Otto von Bolschwing
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Otto Albrecht Alfred von Bolschwing (15 October 1909 – 7 March 1982) was a
Following
Biography
Early life and career
Otto Albrecht Alfred von Bolschwing was born in Schönbruch, District of Bartenstein, East Prussia (now: Szczurkowo, Poland) on 15 October 1909. He was the youngest of five children and was descended from the Junker nobility via the untitled Bodelschwingh family on the paternal side and the baronial Hollen family on the maternal side. His father, the Prussian aristocrat Richard Otto Wilhelm Ferdinand von Bolschwing, served as a cavalry officer (Rittmiester) in the Imperial German Army during World War I and was killed in action on the Eastern Front in October 1914.[1]
Von Bolschwing attended
While attending the
Von Bolschwing joined the
Mandatory Palestine
Von Mildenstein had established a reputation as an authority on
As an
Von Bolschwing's efforts were intended to serve several different elements of Nazi foreign policy. Foremost, to render Palestine an ungovernable political liability for the British. The creation of a Jewish homeland in the
Office of Jewish Affairs
Following his return to Germany, von Bolschwing went to work at the SD-Hauptamt in Berlin, where he joined the staff of Leopold von Mildenstein, the director of the SD’s Jewish Affairs Office (Judenreferat), as a consultant on Zionism and Palestinian affairs.[7] In this position, von Bolschwing would author numerous reports and policy proposals outlining various punitive measures designed to eliminate the Jewish presence in Germany through a campaign of forced emigration and economic restrictions.[11] In January 1937 he wrote a memorandum concerning Jewish emigration, referencing the anti-Jewish riots in Berlin in 1935:
A largely anti-Jewish atmosphere must be created among the people in order to form the basis for the continued attack and the effective exclusion of them...The most effective means of depriving the Jews of their sense of security is the wrath of the people that expresses itself in riots. Even though this method is illegal, it has, as shown by the 'Kurfürstendamm Riot', had a longstanding effect[.] The Jew...fears nothing so much as a hostile atmosphere which can spontaneously go against him at any time.[12][2]
Von Bolschwing's report suggested using this kind of organized, but unlawful, street violence in combination with legal bureaucratic measures such as economic sanctions, special taxes, and passport controls to purge Germany of its Jews. Heinrich Himmler was impressed with the document, and assigned von Bolschwing to work as a senior advisor to the Deputy Director of the Jewish Affairs Office, Adolf Eichmann.[1] From 1937-38, von Bolschwing would become Eichmann's primary mentor on Jewish matters and Zionism. During his 1961 trial in Israel, Eichmann stated:
Herr von Bolschwing would often drop in at our office to talk to us about Palestine. He spoke so knowledgeably...that I gradually became an authority on Zionism. I kept in touch with Herr von Bolschwing...because no one else could give me firsthand information about the country I was most interested in for my work.[9]
Over the ensuing years, von Bolschwing authored dozens more memos and reports detailing useful administrative methods by which to persecute
The Jews of the entire world represent a nation which is not bound by a country or by a people but [rather] by money...Therefore, they are and must always be an eternal enemy of National Socialism...[and they] are among the most dangerous enemies.[9]
Von Bolschwing would also play a central role in planning Eichmann's 1937 visit to Palestine as well as arranging two secret conferences in
Through his work for the Judenreferat, Von Bolschwing also fostered professional alliances with a number of high-ranking SD officials in addition to Eichmann and von Mildenstein:
- Hauptamt Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle(VoMi);
- Heinz Jost, chief of SD-Amt III (Foreign Defense);
- Head of SD-Abteilung II/12 (Political Opposition) Werner Göttsch.
These connections, particularly that with Jost, would later prove vital in advancing Von Bolschwing’s career in the security services over the coming years. This process of elevating himself through the careful cultivation of numerous influential personalities would become a recurring element throughout Von Bolschwing’s professional life.
