Waldemar Pabst
Encyclopedia
Waldemar Pabst was a German
soldier and political activist involved in far right
and anti-communist activity in both his homeland and Austria
.
, Pabst joined the Garde-Kavallerie-Schützen-Division in March 1918, late in World War I
. As chief of general staff, Pabst converted the regiment from cavalry to infantry. The regiment would become noted as the fiercest counter-revolutionary force in Germany at the time.
Pabst first came to prominence during the Communist and left-wing up risings that immediately followed the war. As commander of the rifle guard, Captain Pabst was instrumental in such actions as the recapture of the Vorwärts
building on 11-12 January 1919. His actions saw him promoted to the role of Chief of Staff, and as such effectively commander, of the Horse Guards Division, an important Freikorps
unit. He saw Bolshevism as a world danger and took part in anti-revolutionary activities across Germany. He was also active with Russian émigrés
, founding the Russian National Political Committee under the presidency of General Vladimir Biskupskii.
It was Pabst who gave the order that the captured Communist leaders Rosa Luxemburg
and Karl Liebknecht
should be killed, and he would later boast that "I had them executed". At the time however his official report claimed that he had taken them into protective custody but that they had been lost to an angry mob, a story which was quickly dismissed as fabrication. Some of Pabst's lieutenants, including Horst von Pflugk-Harttung and Kurt Vogel, faced court martial for the killings although Pabst managed to ensure that his ally Wilhelm Canaris
was in charge of proceedings and as a result the stiffest penalty handed down was the dismissal from service and two years imprisonment given to Vogel (whom witnesses had seen disposing of Luxemburg's body). Pabst himself was not brought to court martial. Indeed Pabst's Freikorps Mördenzentrale, a centre for summary execution based in the Hotel Eden, saw many other Communist Party of Germany
members killed as well.
in Latvia
. However he was soon back in Germany and became involved in the Nationale Vereinigung (National Union), a right-wing think tank formed by Wolfgang Kapp
, Erich Ludendorff
and others and was central to the group's conspiracy to establish a rightist dictatorship. He served this group as secretary and supervisor of administrative affairs. In July 1919 Pabst attempted to organise a coup when he convinced his superior General Heinrich von Hofmann, the official commander of the Horse Guards Division, to march on Berlin
in order to crush an alleged Communist uprising. However with the troops already in the city's suburbs General Georg Ludwig Rudolf Maercker got wind of the plot and convinced General von Hofmann that it was a bad idea. With this plan thwarted Pabst and the conspirators shifted their attention away from the Reichswehr
and on to the disillusioned veterans of the Freikorps.
Pabst played a leading role in the failed Kapp Putsch
and, along with Wolfgang Kapp
and the Marinebrigade Ehrhardt
of Hermann Ehrhardt
, was named by Gustav Noske
as having the main responsibility for the action, even though it actually had support from higher up in the Reichswehr. In the immediate aftermath of the putsch Pabst took refuge in Miklós Horthy
's Hungary
where he was soon joined by co-conspirator Walther von Lüttwitz
.
. In Austria he linked up with the Heimwehr
in Tyrol
and played a central role in ensuring that the sometimes shaky dual leadership of Richard Steidle
and Walter Pfrimer
remained united. In Austria Pabst proved vital in organising and disciplining the followers of the Heimwehr. Such was his organisational skill that Pabst, who declared himself a Major after fleeing to Austria, became known as Waldemar der Grosse to his Heimwehr units.
Pabst was initially close to Johann Schober
and won his support in 1929 when he suggested repositioning the Heimwehr as a pro-government political party. However Schober's attempts to convert the Heimwehr into a force for pro-government moderation soon floundered and he ordered the deportation
of Pabst, by then recognised as the main organisational force behind the Heimwehr, to Germany the following year. With Pabst removed Schober was able to ensure the removal of Steidle and his replacement as leader by the more compliant Ernst Rüdiger Starhemberg
.
. He was vaguely linked to the Nazi Party, without ever joining or becoming particularly active on the party's behalf, but he did seek to forge three-way links between the Heimwehr, the Wehrmacht
and his friend Walther Funk
. Such efforts however were hamstrung somewhat by the fact that the Heimwehr had gone into steep decline following Pabst's deportation.
