Oskar von Niedermayer
Encyclopedia
Oskar Ritter von Niedermayer (8 November 1885 – 25 September 1948) was a famous German
General
, professor
and adventurer. Sometimes referred to as the German Lawrence (just like Wilhelm Wassmuss
), Niedermayer is famous for having led in 1915-1916 the Indo-German-Turkish mission to Afghanistan
during World War I
to enlist Emir Habibullah Khan's support against Britain and to encourage the Emir to attack British India, which remains a famous aspect of the Hindu German Conspiracy as well as the German War Effort. Between the World Wars, Niedermayer was associated with the Universities of Munich and Berlin.
, he received within the armed forces the opportunity to study the natural sciences, geography
and the Iranian languages
. Subsequently, he was at full salary for a two-year research trip furloughs, which took him, from September 1912, through Persia and India
. Niedermayer was the first Europeans to cross the desert of Lut. Shortly before the outbreak of the First World War (1914–1918), he returned to Germany. Already on 15 December 1914 the German military leadership sent Niedermayer with a small expedition to Afghanistan (which used the methods of mimicking the traditions and understanding the way of thinking of the un-European allie) that would later by used by Lawrence of Arabia to the Arab revolt
, to try and aid the uprising of Great Britain dependent Persian Afghans and the adjacent Great Britain ruled Indian against the colonial power aufzuwiegeln. On 26 September 1915 the Niedermayer-Hentig Expedition
reached Kabul
, but there was nothing decisive in the Alignment with Germany of Emir Habibullah (26 September 1915 – May 1916), in May 1916 the return of the expedition to the Ottoman Empire
started. The dangerous return march through hostile Russian territory ended on 1 September 1916 when they arrived to the Ottoman Empire, where Niedermayer received orders of the German Military Mission in the Ottoman Empire under Field Marshal
Baron Colmar von der Goltz (1843–1916) and a new but similar mission with the Arabs of the Ottoman territory followed. In the following months, he commanded (with the remaining leaders of the Military Mission) the German troops in the Middle East. Only in March 1918, he was recalled back to Germany, where on 28 March, in the Great headquarters, he arrived. Niedermayer was awarded for his merits Militär-Max-Joseph-Orden and a post as captain of the Western Front
where he experienced the fighting in the Champagne and Flanders before the war ended.
and geography for two more semesters. There he earned his degree of a Dr. phil. summa cum laude. During this period (starting on April 29, 1919), he was also the director of the publicity department of Freikorps
Epp, the Munich city council's Republican force. On 12 December of that year Niedermayer returned to the army. Initially he served in the leadership of the 23rd Division and was adjutant to Reichswehr Minister Otto Gessler
(1875–1955). On 23 December 1921 Niedermayer officially resigned from the army, but only to work in the by-then unofficial former Soviet Union section of the German Army. Until 1932 he worked in the Reichswehr
office in Moscow
. Afterwards he returned to Germany and officially rejoined the 2nd Prussian Artillery Regiment. Already on 29 January 1933, he again resigned from active service as a lieutenant colonel
, to devote himself to an academic career. On 31 July 1933 he qualified himself for academic work with a thesis on Growth and migration in the Russian national body and took a position as a ecturer] for brigade geography and departmental policy at the University of Berlin. Four years later, on 27 July 1937, at the express request of Adolf Hitler
, Niedermayer got a job at the Institute for Compulsory Military Doctrine at Berlin University. Meantime, he was, on 1 November 1935, a reserve officer in the army. A change in his status occurred when, on 1 October 1939, a plan by the high ranks of the Wehrmacht
led to his augmentation to Military Ordinariate and he resumed his post as Colonel
in the supreme command of the Wehrmacht (OKW).