Following the German annexation of Austria, Eichmann was dispatched to Vienna and given the responsibility of crafting a solution to the "Jewish question" in the newly acquired territory. He appointed von Bolschwing to serve as his primary adjutant throughout the project.[1] The two men worked together to put in place many of the policies relating to forced immigration and the confiscation of Jewish property that von Bolschwing had articulated during his earlier service at the Jewish Affairs Office in Berlin. This collaboration proved to be a major professional success for both Eichmann and von Bolschwing and led to the establishment of the Central Agency for Jewish Emigration in Vienna. This agency would become the prototype for similar SS organizations used to implement the deportation of Jews in Amsterdam, Prague and many other European cities.[1]
World War II
Romania
With the outbreak of
In March 1940 von Bolschwing received a prestigious appointment to the German embassy in
In Bucharest, von Bolschwing quickly aligned himself with the ultra-nationalist Iron Guard, Romania’s foremost fascist and anti-Semitic political movement. Von Bolschwing’s efforts to promote the political fortunes of the Iron Guard initially met with great success.[1] In September 1940 Marshal Ion Antonescu, with Iron Guard support, forced the abdication of Carol II and installed himself as dictator of Romania. Under the new regime, known as the National Legionary State, the Iron Guard played a dominant political role, with five of their members taking over government ministries, including Foreign Affairs and the Interior.[1] A raft of anti-Jewish laws were swiftly implemented. Many of them, such as the required registration of all Jewish property, were patterned on similar edicts instituted in Austria by Eichmann and von Bolschwing.[7]
In spite of these early accomplishments, the political arrangement between Antonescu and the Iron Guard broke down following the events of the November 1940 Jilava massacre. Acting on his own initiative, von Bolschwing conspired with Iron Guard leaders Horia Sima and Valerian Trifa to organize a violent attempt to overthrow the Antonescu government.[9] The so-called Legionnaires Rebellion of 20–23 January 1941 was accompanied by a shockingly brutal pogrom against the Jews of Bucharest. The city’s Jewish quarter was fire-bombed and several synagogues were looted and torched by Iron Guard death squads. As many as 630 people, 125 of them Romanian Jews, were killed in the violence, with another 400 reported missing. Dozens of Jews were gruesomely murdered in a local slaughterhouse.[9] According to US Ambassador to Romania Franklin Mott Gunther:
Sixty Jewish corpses [were discovered] on the hooks used for carcasses. They were all skinned…and the quantity of blood was evidence that they had been skinned alive.[9]
The revolt was eventually crushed by the
Downfall & imprisonment
Despite the intense controversy his actions in Bucharest had provoked, von Bolschwing’s status as a favorite of Ausland-SD chief
After departing his post in Romania in March 1941, Von Bolschwing traveled to
In August 1941, von Bolschwing was reassigned to the
While von Bolschwing was allowed to retain his rank and membership in the SS, he effectively became persona non grata throughout the organization and its security apparatus.[7] With his once promising career with RSHA now definitively at an end, von Bolschwing went to Vienna, where he was hospitalized for an undisclosed illness from January to July 1942. Following his release, von Bolschwing was arrested by the Gestapo in September 1942 and incarcerated in Berlin, likely as punishment for his actions in Bucharest, though no formal charges were ever filed against him.[13] After seven months of confinement, von Bolschwing emerged from prison in April 1943 with his reputation irredeemably tarnished.[7][1]
Austria
Following his release from prison, the demise of his SS career and his
In October 1943 von Bolschwing remarried, taking as his second wife Ruth von Pfaundler, an
Von Bolschwing was formally expelled from the Schutzstaffel in February 1945 and by April of that year he was collaborating directly with the headquarters of the US Army’s 71st Infantry Division.[5] He quickly established himself as an extremely valuable asset, providing intelligence on German troop movements and also serving as a guide for US forces during the campaign in Tyrol.[1] In a postwar testimonial, a senior officer of the 71st Infantry, Lt. Colonel Ray F. Goggin, lauded his efforts, stating:
[Von Bolschwing] materially assisted the armed forces of the United States during our advance through the
western Austria prior to the surrender of the German Army…during our occupation, he personally captured over twenty high-ranking Nazi officials and SS officers and led patrols that resulted in the capture of many more.[1]
Postwar
Gehlen Organization
Following the end of World War II in Europe, von Bolschwing became associated with the US Army Counter-Intelligence Corps (CIC) in Salzburg and later worked for the American military government (OMGUS) in Bavaria from 1945-46.[8][9] Eager to insulate himself from possible prosecution for war crimes, von Bolschwing sought to capitalize on the emerging Cold War against the Soviet Union in order to further ingratiate himself to his American benefactors.[9] In early-1947, he offered his services to the Vienna office of the Central Intelligence Group (CIG), the immediate predecessor of the CIA, but was rejected. In a contemporaneous assessment, US officials dismissed von Bolschwing as an unreliable opportunist, egotistical, and a man of shifting loyalties.[7]
