Alf Meyerhöffer
Alf Meyerhöffer | |
---|---|
Birth name | Alf Roar Dag Meyerhöffer |
Born | Luleå, Sweden | 16 December 1891
Died | 29 April 1962 Stockholm, Sweden | (aged 70)
Allegiance | Sweden |
Service/ | Swedish Army |
Years of service | 1913–1952 |
Rank | Colonel |
Commands held |
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Alf Roar Dag Meyerhöffer (16 December 1891 – 29 April 1962) was a
Meyerhöffer is mostly known for the Meyerhöffer affair which began in 1947, where the question was whether a skilled, well-qualified, Nazi-influenced officer could be promoted. In this case, there was great disagreement within both the officer corps and the government. This case also received a lot of attention in the press. In parallel with his political activities, he made a career as an officer. He was generally perceived as a rare skilled troop commander who was more interested in the pedagogical part of the profession than in the purely strategic issues. He never served as an officer in the General Staff but only as an aspirant. Meyerhöffer's political appearance constituted a burden for him in his professional career.[1]
Early life
Meyerhöffer was born on 16 December 1891 in Luleå, the son of Major Teodor Meyerhöffer and his wife Ida Ekman.[2] It is likely that Meyerhöffer was deeply influenced by the sentiments prevailing in the officer corps in the decade before the World War I; moods characterized by distrust of Soviet Union - the Red Scare - and a nationalism that was often combined with the worship of Charles XII and the dream of a new era of Swedish heyday.[1] He passed studentexamen at Luleå högre allmänna läroverk on 4 June 1910 and became a volunteer in Norrbotten Regiment on 6 May 1911 and he was commissioned as an officer on 20 December 1913.[1]
Career
Military career
Meyerhöffer became an
Meyerhöffer affair
In 1947 he became the centerpiece in the so-called Meyerhöffer affair. The Meyerhöffer affair became the second major, internal Swedish military reckoning (after the Nils Rosenblad affair) with the pro-German sentiments within the Swedish officer corps. Unlike the Rosenblad affair, which dealt with the question of persuading a pro-German officer, who had become a burden for the corps, to resign, it was now a question of whether a skilled, well-respected, Nazi-influenced officer could be promoted.[3] As an avid proponent of a strong Swedish defence, Meyerhöffer viewed the Defence Act of 1925 with disbelief. Unlike the circle of mainly young officers, who gathered around Helge Jung and Ny Militär Tidskrift to work within the framework of their own organization for a different and more modern defence, he chose to work politically.[3] Meyerhöffer joined the National Youth League of Sweden (SNU) and came to belong to the group within SNU, which pushed for a break with The Right, largely due to the defence issue. Meyerhöffer was elected to the Riksdag for Norrbotten in 1932 but was not re-elected in 1936. Within the SNU, a combat organization was formed modelled after a Nazi organization and Meyerhöffer was appointed union leader for the groups. They began to appear in uniform at mass meetings, where Meyerhöffer was the leading speaker. Uniform meetings were prohibited by a Riksdag decision. In the Riksdag, Meyerhöffer exercised several times to have the uniform ban lifted. After Meyerhöffer was appointed Colonel and Executive Commander of the Life Regiment Grenadiers in 1942, his political activities came to an end.[3]
In 1947 he was proposed by the
Personal life
On 15 November 1919 in Umeå, he married Mabel Amanda Falkman (16 November 1890 in Great Falls, Montana, USA – 6 August 1968 in Stockholm), the daughter of Frans Edward Falkman and Olinda Pettersson.[1]
Death
Meyerhöffer died on 29 April 1962 in Sankt Matteus Parish in Stockholm.[4]
Dates of rank
- 1913 – Underlöjtnant
- 1917 – Lieutenant
- 1928 – Captain
- 1936 – Major
- 1939 – Lieutenant colonel
- 1942 – Colonel
Honours
- Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences (1947)[2]
Bibliography
- Meyerhöffer, Alf (1957). Svensk motståndsrörelse (in Swedish) (2nd ed.). Karlskrona. )
- Meyerhöffer, Alf (1957). Det fria Europas försvar (in Swedish). Stockholm: Folkförsvaret. SELIBR 660660.
- Meyerhöffer, Alf (1959). Svensk krigsmakt vid rymd- och kärnvapenkrig (in Swedish). Stockholm: Folkförsvaret. SELIBR 1887825.
- Meyerhöffer, Alf (1955). Svensk motståndsrörelse (in Swedish). Stockholm: Folkförsvarets förlag. SELIBR 1192476.
- Meyerhöffer, Alf (1954). Sverige och Västeuropas försvar (in Swedish). Stockholm: Folkförsvaret. SELIBR 1443768.
- Meyerhöffer, Alf (1956). Sveriges försvar och atomvapnet (in Swedish). Stockholm: Folkförsvarets förlag. SELIBR 1192473.
- Meyerhöffer, Alf (1958). Sveriges viktigaste försvarsfråga: alliansfrihet eller atlantpaktsanslutning (in Swedish). Stockholm: Folkförsvarets förlag. SELIBR 1192467.
- Meyerhöffer, Alf (1953). Svenskt invasionsförsvar (in Swedish). [Stockholm]: Folkförsvaret. SELIBR 1443767.
- Meyerhöffer, Alf (1953). Hur kan Sverige militärt försvaras? (in Swedish). [Stockholm]: Folkförsvaret. SELIBR 1443764.
- Meyerhöffer, Alf (1954). Generalstab och trupp (in Swedish). [Stockholm]: Folkförsvaret. SELIBR 1443763.
- Meyerhöffer, Alf (1952). Infanteriets stridsutbildning (in Swedish). Stockholm: Folkförsvaret. SELIBR 1443765.
- Meyerhöffer, Alf (1952). Det svenska infanteriet (in Swedish). [Stockholm]: Folkförsvaret. SELIBR 1443766.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Thullberg, Per (1985–1987). "Alf R D Meyerhöffer". Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (in Swedish). Vol. 25. National Archives of Sweden. p. 477. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
- ^ a b c Burling, Ingeborg, ed. (1956). Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1957 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1957] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. p. 672.
- ^ ISBN 91-38-21775-9.
- SELIBR 11931231.
External links
- Article in Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (in Swedish)