Theodor Oberländer
Theodor Oberländer | |
---|---|
Federal Minister for Displaced Persons, Refugees and Victims of War | |
In office 1953–1960 | |
Preceded by | Hans Lukaschek |
Succeeded by | Hans-Joachim von Merkatz |
Member of the Bundestag | |
In office 1953 – 1961; 1963 – 1965 | |
Member of the Landtag | |
In office 1950–1953 | |
Personal details | |
Born | National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP) (CDU)Free Democratic Party (FDP) All-German Bloc/League of Expellees and Deprived of Rights (GB/BHE) Christian Democratic Union | 5 January 1905
Theodor Oberländer (1 May 1905 – 4 May 1998) was an
Oberländer earned a doctorate in agriculture in 1929 and a second doctorate in economics in 1930. He spent time in the Soviet Union during the 1920s and early 1930s, including as an employee of DRUSAG (Deutsch-Russische Saatbau AG ),
[2]
a German company involved in developing Soviet agriculture in cooperation with the Soviet government. Subsequently, he became active in
After the war, the Americans held Oberländer as a POW. He worked with the American-sponsored Gehlen intelligence organisation (c. 1946 to 1948) as an expert on Eastern Europe.[4][5] He entered politics for the liberal
Background and early career
Oberländer was born in 1905 in Meiningen, Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen, part of the German Empire, to a Protestant family; his father Oskar Oberländer was a civil servant and director of the insurance agency in Thüringen.[6]
After the First World War, Oberländer was a member of the Gilde Greif (Greif Guild) , a student association that emerged from the
Oberländer then became a member of the right-wing extremist paramilitary association
From 1923 to 1927, he studied
Oberländer wrote several books about the need for German intervention in the agricultural systems of the Soviet Union and Poland, which he considered "un-economic".
During the Nazi regime
Oberländer became a member of the NSDAP in 1933, a member of the
In March 1935, he attended a meeting of professors, scholars and
In the middle of 1937, Oberländer formulated a "divide and conquer" strategy for Poland.[9] Within Poland, ethnic groups were to be directed into fighting with each other in order to prepare the ground for German rule.[9] The Poles were to be steered away from opposing Germans and guided into confrontation with Russians and Jews.[9] Oberländer additionally called for elimination of "assimilated Jewry" which in his view carried "communist ideas".[9] Polish peasants were to be "taught" that they benefit from German "law".[9] In order to win over Poles to the side of German hegemony in Europe, Oberländer proposed that they share in the theft of Jewish property.[9] Around 3.5 million Polish Jews and 1.5 million people who were considered "assimilated Jews" were to be deprived of all of their rights.[9] He is considered by some historians to be among the academics who laid the intellectual foundation for the Final Solution.[11]
By 1937, Oberländer, however, started to lose influence in the Nazi Party as his views on the treatment of the Polish population (but not the Jewish question) were losing out to more hardline positions[9] and his personal conflict with Erich Koch.[12] As a result, he had lost his position in East Prussia and within the BDO by 1938.[9] He was essentially fired by the University of Königsberg, after the Nazi government had attacked the "political nature" of his work. He was instead appointed Professor of Agriculture at the University of Greifswald, and was ordered to refrain from involving himself in Ostforschung.[13] From 1937 until the end of Nazi rule he was under surveillance by the Sicherheitsdienst, as he was henceforth suspected of being disloyal to the Nazi cause.[3] From 1 April 1938, he worked as Professor of History at University of Greifswald.[10]
In 1939, Oberländer moved to work in Abwehrstelle Breslau; one of the main centers of sabotage and diversion organised by the Nazis that conducted operations against Poland. At the same time, his work concerned issues connected to Ukraine and the Sudetes region and he had contacts with Osteuropa Institut located in Breslau (Wrocław).[14]
World War II
In 1940, Oberländer endorsed the
When
In January 1942, he sent a report on the situation in the Ukraine in which he wrote that success lay in "winning over the masses and pitilessly exterminating
Cold War
After the war, Oberländer worked for American intelligence as an expert on Eastern Europe until 1949.