Von Bolschwing was undeterred and obtained a position as a covert operative with the
With the advent of the
Despite this lackluster professional outcome, his employment by the Gehlen Organization was extremely beneficial to von Bolschwing personally. His organization received a sum of roughly $20,000 USD annually to maintain operations, while personally von Bolschwing had a lucrative cover occupation with Austria Verlags GmbH, a US-funded
Central Intelligence Agency
Ironically, as von Bolschwing’s star was fading within the Gehlen Organization, events would produce a situation that enabled him to achieve his initial postwar ambition of working directly for US intelligence. In the autumn of 1949, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) initiated an overhaul of US-sponsored espionage activities in Austria in an effort to streamline operations in preparation for the coming end of the Allied occupation.[7] The decision was made to dissolve Ausodeum, the Gehlen Organization’s Austrian sub-section, and to incorporate the group’s former assets that were deemed most valuable into the CIA. Von Bolschwing was prominent among the operatives to be evaluated.[7]
In his bid to join the CIA, von Bolschwing found a supporter in James H. Critchfield, the influential chief of the CIA station in Pullach, Bavaria and previously the Agency's primary liaison with Ausodeum. Despite the middling results of his Romanian operation and his questionable abilities as an agent, Critchfield nevertheless viewed von Bolschwing as an invaluable potential asset with useful anti-Soviet contacts throughout central and eastern Europe,[1] telling his superiors in Washington:
We are convinced that von Bolschwing's Romanian operations...his internal Austrian political and intelligence connections, and last but not least, his knowledge of and probable future on [Aus]Odeum's activities in and through Austria make him a valuable man whom we must control.[14]
Whereas US intelligence agencies had seen fit to reject von Bolschwing as self-serving and disloyal in 1947, the major intensification of the Cold War over the ensuing two years had led them to see those matters as less vital by 1949.[1] Von Bolschwing had also impressed his CIA interlocutors with claims that his previous employer, the Gehlen Organization, was likely compromised by Soviet intelligence due to its reliance on former Wehrmacht officers to fill its upper-ranks. He would later complain to US officials:
The French, British and also Russians had gotten ahold of a large number of [German] Staff Officers. Each one of them was using them in intelligence work. Recognizing the traditional closeness of most German intelligence personnel and most Staff Officers, I feared we were being penetrated by the East, rather than penetrating them.[9]
The strategy proved effective and by February 1950 von Bolschwing was working on behalf of the CIA station in Pullach as a
Cover-up
During this period, CIA knowledge about the specifics of von Bolschwing’s Nazi past was limited. One reason for this was von Bolschwing’s own caginess on the subject. In his interactions with CIA officials, von Bolschwing acknowledged that he had been a member of both the Nazi Party and the SS, but attributed his Nazi affiliations to his vigorous opposition to Soviet-style communism and his belief that the Nazi movement had represented the most effective means of combating it at the time. Citing his prewar standing as a propertied aristocrat and financier, von Bolschwing presented his choice to join the Nazi Party as a straightforward and practical decision, motivated entirely by a desire to preserve his wealth and status.[5][2]
In September 1949 von Bolschwing submitted a curriculum vitae to the CIA that conveniently made no mention of the three years he worked for the Office of Jewish Affairs. Similarly, a detailed background report on von Bolschwing that had been commissioned by Critchfield while evaluating him for potential CIA service, also completely omitted any information about his involvement with the Judenreferat or his association with Adolf Eichmann. No effort was made by US officials to fill in the gaps in either document.[7]
Even without the Eichmann information, enough was known about von Bolschwing’s unsavory past that the CIA understood that any revelation of his work on their behalf would prove a serious embarrassment. His association with the Bucharest pogrom and the sheltering of the Iron Guard leaders was widely known, as was the extent of his dishonesty.[7] US dealings with such a disreputable figure were cause for discomfort among some CIA officials. As one Agency memorandum noted:
He is an adventurer, a lover of intrigue, and a wire-puller who is fond of power. Bolschwing states that in his position in Rumania [sic] he was able to frustrate many of the evil designs of the Nazi regime, but it should be remembered as a black mark against him rather than a point in his favor that he arranged the escape of [Horia] Sima and others when these men were at the height of their crimes.[1]
Exigencies of Cold War politics compelled the CIA to maintain its relationship with von Bolschwing in spite of these misgivings.