Settling into civilian life, he became an industrialist and eventually Director of Rheinmetall Borsig
in Berlin
. Pabst's non-involvement in Nazism
given his history in the far right raised some suspicions and rumours circulated that he had been in contact with Wilhelm Canaris
and similar figures on the right of the German resistance
. Such rumours were never proven but Pabst did leave Germany not long before the 20 July plot and it has been suggested that he may have been aware that the attempt on Adolf Hitler
's life was about to take place.
Having left Germany, Pabst settled in Switzerland
where he took a post with the arms manufacturer Oerlikon. Following the Second World War, Pabst took some involvement in the activities of the neo-Nazi bruderschaften, small groups that existed across Europe
and which attempted to co-ordinate their political activism. He returned to Germany in 1955, settling in Düsseldorf, and there became involved with the far right Deutsche Gemeinschaft, a minor group that was later absorbed into the Deutsche Reichspartei
. He died in Düsseldorf in 1970 at the age of 89.
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...
soldier and political activist involved in far right
Far right
Far-right, extreme right, hard right, radical right, and ultra-right are terms used to discuss the qualitative or quantitative position a group or person occupies within right-wing politics. Far-right politics may involve anti-immigration and anti-integration stances towards groups that are...
and anti-communist activity in both his homeland and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
Anti-communism
The son of a director of a museum Pabst followed a career in the German Imperial Army from an early age. Under the order of General Erich LudendorffErich Ludendorff
Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff was a German general, victor of Liège and of the Battle of Tannenberg...
, Pabst joined the Garde-Kavallerie-Schützen-Division in March 1918, late in 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...
. As chief of general staff, Pabst converted the regiment from cavalry to infantry. The regiment would become noted as the fiercest counter-revolutionary force in Germany at the time.
Pabst first came to prominence during the Communist and left-wing up risings that immediately followed the war. As commander of the rifle guard, Captain Pabst was instrumental in such actions as the recapture of the Vorwärts
Vorwärts
Vorwärts was the central organ of the Social Democratic Party of Germany published daily in Berlin from 1891 to 1933 by decision of the party's Halle Congress, as the successor of Berliner Volksblatt, founded in 1884....
building on 11-12 January 1919. His actions saw him promoted to the role of Chief of Staff, and as such effectively commander, of the Horse Guards Division, an important 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...
unit. He saw Bolshevism as a world danger and took part in anti-revolutionary activities across Germany. He was also active with Russian émigrés
White Emigre
A white émigré was a Russian who emigrated from Russia in the wake of the Russian Revolution and Russian Civil War, and who was in opposition to the contemporary Russian political climate....
, founding the Russian National Political Committee under the presidency of General Vladimir Biskupskii.
It was Pabst who gave the order that the captured Communist leaders Rosa Luxemburg
Rosa Luxemburg
Rosa Luxemburg was a Marxist theorist, philosopher, economist and activist of Polish Jewish descent who became a naturalized German citizen...
and Karl Liebknecht
Karl Liebknecht
was a German socialist and a co-founder with Rosa Luxemburg of the Spartacist League and the Communist Party of Germany. He is best known for his opposition to World War I in the Reichstag and his role in the Spartacist uprising of 1919...
should be killed, and he would later boast that "I had them executed". At the time however his official report claimed that he had taken them into protective custody but that they had been lost to an angry mob, a story which was quickly dismissed as fabrication. Some of Pabst's lieutenants, including Horst von Pflugk-Harttung and Kurt Vogel, faced court martial for the killings although Pabst managed to ensure that his ally Wilhelm Canaris
Wilhelm Canaris
Wilhelm Franz Canaris was a German admiral, head of the Abwehr, the German military intelligence service, from 1935 to 1944 and member of the German Resistance.- Early life and World War I :...
was in charge of proceedings and as a result the stiffest penalty handed down was the dismissal from service and two years imprisonment given to Vogel (whom witnesses had seen disposing of Luxemburg's body). Pabst himself was not brought to court martial. Indeed Pabst's Freikorps Mördenzentrale, a centre for summary execution based in the Hotel Eden, saw many other Communist Party of Germany
Communist Party of Germany
The Communist Party of Germany was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period until it was banned in 1956...
members killed as well.