Oberländer again became active in German politics, first in the liberal Free Democratic Party, then in the Bloc of Refugees and Expellees (GB/BHE)(despite the fact that he himself was not expelled), where he would become a prominent figure alongside another ex-Nazi Waldemar Kraft who had previously been interned for two years for his wartime activities in occupied Poland[19] The BHE itself was connected in various ways to the Nazis, as it openly tried to win over former NSDAP members angry at denazification, calling their crimes to be only "uncritical belief in Germany's future".[19] The party classified those Nazis on a par with war-damaged as fellow victims.[19] The fact that it selected as its leaders two ex-Nazis, who had taken part in the expulsion of non-Germans and expropriation of their property severely undermined German complaints about their situation.[20] Oberländer joined the Adenauer government of West Germany in 1953 as Minister for Refugees and Expellees.[11] His appointment prompted negative press coverage and made details of his Nazi past known.[11] However, despite the fact that he nominated several former Nazis as co-workers, the criticism soon died down.[11] Adenauer in particular was keen on getting the BHE on board, as, with its support, he controlled a two-thirds majority in parliament.[11] Adenauer knew very well that Oberländer was a former National Socialist and admitted he has a "very brown past"[8]
In 1956, when Oberländer tried to visit his former Nazi co-workers, who were still serving time in Landsberg prison, the foreign minister of Germany vetoed the trip, fearing international consequences, nevertheless, despite hindrances, Oberländer still tried to support far right groups.
In 1960, Oberländer was sentenced
Oberländer nevertheless continued efforts to influence the German public, and in 1962 published an article in Der Stahlhelm, an organ of the former Frontsoldaten.
A preliminary inquiry into Oberländer's role in connection with the unlawful killing of a civilian in Kislovodsk in 1942 during his Bergmann leadership was opened by a district attorney in Cologne in 1996.[24] The allegations involved an interrogation of a female Soviet teacher; it was alleged that she was whipped and, after refusing to talk about suspected partisan activity, shot in the breast by Oberländer, and then left to die. Oberländer called those allegations "old Soviet lies".[25] The inquiry was closed in 1998 due to lack of evidence.[26]
Theodor Oberländer died in Bonn in 1998. He is the father of Professor Erwin Oberländer, a noted expert on Eastern European history, and the grandfather of Christian Oberländer, Professor of Japanese Studies.[citation needed]
Honours
- Grand Cross with Star and Sash of Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (1955)[6]
- Bavarian Order of Merit (1972)[6]
- Commander of the Legion of Honour[6]
Publications
- Die agrarische Überbevölkerung Polens, Berlin 1935.
- Die agrarische Überbevölkerung Ostmitteleuropas, in: Aubin, Hermann u. a. (Hrsg.): Deutsche Ostforschung. Ergebnisse und Aufgaben seit dem ersten Weltkrieg, Bd. 2 (Deutschland und der Osten. Quellen und Forschungen zur Geschichte ihrer Beziehungen, Bd. 21), Leipzig 1943, S. 416 – 427.
- Der Osten und die deutsche Wehrmacht: sechs Denkschriften aus den Jahren 1941–43 gegen die NS-Kolonialthese. Hrsg. von der ISBN 3-89182-026-7
- Bayern und sein Flüchtlingsproblem, München 1953. – Die Überwindung der deutschen Not, Darmstadt 1954.
- Das Weltflüchtlingsproblem: Ein Vortrag gehalten vor dem Rhein-Ruhr-Club am 8. Mai 1959. Sonderausg. des Arbeits- u. Sozialministers des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen. Verleger, Bonn: Bundesministerium f. Vertriebene, Flüchtlinge u. Kriegsgeschädigte. 1959.
References
- ^ Victor Silling: Die Hintergründe des Falles Oberländer. Grenzland Verlag 1960, p. 60–61.
- ^
Heeke, Matthias (2003). Reisen zu den Sowjets: der ausländische Tourismus in Russland 1921-1941 ; mit einem bio-bibliographischen Anhang zu 96 deutschen Reiseautoren. Band 11 von Arbeiten zur Geschichte Osteuropas (in German). Münster: LIT Verlag. p. 246. ISBN 9783825856922. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
[...] die Deutsch-russische Saatgut AG - kurz Drusag.
- ^ a b Victor Silling: Die Hintergründe des Falles Oberländer. Grenzland Verlag 1960, p. 60–61.
- ^ a b c Klaus von Wiegrefe: "Der seltsame Professor." Der Spiegel 27/2000, 3 July 2000, pp. 62–66.