Matters became more complicated for von Bolschwing and his American sponsors in 1950 when the Austrian Ministry of the Interior began inquiring about the former SS officer’s presence in their country. At this time, von Bolschwing was not an Austrian citizen, had never paid taxes and was still awaiting formal denazification. Von Bolschwing continued to deny that he was ever an active member of the Nazi Party or the SS, prompting Austrian officials to request that US occupation authorities in Germany provide them with whatever documentation they had regarding his wartime activities and associations. Critchfield and the CIA officers in Pullach, however, were aware that von Bolschwing’s SS personnel records, housed in the Berlin Document Center (BDC), would not only easily discredit their agent’s claims, but also expose his previous employment with the RSHA and his connection to the Bucharest pogrom, creating a major scandal for the Agency.[7]
With the support of Richard Helms, Chief of German Operations for the CIA in Washington, Critchfield overcame the objections of the Agency’s Berlin station chief Peter Sichel and had the incriminating files removed from the BDC. In a cable to the CIA station chiefs in Berlin and Karlsruhe, Helms justified he and Critchfield’s actions by emphasizing that it was imperative to maintain von Bolschwing’s ability to carry on his work for the Agency unimpeded. Despite this seeming vote of confidence, by mid-1951 both Helms and the CIA in Pullach had apparently soured on von Bolschwing and his intelligence network’s mediocre output, in much the same way the Gehlen Organization had in 1949. In an internal memorandum, Critchfield concluded that von Bolschwing would never develop into a first class agent.[7]
Critchfield transferred responsibility for von Bolschwing and his network to the CIA’s operating base in
Emigration to the United States
In July 1953, the CIA’s Austrian section recommended to headquarters in
If an agency takes [von Bolschwing] over without knowing his past, they will inevitably be bogged down in a series of "assessment periods" and grandiose schemes employing scores of people to exploit shadowy figures...via courier lines that never seem to materialize. They will be faced with large payrolls for piddling returns and masses of paper on all the relatively inconsequential aspects of his operation.[5]
Though the CIA was unwilling to continue employing von Bolschwing as an agent, it agreed to bring him to the US, as an appropriate reward for his "long faithful service to US intelligence".
Despite this, the CIA made no effort to conceal von Bolschwing’s Nazi affiliations, recognizing its futility. It did, however, task its Eastern European Division with coordinating von Bolschwing’s movements with the
A major difficulty would emerge in late-1953, when the CIA in Austria turned up agent reports during an examination of its
Amid preparations for his departure, CIA officials in Salzburg advised von Bolschwing that, despite INS knowledge of his Nazi past, he should avoid mentioning any association with the Party or the SS following his arrival in the United States. The Agency was fearful that, should von Bolschwing reveal his previous work for the Third Reich, the INS “would be forced, for appearances sake”[5] to deport him, but the CIA was also cognizant of the fact that if he were to deny these affiliations completely in an official setting, it could also invite potential legal difficulties.[5]
In January 1954, von Bolschwing, with his wife and son in tow, departed
Life in America
Business career
In the United States, von Bolschwing quickly found work as an
Von Bolschwing cultivated social and professional connections with influential people. During his time at Warner-Lambert, these contacts included the company’s
In 1959, von Bolschwing applied to become a
Matters were complicated for von Bolschwing in May 1960 when Adolf Eichmann was abducted by agents of the
As the Eichmann trial continued, von Bolschwing’s efforts to obtain government office in the US succeeded. In 1961, he was nominated by the
This setback did not adversely impact von Bolschwing’s business career. By 1963, he and his family had relocated to
TCI scandal
In March 1969 von Bolschwing was retained as a
Once established in Sacramento and working for TCI, von Bolschwing continued cultivating relationships with business and political figures. These included
- San Francisco US Appeals Court Judge, William Newsom (father of current California governor, Gavin Newsom);
- aerospace developer and Fairchild Aircraft executive Emanuel Fthenakis;
- California Governor Ronald Reagan;
- billionaire philanthropist J. Paul Getty Jr., an heir to the Getty family petroleum fortune.