Kapp Putsch
Pabst briefly left Germany to take on a role advising Major Alfred Fletcher, the commander of the Baltische LandeswehrBaltische Landeswehr
Baltische Landeswehr was the name of the unified armed forces of the Couronian and Livonian nobility from 7 December 1918 to 3 July 1919.- Command structure :...
in Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
. However he was soon back in Germany and became involved in the Nationale Vereinigung (National Union), a right-wing think tank formed by Wolfgang Kapp
Wolfgang Kapp
Wolfgang Kapp was a Prussian civil servant and journalist. He was a strict nationalist, and a nominal leader of the so-called Kapp Putsch.-Early life:...
, Erich Ludendorff
Erich Ludendorff
Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff was a German general, victor of Liège and of the Battle of Tannenberg...
and others and was central to the group's conspiracy to establish a rightist dictatorship. He served this group as secretary and supervisor of administrative affairs. In July 1919 Pabst attempted to organise a coup when he convinced his superior General Heinrich von Hofmann, the official commander of the Horse Guards Division, to march on 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...
in order to crush an alleged Communist uprising. However with the troops already in the city's suburbs General Georg Ludwig Rudolf Maercker got wind of the plot and convinced General von Hofmann that it was a bad idea. With this plan thwarted Pabst and the conspirators shifted their attention away from the Reichswehr
Reichswehr
The Reichswehr formed the military organisation of Germany from 1919 until 1935, when it was renamed the Wehrmacht ....
and on to the disillusioned veterans of the Freikorps.
Pabst played a leading role in the failed Kapp Putsch
Kapp Putsch
The Kapp Putsch — or more accurately the Kapp-Lüttwitz Putsch — was a 1920 coup attempt during the German Revolution of 1918–1919 aimed at overthrowing the Weimar Republic...
and, along with Wolfgang Kapp
Wolfgang Kapp
Wolfgang Kapp was a Prussian civil servant and journalist. He was a strict nationalist, and a nominal leader of the so-called Kapp Putsch.-Early life:...
and the Marinebrigade Ehrhardt
Marinebrigade Ehrhardt
The Marinebrigade Ehrhardt was a Free Corps group of around 6,000 men formed by Captain Hermann Ehrhardt in the aftermath of World War I, also known as II Marine Brigade or the Ehrhardt Brigade...
of Hermann Ehrhardt
Hermann Ehrhardt
Hermann Ehrhardt was a German Freikorps commander during the period of turmoil in Weimar Republic Germany from 1918 to 1920, he commanded the famous II.Marine Brigade, better known as the Ehrhardt Brigade or Marinebrigade Ehrhardt.Born in Diersburg, now part of Hohberg, Baden-Württemberg, he later...
, was named by Gustav Noske
Gustav Noske
Gustav Noske was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany . He served as the first Minister of Defence of Germany between 1919 and 1920.-Biography:...
as having the main responsibility for the action, even though it actually had support from higher up in the Reichswehr. In the immediate aftermath of the putsch Pabst took refuge in Miklós Horthy
Miklós Horthy
Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya was the Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary during the interwar years and throughout most of World War II, serving from 1 March 1920 to 15 October 1944. Horthy was styled "His Serene Highness the Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary" .Admiral Horthy was an officer of the...
's Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
where he was soon joined by co-conspirator Walther von Lüttwitz
Walther von Lüttwitz
Walther von Lüttwitz was a German general known for his involvement in the Kapp-Lüttwitz Putsch.Lüttwitz was born in Bodland near Kreuzburg in Upper Silesia. During World War I, Lüttwitz held several high military ranks...
.
Austria
Pabst eventually went to Austria, settling in the city of InnsbruckInnsbruck
- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...
. In Austria he linked up with the Heimwehr
Heimwehr
The Heimwehr or sometimes Heimatschutz were a Nationalist, initially paramilitary group operating within Austria during the 1920s and 1930s; they were similar in methods, organisation, and ideology to Germany's Freikorps...
in Tyrol
Tyrol (state)
Tyrol is a state or Bundesland, located in the west of Austria. It comprises the Austrian part of the historical region of Tyrol.The state is split into two parts–called North Tyrol and East Tyrol–by a -wide strip of land where the state of Salzburg borders directly on the Italian province of...
and played a central role in ensuring that the sometimes shaky dual leadership of Richard Steidle
Richard Steidle
Richard Steidle was an Austrian lawyer and the leader of the paramilitary Heimwehr in Tyrol...
and Walter Pfrimer
Walter Pfrimer
Walter Pfrimer was an Austrian politician and leader of the Heimwehr in Styria...
remained united. In Austria Pabst proved vital in organising and disciplining the followers of the Heimwehr. Such was his organisational skill that Pabst, who declared himself a Major after fleeing to Austria, became known as Waldemar der Grosse to his Heimwehr units.