(1882–1946), the chief of OKW. Admittedly, he had the opportunity to participate in some courses, but until May 30, 1942 Niedermayer stayed with the leadership of the 162nd Turkoman Division
instructed. This was not a regular Division, but simply a bar, which was scheduled, in the hinterland of the Army Group in the South
of Ukraine
, from (Caucasian, Turkestani, Georgian, Armenian) POWs troops formed against the Soviet Union’s advance in Ukraine. This task was transferred to him, because he was known in the previous years, due to many articles and memoirs as a connoisseur of the geography and peoples of the profiled regions. The division was first installed in the Ukraine, where they and Niedermeyer were responsible for the training of the so-called "Ostlegionen
", until February 1943, and from then to autumn of 1943 they were reinstalled in Neuhammer German Reich. There the Legion was reclassified as a Division
, but it was still made of Caucasian, Georgian and Turkotartari soldiers. As commander to this division there was Niedermayer in the fight against partisan
s in the Balkans
. In March 1944, the relocation of the Ostlegion to Italy
, where they could halt the Allied advance. Within the framework of the 10th Army, the Division on 9 June 1944 for the first major deployment, in which things were not very good. But Niedermayer at this stage was no more commander of the unit. He had already (by 21 May 1944) at the request of Field Marshal Albert Kesselring
been replaced. Kesselring had few weeks before in an assessment written of Niedermayer: “The education is above average... It is, however, more scholars nature as troops body. in the decision-making and hesitant in the command leadership to slow." (Cited in: Charles W. Seidler:Ritter Oskar Niedermayer of the Second World War, in: Researchers brigadeRundschau, 4, 1970, S.203) Niedermayer became the commander of voluntary associations by the Supreme Commander of Weststaggered. His work there is not known. However, in August 1944, he now disparagingly on Hitler's Ostpolitik
. Two officers of his staff reported him what to Niedermayers arrest and indictment due to a defensive force decomposition and defeatism
. The case was before imperial court martial Torgau negotiation. Numerous friends, including Heinrich Himmler
, wrote then entries, and recalled Niedermayers merits, reaching for his input, but only by American associations from the prison in Torgau he was exempt. He was returning after the capitulation of Germany on May 9, 1945 to his hometown of Regensburg, when, in Carlsbad the Soviets arrested and sent him to a Moscow prison where he suffered from tuberculosis
. In a Russian court martial process Niedermayer was sentenced to 25 years in prison, which he was sentenced to serve in the penitentiary of Vladimir
(German: Wladimir). But after a few days there he died on 25 September 1948 in the jail's hospital.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
, professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
and adventurer. Sometimes referred to as the German Lawrence (just like Wilhelm Wassmuss
Wilhelm Wassmuss
Wilhelm Wassmuss was a German diplomat, also known as the "Wassmuss of Persia". He attempted to foment trouble for the British in the Persian Gulf in the First World War.- Birth and schooling :...
), Niedermayer is famous for having led in 1915-1916 the Indo-German-Turkish mission to Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
to enlist Emir Habibullah Khan's support against Britain and to encourage the Emir to attack British India, which remains a famous aspect of the Hindu German Conspiracy as well as the German War Effort. Between the World Wars, Niedermayer was associated with the Universities of Munich and Berlin.
Early life and career
Oskar Niedermayer came from a Regensburg official and merchant family. Early on 15 July 1905, he joined as an officer candidate in the 10th Bavarian Field Artillery Regiment (Erlangen). After being promoted to LieutenantLieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
, he received within the armed forces the opportunity to study the natural sciences, geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
and the Iranian languages
Iranian languages
The Iranian languages form a subfamily of the Indo-Iranian languages which in turn is a subgroup of Indo-European language family. They have been and are spoken by Iranian peoples....
. Subsequently, he was at full salary for a two-year research trip furloughs, which took him, from September 1912, through Persia and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Niedermayer was the first Europeans to cross the desert of Lut. Shortly before the outbreak of the First World War (1914–1918), he returned to Germany. Already on 15 December 1914 the German military leadership sent Niedermayer with a small expedition to Afghanistan (which used the methods of mimicking the traditions and understanding the way of thinking of the un-European allie) that would later by used by Lawrence of Arabia to the Arab revolt
Arab Revolt
The Arab Revolt was initiated by the Sherif Hussein bin Ali with the aim of securing independence from the ruling Ottoman Turks and creating a single unified Arab state spanning from Aleppo in Syria to Aden in Yemen.- Background :...
, to try and aid the uprising of Great Britain dependent Persian Afghans and the adjacent Great Britain ruled Indian against the colonial power aufzuwiegeln. On 26 September 1915 the Niedermayer-Hentig Expedition
Niedermayer-Hentig Expedition
The Niedermayer-Hentig Expedition was a diplomatic mission sent by the Central Powers to Afghanistan in 1915-1916. The purpose was to encourage Afghanistan to declare full independence from the United Kingdom, enter World War I on the side of the Central Powers, and attack India. The expedition was...
reached Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
, but there was nothing decisive in the Alignment with Germany of Emir Habibullah (26 September 1915 – May 1916), in May 1916 the return of the expedition to the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
started. The dangerous return march through hostile Russian territory ended on 1 September 1916 when they arrived to the Ottoman Empire, where Niedermayer received orders of the German Military Mission in the Ottoman Empire under Field Marshal
Field Marshal
Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...
