Karl Mayr
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Karl Mayr | |
---|---|
Born | Mindelheim, German Empire | 5 January 1883
Died | 9 February 1945 Buchenwald concentration camp, Weimar, Nazi Germany | (aged 62)
Allegiance | German Empire Weimar Republic |
Service/ | Imperial German Army Reichsheer |
Years of service | 1901–1920 |
Rank | Captain |
Unit | Army Intelligence Division |
Commands held | 1st Bavarian Jägerbattailon |
Battles/wars | World War I |
Captain Karl Mayr (5 January 1883 – 9 February 1945) was a German General Staff officer and Adolf Hitler's immediate superior in an Army Intelligence Division in the Reichswehr, 1919–1920. Mayr was particularly known as the man who introduced Hitler to politics. In 1919, Mayr directed Hitler to write the Gemlich letter, in which Hitler first expressed his anti-Semitic views in writing.[1][2]
Mayr later became Hitler's opponent, and wrote in his memoirs that General
A fact-based portrayal of Mayr is dramatized in the 2002 film Max, a fictional account of Hitler's life in Munich just prior to joining the German Workers' Party.
Life and work
Mayr was the son of a magistrate. After graduating from high school, he was enrolled on 14 July 1901 in the 1st Bavarian Infantry Regiment in Munich as a cadet. Well regarded by his superiors, he made rapid progress, becoming Leutnant in 1903 and Oberleutnant in 1911.
From August 1914 Mayr was with the 1st Bayerischen Jägerbattailon. During the
Shortly after the war, from 1 December 1918, Mayr acted as company commander in the 1st Bavarian Infantry Regiment in Munich. On 15 February 1919 he was on leave from the military, but returned in May as commander of the 6th Battalion of the guards regiment in Munich and from 30 May as head of the "Education and Propaganda Department" of the General Command von Oven and the Group Command No. 4 (Department Ib) under Lieutenant-General von Möhl.
In his capacity as head of the intelligence department, Mayr recruited Adolf Hitler as an undercover agent in early June 1919. Hitler's role involved informing on soldiers suspected of
Notes and references
- ^ Ewing, Jack (2011-06-03). "Letter of Hitler's First Anti-Semitic Writing May Be the Original". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-06-12.
- ^ Rawlings, Nate (2011-06-08). "The Seeds of Hitler's Hatred: Infamous 1919 Genocide Letter Unveiled to the Public". Time. Archived from the original on June 9, 2011. Retrieved 2011-06-12.
- ^ "THE HOLOCAUST PROJECT - Selected Biographies - M". 2007-05-19. Archived from the original on 2007-05-19. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
- ^ Kershaw 2008, pp. 72–74.
- ^ Kershaw 2008, p. 82.
- ISBN 978-0-415-30860-1
- ISBN 978-0-19-161362-3.
Sources
- ISBN 978-0-393-06757-6.
- Ziemann, Benjamin (1999). "The best of two worlds – the military critics and opponents of a resolute pacifism retired Major Karl Mayr (1883–1945)". In Wette, Wolfram (ed.). Pacifist officers in Germany from 1871 to 1933. pp. 273–285.