Getty was a member of TCI’s board of directors. Getty’s intercession facilitated von Bolschwing's appointment to the office of president of TCI in 1970.[17]
Von Bolschwing’s success was upended later that year following a fraud investigation of TCI by the
While several of TCI’s largest shareholders would be prosecuted in connection with the scheme, von Bolschwing was not implicated and retained his position as president. His efforts to arrest the company’s rapid deterioration in the aftermath of the scandal were unsuccessful and TCI ultimately collapsed, filing for bankruptcy in 1971.[1]
Later life and investigations
Following the collapse of TCI, von Bolschwing continued to reside in the
Their inquiry into Trifa eventually led INS investigators to von Bolschwing, whom they determined had lied about his past Nazi affiliations on his application for citizenship, a fact that made him liable for deportation from the United States.[1] An investigation into von Bolschwing’s immigration status and wartime activities was initiated over the objections of the CIA, who claimed that an inquiry could potentially compromise the Agency. Von Bolschwing denied that he had been a member of the SS or the Nazi Party and, while acknowledging that he had aided in the escape of the Iron Guard leadership.[17]
In September 1979 the federal investigation of von Bolschwing was transferred from the INS to the
Von Bolschwing was
By this time, von Bolschwing was seriously ill. His declining condition raised serious doubts about his
Under the terms of the arrangement, von Bolschwing publicly admitted that he had lied about his membership in the Nazi Party, the SS and the RSHA, but was not required to disclose his involvement with
References
- ^ ISBN 9781612347271.
- ^ a b c d e f Lichtblau, Eric. The Nazis Next Door: How America Became a Safe Haven for Hitler's Men
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Rumanian Projects" (PDF). Internet Archive. National Security Archive. December 28, 2015. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
- ^ San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved October 2, 2023 – via Knowledia.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Ruffner, Kevin C. (1998). "Prussian Nobleman, SS Officer, and CIA Agent" (PDF). cia.gov. Langley, VA: Center for the Studies of Intelligence. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
- San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved October 2, 2023 – via Knowledia.
- ^ ISBN 9781612347271.
- ^ ISBN 9780892541706, n.p.
- ^ ISBN 1-555-84106-6.
- ISBN 9780312095352.
- ISBN 9781559705325, p. 8.
- ISBN 9783930908844, p. 129(in German), pointing out that the phraseology was far from novel at the time.
- ^ Ruffner, Kevin Conley (April 2003). "Eagle and Swastika: CIA and Nazi War Criminals and Collaborators". archive.org. Central Intelligence Agency History Staff, Washington DC. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
- ISBN 9780385540452.
- ^ "CIA files on Nazi War Criminal Bolschwing, Otto (Von) Vol. 2_0088" (PDF). fowlchicago.wordpress.com. U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. 1 September 1953. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
Your assistance is requested in facilitating the entry into the United States of Baron Otto von Bolschwing... on an immigration visa...
- ^ Simpson, Christopher (August 8, 1983). "Not Just Another Nazi". Penthouse. Bob Guccione. pp. 60–62, 156–160. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Pete Carey (21 November 1981). "Ex-Nazi's brilliant U.S. career strangled in a web of lies". Spitfire List. San Jose, California: Dave Emory. San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
External links
(in German) "Report des US-Justizministeriums: USA gewährten Nazis Unterschlupf", Der Spiegel, November 14, 2010
Bibliography
- Klaus Eichner. Faschistische Ostexperten im Dienste der US-Geheimdienste" Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine in: Holocaust-Täter im Dienste von BND und CIA. Kominform. 6 April 2008 (in German)
- Klaus POPA. Völkisches Handbuch Südosteuropa Online Lexikon B Archived 2017-08-25 at the Wayback Machine. 3 February 2010 (pdf) p. 84 (in German)
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