Baron Colmar von der Goltz (1843–1916) and a new but similar mission with the Arabs of the Ottoman territory followed. In the following months, he commanded (with the remaining leaders of the Military Mission) the German troops in the Middle East. Only in March 1918, he was recalled back to Germany, where on 28 March, in the Great headquarters, he arrived. Niedermayer was awarded for his merits Militär-Max-Joseph-Orden and a post as captain of the Western Front
Western Front
Western Front was a term used during the First and Second World Wars to describe the contested armed frontier between lands controlled by Germany to the east and the Allies to the west...
where he experienced the fighting in the Champagne and Flanders before the war ended.
Between wars
At the end of World War I, Niedermayer was on leave and had an opportunity at the University of Munich to study literatureLiterature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
and geography for two more semesters. There he earned his degree of a Dr. phil. summa cum laude. During this period (starting on April 29, 1919), he was also the director of the publicity department of Freikorps
Freikorps
Freikorps are German volunteer military or paramilitary units. The term was originally applied to voluntary armies formed in German lands from the middle of the 18th century onwards. Between World War I and World War II the term was also used for the paramilitary organizations that arose during...
Epp, the Munich city council's Republican force. On 12 December of that year Niedermayer returned to the army. Initially he served in the leadership of the 23rd Division and was adjutant to Reichswehr Minister Otto Gessler
Otto Gessler
Otto Karl Gessler was a German politician during the Weimar Republic. From 1910 until 1914, he was mayor of Regensburg and from 1913 to 1919 mayor of Nuremberg. He served in Weimar cabinets from 1919 until 1928, usually as Minister of Defence.-Biography:Gessler was born in Ludwigsburg in the...
(1875–1955). On 23 December 1921 Niedermayer officially resigned from the army, but only to work in the by-then unofficial former Soviet Union section of the German Army. Until 1932 he worked in the Reichswehr
Reichswehr
The Reichswehr formed the military organisation of Germany from 1919 until 1935, when it was renamed the Wehrmacht ....
office in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. Afterwards he returned to Germany and officially rejoined the 2nd Prussian Artillery Regiment. Already on 29 January 1933, he again resigned from active service as a lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
, to devote himself to an academic career. On 31 July 1933 he qualified himself for academic work with a thesis on Growth and migration in the Russian national body and took a position as a ecturer] for brigade geography and departmental policy at the University of Berlin. Four years later, on 27 July 1937, at the express request of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
, Niedermayer got a job at the Institute for Compulsory Military Doctrine at Berlin University. Meantime, he was, on 1 November 1935, a reserve officer in the army. A change in his status occurred when, on 1 October 1939, a plan by the high ranks of the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
led to his augmentation to Military Ordinariate and he resumed his post as Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
in the supreme command of the Wehrmacht (OKW).
Second World War
By the beginning of the Second World War (1939–1945) the Nazi leadership called Niedermayer to use in the armed forces, either at the Front or with a contribution of his institute in the management of occupied Poland. As the Wehrmacht leadership had not responded, he asked some friend generals to advocacate for an active role in the war for him. Nevertheless he rejected the High Command of the Army’s request on February 20, 1941 again. Thus Niedermayer turned down on 25 May 1941 again personally to Wilhelm KeitelWilhelm Keitel
Wilhelm Bodewin Gustav Keitel was a German field marshal . As head of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht and de facto war minister, he was one of Germany's most senior military leaders during World War II...
