Otto Bräutigam
Encyclopedia
Otto Bräutigam was a German diplomat
and lawyer
, who worked for the Auswärtiges Amt as well as the Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories
of Alfred Rosenberg
in Nazi Germany
. In this position Bräutigam was involved in the holocaust. After the end of World War II
he joined the Auswärtiges Amt of West Germany
.
. He fought in World War I
and finished his studies in Münster in 1919. In 1920 he joined the Auswärtiges Amt. In 1922 he received his PhD and worked in various German embassies. In 1928 Bräutigam was sent to Moscow, where he met Alfred Rosenberg.
into action.
Bräutigam was not charged but acted as a witness against the prominent members of Nazi Germany.
According to William L. Shirer
(The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich). 13 pages Document from Berlin presented at the Nuremberg trails showed that Otto Bräutigam wrote several requests to integrate the local factions into the Wehrmacht
. Starting by avoiding unnecessary cruelty against the local population. Brautigam said:” when we came to the east we found the people of east Europe, ready to be our partners in destroying Bolshevism we need to re-place our cards. Promise them something that guarantee their future…due to our cruel policies
the Russian nationalist are uniting with the Bolsheviks against us”. “It did not take the population of the east long to recognize that,
we are not there to destroy Bolshevism, but we are there to replace it”. Bräutigam's top secret report to his superiors in the (Reichskommissariat Ostland) fell on deaf ears. William L. Shirer described the report as Daring and Exceptional.
"We now experience the grotesque spectacle that after the tremendous starvation of prisoners of war, millions of foreign laborers must be recruited to fill the gaps which have appeared in Germany. With the usual unlimited abuse of Slav people, "recruiting" methods were used which can only be compared with the blackest periods of the slave trade. (They are allowed only the most limited education, and can be given no welfare services.) We are interested in feeding them only insofar as they are still capable (and they are given to understand that in every aspect we regard them as inferior)." Dr Otto Brautigam 25 October 1942
Goebbels and Himmler welcomed the idea by 1942. Pyotr Krasnov
and Andrei Shkuro
requested permission from Goebbels to fight along with Nazi Germany. They had mustered a Cossack force, largely from Soviet POWs in German captivity.
These forces fell under the overall command of Helmuth von Pannwitz
. In the following year, the 1st Cossack Division
and Ukrainian Insurgent Army was supported or created.
Although the Cossack units were formed to fight the Bolsheviks, by the time they were formed the Red Army had liberated most of the German-held territory.
in Hong Kong until his retirement in 1960.
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
and lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, who worked for the Auswärtiges Amt as well as the Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories
Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories
The Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories was created by Adolf Hitler on July 1941 and headed by the Nazi theoretical expert and Baltic German, Alfred Rosenberg. Alfred Meyer was Rosenberg's deputy. This ministry was created to control the vast areas captured by the Germans in...
of Alfred Rosenberg
Alfred Rosenberg
' was an early and intellectually influential member of the Nazi Party. Rosenberg was first introduced to Adolf Hitler by Dietrich Eckart; he later held several important posts in the Nazi government...
in Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
. In this position Bräutigam was involved in the holocaust. After the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he joined the Auswärtiges Amt of West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
.
Early years
In 1913 and 1914 Bräutigam studied law in Grenoble, Oxford and StrasbourgUniversity of Strasbourg
The University of Strasbourg in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, is the largest university in France, with about 43,000 students and over 4,000 researchers....
. He fought 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...
and finished his studies in Münster in 1919. In 1920 he joined the Auswärtiges Amt. In 1922 he received his PhD and worked in various German embassies. In 1928 Bräutigam was sent to Moscow, where he met Alfred Rosenberg.
Holocaust involvement
Bräutigam was one of the key people to turn the results of the Wannsee ConferenceWannsee Conference
The Wannsee Conference was a meeting of senior officials of the Nazi German regime, held in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee on 20 January 1942. The purpose of the conference was to inform administrative leaders of Departments responsible for various policies relating to Jews, that Reinhard Heydrich...
into action.
Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories
At the Nuremberg trialsNuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg Trials were a series of military tribunals, held by the victorious Allied forces of World War II, most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of the defeated Nazi Germany....
Bräutigam was not charged but acted as a witness against the prominent members of Nazi Germany.
According to William L. Shirer
William L. Shirer
William Lawrence Shirer was an American journalist, war correspondent, and historian, who wrote The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, a history of Nazi Germany read and cited in scholarly works for more than 50 years...
(The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich). 13 pages Document from Berlin presented at the Nuremberg trails showed that Otto Bräutigam wrote several requests to integrate the local factions into 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:...
. Starting by avoiding unnecessary cruelty against the local population. Brautigam said:” when we came to the east we found the people of east Europe, ready to be our partners in destroying Bolshevism we need to re-place our cards. Promise them something that guarantee their future…due to our cruel policies
the Russian nationalist are uniting with the Bolsheviks against us”. “It did not take the population of the east long to recognize that,
we are not there to destroy Bolshevism, but we are there to replace it”. Bräutigam's top secret report to his superiors in the (Reichskommissariat Ostland) fell on deaf ears. William L. Shirer described the report as Daring and Exceptional.
"We now experience the grotesque spectacle that after the tremendous starvation of prisoners of war, millions of foreign laborers must be recruited to fill the gaps which have appeared in Germany. With the usual unlimited abuse of Slav people, "recruiting" methods were used which can only be compared with the blackest periods of the slave trade. (They are allowed only the most limited education, and can be given no welfare services.) We are interested in feeding them only insofar as they are still capable (and they are given to understand that in every aspect we regard them as inferior)." Dr Otto Brautigam 25 October 1942
Goebbels and Himmler welcomed the idea by 1942. Pyotr Krasnov
Pyotr Krasnov
Pyotr Nikolayevich Krasnov , 1869 – January 17, 1947), sometimes referred to in English as Peter Krasnov, was Lieutenant General of the Russian army when the revolution broke out in 1917, and one of the leaders of the counterrevolutionary White movement afterward.- Russian Army :Pyotr Krasnov...
and Andrei Shkuro
Andrei Shkuro
Andrei Grigoriyevich Shkuro was a Lieutenant General of the White Army.-Biography:...
requested permission from Goebbels to fight along with Nazi Germany. They had mustered a Cossack force, largely from Soviet POWs in German captivity.
These forces fell under the overall command of Helmuth von Pannwitz
Helmuth von Pannwitz
Helmuth von Pannwitz was a German general who distinguished himself as a cavalry officer during the First and the Second World Wars. Lieutenant General of the Wehrmacht and Supreme Ataman of the XV...
. In the following year, the 1st Cossack Division
1st Cossack Division
The 1st Cossack Division was a Russian Cossack division of the German Army that served during World War II. It was created on the Eastern Front mostly out of Don Cossacks already serving in the Wehrmacht, those who escaped from the advancing Red Army and Soviet POWs. In 1945, the division was...
and Ukrainian Insurgent Army was supported or created.
Although the Cossack units were formed to fight the Bolsheviks, by the time they were formed the Red Army had liberated most of the German-held territory.
Prosecution
In 1950 he was charged with multiple murder in Nürnberg-Fürth. Bräutigam was found not guilty like other Nazis during this time.West German foreign ministry
In 1953 he joined the Auswärtiges Amt. After more evidence of his Nazi past came to the light he was temporarily suspended in 1956. In 1957 however a report concluded that Bräutigam attempted to avoid the killing he was reinstated in his position in 1958. He worked as Consul generalConsul (representative)
The political title Consul is used for the official representatives of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, and to facilitate trade and friendship between the peoples of the two countries...
in Hong Kong until his retirement in 1960.