- ^
Wolf, Thomas (4 October 2018). Die Entstehung des BND: Aufbau, Finanzierung, Kontrolle. Volume 9 of Veröffentlichungen der Unabhängigen Historikerkommission zur Erforschung der Geschichte des Bundesnachrichtendienstes 1945-1968 (in German). Berlin: Christoph Links Verlag. ISBN 9783962890223. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Biographisches Handbuch der Mitglieder des Deutschen Bundestages 1949–2002, Vol. 1, p. 556, K.G. Saur, 2002
- ^ "Oberländer – Baustein oder Dynamit." Der Spiegel 17/1954, 21 April 1954
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Konrad Adenauer: A German Politician and Statesman in a Period of War, Revolution and Reconstruction : The Statesman : 1952–1967", Hans Peter-Schwarz pages 91, 432, Berghahn Books 1997
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p German scholars and ethnic cleansing 1919–1945" Ingo Haar, Michael Fahlbusch Berghahn Books 2006 page 10, 12
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Germany turns eastwards: a study of Ostforschung in the Third Reich", Michael Burleigh Cambridge University Press, 1988, pages 76 ,144–146, 222, 317–318
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "In pursuit of German memory: history, television, and politics after Auschwitz", Wulf Kansteiner Ohio University Press; 2006 page 222-224
- ^ "Himmler's Auxiliaries: The Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle and the German National Minorities of Europe, 1933–1945"Valdis O. Lumens page 63
- ^ Werner Zschintzsch: "Betrifft: Verwendung des Prof.Dr. Oberländer, zuletzt in Königsberg", letter of 22 December 1937
- ^ "Przeglad Zachodni", volume 16 Instytut Zachodni 1960 page 115
- ^ "Working Paper 38/1997". gplanost.x-berg.de.
- ^ ”SCHWERTE MUSS DER PFLUG FOLGEN: Űber-peasants and National Socialists Settlements in the Occupied Eastern Territories during World War Two”Simone C. De Santiago Ramos, M.S. Thesis Prepared for the Degree of Master of Arts University of Texas page 68
- ISBN 3-593-36445-X.
- ^ "MÉMORIAL DE SAINT-NAZAIRE-EN-ROYANS". museedelaresistanceenligne.org (in French).
- ^ a b c "Shouldering the Burdens of Defeat: West Germany and the Reconstruction of Social Justice" Michael L. Hughes, The University of North Carolina Press 1999
- ^ ”A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II" Gerhard L. Weinberg Cambridge University Press 1995 page 792
- ^ "Legacies of Dachau: the uses and abuses of a concentration camp 1933–2001"„ Harold Marcuse Cambridge University Press 2001 page 118
- ^ "С целью компрометации Оберлендера и украинских националистов, собранные УКГБ материалы широко использовались в местной и центральной прессе, кинохронике,а также на пресс-конференции в Москве. Кроме этого, были выявлены и соответственно подготовлены свидетели, выступавшие по данному делу на пресс-конференции в Москве и на суде в Берлине.С учетом достигнутых положительных результатов в проведении специальных мероприятий по Оберлендеру, прошу Вас наградитъ нагрудным знаком «Почетный сотрудник Госбезопасности». Объявить благодарность и наградить ценным подарком.". (ГДА СБУ фонд 1, опис 4 за 1964 рік, порядковий номер 3, том 5, аркуш 195 Розсекречено: 24/376 від 5 February 2008 р. – original sygnature of document). Another: "Из Москвы тов. Щербак №33988 от 13 ноября 1958 года вх.№15107 копией во Львов сообщил, что установленных очевидцев злодеяний батальона «Нахтигаль» следует подготовить для допроса работниками прокуратуры, о чем будут даны указания прокуратурой СССР. При подготовке к допросам свидетелей следует использовать опубликованные в прессе статьи о преступлениях «Нахтигаля». Работу по установлению других очевидцев злодеяний, их документации и добыче дополнительных материалов продолжить.""Довідка: КГБ про підготовку свідків проти "Нахтігалю" на базі відповідних публікацій в пресі". Archived from the original on 13 May 2011. Retrieved 11 March 2011.. ГДА СБУ фонд 1, опис 4 за 1964 рік, порядковий номер 3, том 5, аркуш 86 Розсекречено: 24/376 від 5 February 2008 р. – original sygnature of document.
- ^ Philipp-Christian Wachs: Die Inszenierung eines Schauprozesses – das Verfahren gegen Theodor Oberländer vor dem Obersten Gericht der DDR, Schriftenreihe des Berliner Landesbeauftragten für die Unterlagen des Staatssicherheitsdienstes der ehemaligen DDR, Vol. 14, p. 13, Berlin 2001.
- ^ Der Spiegel 18 / 1996 Kriegsverbrehen. Die Mühlen mahlen langsam
- ^ "Die Mühlen mahlen langsam". Der Spiegel. 28 April 1996 – via www.spiegel.de.
- ISBN 3-593-36445-X.
Sources
- Article about the events in Lviv/Lemberg Archived 12 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine (in German)
- Fate of the Jews in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Oberländer's involvement (in German)
- "Grenzlandpolitik" und Ostforschung an der Peripherie des Reiches. Das ostpreussische Masuren 1919–1945 by Andreas Kossert (in German)
External links
- Media related to Theodor Oberländer at Wikimedia Commons
- Theodor Oberländer in the German National Library catalogue (in German)