Bern from Baer

Bern von Baer as Brigadier General, around 1960

Bern Oskar von Baer (born March 20, 1911 in Berlin ; † November 25, 1981 in Rösrath near Cologne ) was a German officer in the Reichswehr , Wehrmacht and the Bundeswehr . In the Second World War he was last colonel and chief of staff of the parachute tank corps Hermann Göring . After the war he worked in the Blank office and joined the newly founded Bundeswehr, where he achieved the rank of major general .

childhood

Bern von Baer, which the Nassauer family of Baer came, was the youngest son of Walter von Baer (1860-1938) in Berlin-Wilmersdorf born. His mother was Bertha von Baer, ​​b. von Blume (1874–1957), a daughter of the Prussian general of the infantry and member of the Prussian State Councilor Wilhelm von Blume . Baer's father was a senior executive at Deutsche Bank in Berlin, and the eldest brother, Joachim von Baer (1906–1960) later became a civil servant and permanent member of the Federal Supervisory Office for Insurance and Building Societies . His brother Horst von Baer (1907–1970) was a lawyer, notary and author of the Small Legal Lexicon .

In his youth, Baer was an active member of the Bündische Jugend and the Wandervögeln - youth movements that were dissolved by the National Socialist regime in 1933. Baer completed his visit to the humanistic Friedrichswerder high school in Berlin in the spring of 1930 with the Abitur.

Reichswehr and Wehrmacht

After finishing school, Baer joined the Reichswehr on April 1, 1930 as an officer candidate in the 15th Company of the 3rd (Prussian) Infantry Regiment stationed in Deutsch-Eylau . After completing basic training, a series of internal commands followed: on July 31, 1930 to the 7th Company, on February 16, 1931 to the 8th Company ( MG ), on March 16, 1931 to Intelligence Train II, and on April 16, 1931 to the 13th Company . Company. From October 2, 1931 to April 26, 1933 he was assigned to the infantry school in Döberitz . He then became a platoon leader in his main regiment.

officer

On January 1, 1934, Baer was promoted to lieutenant , on October 1, 1934 he was platoon leader of the 10th Company. On March 1, 1935, he was transferred to the 14th Company, which he took over as a company commander on October 15, 1935, two weeks after his promotion to first lieutenant . On November 10, 1938, Baer was assigned to the 43rd Infantry Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division , where he served as an adjutant to the regimental commander . Shortly before the start of the war, on August 1, 1939, he was promoted to captain .

Second World War

Bern von Baer as Lieutenant Colonel in January 1944.

When the war broke out, Baer first took part in the Polish and then in the French campaign. In the course of the missions he received the Iron Cross II. And I. Class. On October 14, 1940, he was sent to Berlin for a three-month general staff course . This was followed by a transfer on January 6, 1941 to the operations department at the staff of the High Command of the Army (OKH) under the chief of staff, Colonel General Franz Halder, in Berlin, where he was the youngest general staff officer . He took over as a speaker here.

Stalingrad

On April 1, 1942, Baers was promoted to major and on June 26, 1942, he was transferred as Ib (supply officer) to the staff of the 16th Panzer Division . At this time the division was part of the III. Army Corps in Kharkov and subordinated to the 6th Army , which began the case of Blau on June 28, 1942 . About eight weeks later the division was transferred to Stalingrad, where it was destroyed in early 1943.

On the personal orders of Colonel General Friedrich Paulus , Baer was flown out as a young father on January 23, 1943 with one of the last three Junkers Ju 52s and thus narrowly escaped the fate of the collapse of the 6th Army, which led to the surrender of January 31, 1943 (“ Südkessel ") and February 2, 1943 (" Nordkessel ").

Salerno

After Baer held the post of IC in Army Group Don for a few days , he was transferred to the Fuehrer's Reserve on February 1, 1943 . On March 15, Baers was assigned as Ia to the newly established 16th Panzer Division.

In the Italian Gulf of Salerno the division had to fight together with the subordinate Paratrooper Regiment 3 against the British X Corps that had landed . Baer, ​​who had been promoted to lieutenant colonel on August 2, 1943 , led the counterattack on Battipaglia . The battle lasted nine days until the Commander-in-Chief South , Field Marshal Albert Kesselring, had the battle broken off.

Cherkassy

The 16th Panzer Division was then moved in December 1943 to the central section of the Eastern Front in the area near Bobruisk and subordinated to Army Group Center under General Field Marshal Ernst Busch .

On December 20, 1943, the division advanced to Ossopna, south of Bobruisk. Baer became the leader of a combat group consisting of the 2nd Battalion of the Panzer Grenadier Regiment 64 and the 2nd Company of the Panzer Pioneer Battalion 16. During a reconnaissance mission over Prudok on Tschirkowitschi, the group was able to enter the village - despite heavy resistance from the enemy from expanded positions Take Molscha. For this commitment, Baer was awarded the Knight's Cross.