(1882–1946), the chief of OKW. Admittedly, he had the opportunity to participate in some courses, but until May 30, 1942 Niedermayer stayed with the leadership of the 162nd Turkoman Division
162nd Turkoman Division
The 162nd Turkoman Division was a military division that was formed by the German Army during the Second World War. It drew its men from prisoners of war or refugees who came from the Caucasus and from Turkic lands further east. The soldiers were trained at Neuhammer...
instructed. This was not a regular Division, but simply a bar, which was scheduled, in the hinterland of the Army Group in the South
Army Group South
Army Group South was the name of a number of German Army Groups during World War II.- Poland campaign :Germany used two army groups to invade Poland in 1939: Army Group North and Army Group South...
of Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, from (Caucasian, Turkestani, Georgian, Armenian) POWs troops formed against the Soviet Union’s advance in Ukraine. This task was transferred to him, because he was known in the previous years, due to many articles and memoirs as a connoisseur of the geography and peoples of the profiled regions. The division was first installed in the Ukraine, where they and Niedermeyer were responsible for the training of the so-called "Ostlegionen
Ostlegionen
Ostlegionen or Osttruppen were conscripts and volunteers from the occupied eastern territories recruited into the German Army of the Third Reich during the Second World War....
", until February 1943, and from then to autumn of 1943 they were reinstalled in Neuhammer German Reich. There the Legion was reclassified as a Division
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
, but it was still made of Caucasian, Georgian and Turkotartari soldiers. As commander to this division there was Niedermayer in the fight against partisan
Partisan (military)
A partisan is a member of an irregular military force formed to oppose control of an area by a foreign power or by an army of occupation by some kind of insurgent activity...
s in the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
. In March 1944, the relocation of the Ostlegion to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, where they could halt the Allied advance. Within the framework of the 10th Army, the Division on 9 June 1944 for the first major deployment, in which things were not very good. But Niedermayer at this stage was no more commander of the unit. He had already (by 21 May 1944) at the request of Field Marshal Albert Kesselring
Albert Kesselring
Albert Kesselring was a German Luftwaffe Generalfeldmarschall during World War II. In a military career that spanned both World Wars, Kesselring became one of Nazi Germany's most skilful commanders, being one of 27 soldiers awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords...
been replaced. Kesselring had few weeks before in an assessment written of Niedermayer: “The education is above average... It is, however, more scholars nature as troops body. in the decision-making and hesitant in the command leadership to slow." (Cited in: Charles W. Seidler:Ritter Oskar Niedermayer of the Second World War, in: Researchers brigadeRundschau, 4, 1970, S.203) Niedermayer became the commander of voluntary associations by the Supreme Commander of Weststaggered. His work there is not known. However, in August 1944, he now disparagingly on Hitler's Ostpolitik
Ostpolitik
Neue Ostpolitik , or Ostpolitik for short, refers to the normalization of relations between the Federal Republic of Germany and Eastern Europe, particularly the German Democratic Republic beginning in 1969...
. Two officers of his staff reported him what to Niedermayers arrest and indictment due to a defensive force decomposition and defeatism
Defeatism
Defeatism is acceptance of defeat without struggle. In everyday use, defeatism has negative connotation and is often linked to treason and pessimism, or even a hopeless situation such as a Catch-22...
. The case was before imperial court martial Torgau negotiation. Numerous friends, including Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
, wrote then entries, and recalled Niedermayers merits, reaching for his input, but only by American associations from the prison in Torgau he was exempt. He was returning after the capitulation of Germany on May 9, 1945 to his hometown of Regensburg, when, in Carlsbad the Soviets arrested and sent him to a Moscow prison where he suffered from tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
. In a Russian court martial process Niedermayer was sentenced to 25 years in prison, which he was sentenced to serve in the penitentiary of Vladimir
Vladimir
Vladimir is a city and the administrative center of Vladimir Oblast, Russia, located on the Klyazma River, to the east of Moscow along the M7 motorway. Population:...
(German: Wladimir). But after a few days there he died on 25 September 1948 in the jail's hospital.
Works
- My return from Afghanistan,Munich 1918.
- The inland basins of the Iranian high country, Munich 1918.
- Afghanistan' , Leipzig 1924.
- Under the scorching sun-Iran war experiences of the German expedition to Persia and Afghanistan,
- Dachau 1925.brigade
- Geographical considerationof the Soviet Union, Berlin 1933.
- Sowjet-Rußland-* A geopolitical problem , Berlin 1934.brigade
- *Policy-An introduction and definition, Leipzig 1939.brigade
- Geographic Atlas of France, Berlin 1939.
- soldiering and Science, Hamburg 1940.* Geography Department at Examplein Russia, Berlin 1940.brigade
- Geographic Atlas of Great Britain, Berlin 1940.war
- and Science, in:The Kingdom21 / 1941.brigade
- Geographic Atlas of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics,Berlin 1941. *'Geography Department, Berlin 1942.