Pabst was initially close to Johann Schober
Johann Schober
Johann Schober was an Austrian police officer who served three times as Chancellor of Austria .-Early career:...
and won his support in 1929 when he suggested repositioning the Heimwehr as a pro-government political party. However Schober's attempts to convert the Heimwehr into a force for pro-government moderation soon floundered and he ordered the deportation
Deportation
Deportation means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. Today it often refers to the expulsion of foreign nationals whereas the expulsion of nationals is called banishment, exile, or penal transportation...
of Pabst, by then recognised as the main organisational force behind the Heimwehr, to Germany the following year. With Pabst removed Schober was able to ensure the removal of Steidle and his replacement as leader by the more compliant Ernst Rüdiger Starhemberg
Ernst Rüdiger Starhemberg
Ernst Rüdiger Camillo Starhemberg was an Austrian nationalist and conservative politician prior to World War II, a leader of the Heimwehr and later of the Christian Social Party/Fatherland's Front...
.
Later life
Returning to Germany, Pabst became a member of the Society for the Study of Fascism along with others such as Friedrich MinouxFriedrich Minoux
Friedrich Minoux was a German industrialist and financier who is best known for being one of the owners of the Wannsee House, where the namesake conference that would decide the fate of millions at the hands of the Nazis during World War II was held in early 1942.-Early life:Born in the Pfalz...
. He was vaguely linked to the Nazi Party, without ever joining or becoming particularly active on the party's behalf, but he did seek to forge three-way links between the Heimwehr, 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:...
and his friend Walther Funk
Walther Funk
Walther Funk was a prominent Nazi official. He served as Reich Minister for Economic Affairs in Nazi Germany from 1937 to 1945, tried as a major war criminal by the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg.-Early life:...
. Such efforts however were hamstrung somewhat by the fact that the Heimwehr had gone into steep decline following Pabst's deportation.
Settling into civilian life, he became an industrialist and eventually Director of Rheinmetall Borsig
Rheinmetall
Rheinmetall AG is a German automotive and defence company with factories in Düsseldorf, Kassel and Unterlüß. The company has a long tradition of making guns and artillery pieces...
in 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...
. Pabst's non-involvement in Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
given his history in the far right raised some suspicions and rumours circulated that he had been in contact with Wilhelm Canaris
Wilhelm Canaris
Wilhelm Franz Canaris was a German admiral, head of the Abwehr, the German military intelligence service, from 1935 to 1944 and member of the German Resistance.- Early life and World War I :...
and similar figures on the right of the German resistance
German Resistance
The German resistance was the opposition by individuals and groups in Germany to Adolf Hitler or the National Socialist regime between 1933 and 1945. Some of these engaged in active plans to remove Adolf Hitler from power and overthrow his regime...
. Such rumours were never proven but Pabst did leave Germany not long before the 20 July plot and it has been suggested that he may have been aware that the attempt on 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...
's life was about to take place.
Having left Germany, Pabst settled in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
where he took a post with the arms manufacturer Oerlikon. Following the Second World War, Pabst took some involvement in the activities of the neo-Nazi bruderschaften, small groups that existed across Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and which attempted to co-ordinate their political activism. He returned to Germany in 1955, settling in Düsseldorf, and there became involved with the far right Deutsche Gemeinschaft, a minor group that was later absorbed into the Deutsche Reichspartei
Deutsche Reichspartei
For the party that existed in Imperial Germany, see Free Conservative Party.The Deutsche Reichspartei was a nationalist political party in West Germany...
. He died in Düsseldorf in 1970 at the age of 89.
In popular culture
In film the role of Pabst was played by Horst Drinda in the 1968 East German film Der Mord, der nie verjährt and by Hans Michael Rehberg in the 1986 film Rosa LuxemburgRosa Luxemburg (film)
Rosa Luxemburg is a 1986 West German drama film directed by Margarethe von Trotta. It was entered into the 1986 Cannes Film Festival where Barbara Sukowa won the award for Best Actress.-Cast:* Barbara Sukowa as Rosa Luxemburg...