Parachute Panzer Corps "Hermann Göring"

On May 10, 1944, Baer was reassigned to the Fuehrer's Reserve, on June 1, 1944, he joined the staff of the Parachute Panzer Division 1. "Hermann Göring" , a unit of the Luftwaffe that was engaged in retreat fighting at the time Italy was deployed until she was withdrawn from the front on July 15, 1944 and prepared for transfer to the Eastern Front. At the end of July it was transferred to the Warsaw area , where the division was immediately thrown into battle.

On October 10, 1944, Baer was appointed chief of the general staff to the newly founded, superior parachute tank corps "Hermann Göring" .

As chief of staff , he was instrumental in the subsequent defensive battles of the corps in East Prussia, which were mentioned twice in the Wehrmacht report. He was able to report significant successes of the corps in tank battles several times. In connection with the operational results of the corps, Baer was awarded the Knight's Cross with the Oak Leaves in February 1945.

Shortly before the end of the war, he was promoted to colonel (i. G.) on April 20, 1945 .

End of war and post-war period

The headquarters of the Parachute Panzer Corps, at that time led by Lieutenant General Wilhelm Schmalz , disbanded of their own accord on the day of the surrender. Officers and soldiers were asked to make their way west to surrender to the American troops standing on the Elbe . The plan could no longer be implemented because the corps was surrounded by Soviet units and taken prisoner of war between May 8 and 10, 1945.

From 1946 to 1948 he did a commercial apprenticeship at the Langenberg textile company Gebr. Colsmann . In the following years he worked as a sales representative for the silk fabrics of this company and lived in Krefeld .

armed forces

On September 1, 1952, Baer was employed by the Blank Office , the predecessor institution of the Ministry of Defense , and was employed there as Head of Division (Group W) in the G-3 division of the Office in Bonn. On March 8, 1954, he was appointed group leader II and on June 13, 1955, he switched to G-2 as group leader.

Soldier again

Shortly after the establishment of the Bundeswehr on May 5, 1955, Baer was taken over in his old rank as colonel on November 1, 1955. On November 14, 1955, he was appointed Sub-Division Head IV D at the Ministry of Defense, and from December 30, 1955 to March 31, 1956, he headed a special committee. He then became Deputy Head of Department V of the Army in the Ministry.

On November 16, 1956, he took over the command of the 1st Airborne Division in Esslingen am Neckar until September 1957 . After handing it over to Major General Hans Kroh , Baer was deputy commander of the division until February 28, 1960.

Iller accident

In the Iller disaster on June 3, 1957, 15 recruits of the IV platoon of this company were killed while wading through the Iller during the combat training of the 2nd Company of Airborne Jäger Battalion 19 from the Prinz-Franz-Kaserne in Kempten . The battalion belonged to the 1st Airborne Division founded by order of November 23, 1956 , whose staff was stationed in Esslingen am Neckar . The division was still under construction in 1957, which should not be completed until the 1970s.

At the time of the accident, Baer was entrusted with the duties of commanding the division. Even before that, he had pointed out deficits that had been identified among the NCOs training due to a lack of supervising officers. After the accident became known, he was flown to the scene of the accident in a helicopter. During his stay in Kempten, he waded through the Iller in swimming trunks to check the strength of the current. Photos of this controversial measure were published with critical comments in several German magazines.

The following investigation into the case, the results of which the then Defense Minister Franz Josef Strauss announced to the Bundestag on June 26, 1957 , revealed that crossing the Iller was forbidden at battalion level and that this prohibition was passed on to the responsible (and poorly trained) platoon driver however, it remained incomplete. The commanders were not found to be responsible, but the platoon commander and his company commander were sentenced to suspended sentences.

general

On March 1, 1960, Baer was appointed stage manager of the army aviators and deputy general of the command troops in the then troop office in Cologne . He was promoted to brigadier general on September 26, 1961. From March 1, 1962, he was general of the command troops at the same time as his position as stage manager of the army aviation and airborne troops in the troop office in Cologne. On September 7, 1963, he was promoted to major general. His last use was on October 1, 1964 then that of the deputy of the commanding general of the III. Corps in Koblenz , the later Army Command (HFüKdo).

After a heart attack, he was given early retirement on March 31, 1968 at the age of 57.

