of representatives of non-Russian peoples that took place on November 1943, near...
.