Occasionally, even after retirement, his military expertise was required; He was asked by American and British military historians and former members of the army to describe the course of the German war and battle in Italy and the corresponding operational planning. In recognition of his services in the Bundeswehr, Baer was awarded the Great Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1968 . In 1962, he received the Medal of Thanks from the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg for his help with the Hamburg flood disaster .

family

On May 26, 1939, Bern von Baer in Markehnen / Samland in East Prussia had Ehrengard, b. von Nathusius (1918–1981), daughter of Lieutenant Colonel a. D. and pastor Heinrich Adolf Wilhelm von Nathusius (1890–1958) and the Ehrentraut, geb. von Klitzing (1884–1966) married. The couple had four children: Uta von Baer (1940–2007), who later became a lieutenant colonel. D. Volker von Baer (1941–2003), Sigrun Conze (* 1943) - married to Colonel a. D. Walter Conze (* 1940) and Astrid Freifrau von Mirbach (* 1945) - married to Brigadier General a. D. Christian Freiherr von Mirbach (* 1944).

A half-brother of Ehrengard von Baer is the former Chief of Staff of the Army Office and major general a. D. Mark Heinrich von Nathusius , a brother-in-law was Walter Hasche (1909–2002), one of the co-founders of the law firm CMS Hasche Sigle .

literature

• Wolfgang Ollrog (arrangement): Johann Christoph Gatterer, the founder of scientific genealogy . In: Archives for kin research and all related areas with practical research assistance . 47th year, issue 81/82. Starke, Limburg ad Lahn 1981, no. 3.4.7.4.1.1, p. 106 and no. 3.4.7.4.1.1.1. ff., p. 121

Footnotes

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n} Dermot Bradley (ed.): The military careers of the generals and admirals of the Bundeswehr 1955–1997, vol. 1, ISBN 3-7648-2492-1 , p. 55ff.
2. ^ According to the note under promotions in Zeit Chronik from 1953
3. ↑ According to WorldCat entry
4. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} Franz Kurowski , Bern von Baer , in: Denied Fatherhood. Wehrmacht officers created the Bundeswehr , ISBN 3-932381-12-2 , Pour le Mérite , Selent 2000, p. 46 ff.
5. ↑ Note: The officers born in 1930 played a special role in the reconstruction of the Bundeswehr. Of 184 candidate officers in 1930, 53 officers served in the Bundeswehr from 1956, including the later generals in the Bundeswehr: Major General Paul Jordan , Major General Ernst-Guenther Moeller , General Ulrich de Maizière , General Jürgen Bennecke , Lieutenant General Albert Schnez , Lieutenant General Karl Wilhelm Thilo , Major General Herbert Reidel , Major General Konrad Kühlein , Lieutenant General Detlev von Plato , Major General Claus Hinkelbein , Major General Horst Wendland , gem. Matthias Molt, From the Wehrmacht to the Bundeswehr. Personnel continuity and discontinuity in the development of the German armed forces 1955–1966 (dissertation) , Heidelberg 2007, p. 57
6. ^ Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on January 13, 1944 (2539th award); Eichenlaub to the RK on February 28, 1945 (761st award); Dermot Bradley, p. 57.
7. ↑ ^{a b c} Details on the 16th Panzer Division in: Georg Tessin : Associations and troops of the German Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS in World War II 1939–1945 , Volume 4. The land forces 15–30. 2nd Edition. Biblio-Verlag, Osnabrück 1976, ISBN 3-7648-1083-1 ; P. 35 ff.
8. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Reputable documents are missing! Please also WP: Do not consider any theory .
9. ↑ ^{a b} Gem. Helmut R. Hammerich, Das Heer 1950 to 1970. Concept, organization, list , ISBN 3-486-57974-6 , Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, Munich 2006, p. 297
10. ↑ Order No. 39 (Army) was issued on January 2, 1957 in accordance with Finding aid for inventory BH 8-9 “1. Airborne Division ”in the Federal Archives ( Memento of the original from March 29, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
11. ↑ According to the website of the comrades group of the 1st Airborne Division
12. ↑ For example in: The death of Kempten . In: Der Spiegel . No. 24 , 1957, pp. 13 ( online ). Quote: “… The commander of the Luftlande-Division, Colonel von Baer, ​​had hurried by helicopter from the division's headquarters in Esslingen to Kempten before his Commander-in-Chief Strauss. Bearing in mind the old Kommiss maxim that a mistake in the choice of means does not burden the troop leader as much as failing to take any measure, the Luftlande Colonel thought it sensible to put on swimming trunks and wade around in the Iller - 'around the current to consider…'"
13. ↑ According to Mitteldeutsche Zeitung (mz-web.de) of June 30, 2007
14. ↑ According to the article ( memento of October 10, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) on the accident and the subsequent founding of the Bundeswehr soldiers' relief organization. V. of June 3, 2009 on the Bundeswehr website
15. ↑ Note. In the Bundeswehr, the stage manager is the position of an officer commissioned by the Deputy Inspector General of the Bundeswehr who is supposed to check a certain area in the Bundeswehr.
16. ↑ In Axel F. Gablik in the Bundeswehr 1950-2005, Frank Nägler (ed.), ISBN 978-3-486-57958-1 , Oldenbourg, Munich 2007 Baer called Deputy inspector of the army