Carl von Bardolff

Carl Freiherr von Bardolff (as Carl Bardolff ; born September 3, 1865 in Graz , Styria ; † May 17, 1953 ibid) was a doctor of law, professional officer , Lieutenant Field Marshal in the Austro-Hungarian Army in World War I , and from 1932 to 1937 chairman of the German Club in Vienna , SA-Oberführer and entered the German Reichstag for the NSDAP in 1938 . He was also a writer who dealt exclusively with military issues throughout his life .

Bardolff as major general, 1915

Awarding of the Maria Theresa Order during the First World War, 1918 in the Villa Wartholz , Carl von Bardolff is pictured above, second from right.

Coat of arms of Dr. Carl Baron von Bardolff, 1918

Carl von Bardolff, 1938 or before

Life

Education and military career

Bardolff, whose father was a civil court official, attended elementary school and the humanistic grammar school in his hometown from 1872 to 1884 . As a one-year volunteer , he served from October 1884 to September 1885 in the Austro-Hungarian Infantry Regiment No. 4 "Hoch- und Deutschmeister" in Graz. On January 1, 1885, he was promoted to lieutenant in the reserve . From October 1885 to September 1888 studied Bardolff Jus at the University of Graz , 1889 doctorate he. During his studies he joined the German Academic Choral Society, which later became the Academic Choral Society “Gothia” zu Graz.

After graduating, Bardolff became a professional soldier ; on March 1, 1889, he was taken into active service . At first he was a lieutenant in Infantry Regiment No. 27; from October 1891 to 1893 he graduated from the Vienna War School . For on May 1, 1893 Lieutenant transported Bardolff was the from November 1, 1893 Troop General Staff assigned or served as an officer in the General Staff positions . From November 1903 to October 1906 he taught war history and strategy at the Vienna War School. After further promotions - on May 1, 1904 to major and on May 1, 1908 to lieutenant colonel - Bardolff reached the rank of colonel on May 1, 1911 .

On December 1, 1911, Bardolff succeeded Alexander von Brosch-Aarenau , who recommended him to the heir to the throne, and served as a wing adjutant and command officer in the military chancellery of Archduke and heir to the throne Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Este (since 1913 general inspector of the entire armed forces Power ), who was murdered in an assassination attempt in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914 . Bardolff was an eyewitness to the attack that triggered the First World War about four weeks later .

After the military chancellery was closed, he took a longer vacation, but after the mobilization in early August 1914 asked for a front command. Bardolff was given command of the 29th Infantry Brigade, which was part of Field Marshal Lieutenant Friedrich von Wodniansky's 15th Infantry Division in the VI. General Svetozar von Boroevic's army corps . On September 27, 1914, he became Chief of the General Staff of the 2nd Army , and from November 1915 also Chief of the General Staff of Army Group Böhm-Ermolli . In January 1918, Bardolff was appointed commander of all Austrian troops in the hinterland. On March 9, 1918, Bardolff took over command of the 60th Infantry Brigade , which was deployed on the southern front, as the successor to Ludwig Goiginger .

On September 3, 1918, Bardolff moved to the Austro-Hungarian War Ministry and took over the clothing and catering section. Bardolff was promoted during the war on March 1, 1915 (rank of March 2 of the year) to major general and on February 1, 1918 (rank of March 4, 1918) to field marshal lieutenant. He received the Prussian order Pour le Mérite ; In August 1918 he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Maria Theresa Order by the Emperor in the Villa Wartholz and was ennobled as "Baron von Bardolff" based on the statutes of the Order.

In the First Republic

After the armistice , Bardolff was retired from the army in January 1919 and retired on April 1, 1919. In the same month the nobility titles were abolished in German Austria with the Nobility Repeal Act.

Bardolff initially worked as a trainee lawyer in Gröbming in Styria; then from 1921, probably until 1932, as a managing director of an industrial group. In addition, he worked for political and professional magazines; In 1937 he published the book German-Austrian Soldiership in World War II .

Bardolff remained a monarchist all his life, but sympathized with the National Socialists from the 1930s. From 1932 to 1937 he was chairman of the “German People's Council” in Austria and at the same time chairman of the German Club in Vienna, a center of the German national movement in the First Republic.

time of the nationalsocialism

After the so-called "Anschluss" of Austria to the German Reich , Bardolff became a member of the largely insignificant Reichstag on April 10, 1938 . In the handbook of the Reichstag, Bardolff was listed as "nonpartisan". His accession to the NSDAP between 1938 and 1940 is likely, but cannot be proven with certainty. Before that, on March 12, 1938, he had joined the SA with the rank of Oberführer.

During the time of National Socialism, Bardolff held several offices in the economy:

• Member of the supervisory board of Berndorfer Metallwarenfabrik Arthur Krupp AG
• Member of the supervisory board of Felten & Guilleaume, factory of electrical cables, steel and copper works AG in Vienna
• Member of the supervisory board of Schoeller-Bleckmann Stahlwerke AG in Vienna
• Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Wiener Radiowerk (WIRAG) (1941–1945)
• Member of the Supervisory Board of the Wittmannsdorf-Ebenfurth Railway (1941–1945)

In addition, Bardolff held some honorary positions; He was Reich Judge of Honor of the German Labor Front (DAF), President of the Vienna branch of the German-Japanese Society and Honorary President of the German Society for Defense Policy and Defense Sciences . Bardolff continued to publish on military topics.

On August 1, 1938 Bardolff was as lieutenant general at the disposal of the Wehrmacht made and on 27 August 1939 he received the Tannenbergtag the character as General of Infantry awarded. However, its active use during World War II did not occur.

After the Second World War

After the end of the war, Bardolff was temporarily imprisoned by the Allied occupation powers and the Austrian authorities and prohibited from writing. He lived in Graz, which was part of the British occupation zone, until his death.

Carl von Bardolff is buried in the Hietzinger Friedhof in Vienna.

Publications (selection)

• German-Austrian soldiers in World War I. Jena 1937.
• Soldier in old Austria. Memories from my life. Jena 1938.

literature

• Joachim Lilla , Martin Döring, Andreas Schulz: extras in uniform. The members of the Reichstag 1933–1945. A biographical manual. Including the ethnic and National Socialist members of the Reichstag from May 1924. Droste, Düsseldorf 2004, ISBN 3-7700-5254-4 , pp. 20-21.
• Joachim Lilla: The representation of Austria in the Greater German Reichstag. In: Communications from the Austrian State Archives. 48, 2000.
• Erich Stockhorst : 5000 people. Who was what in the 3rd Reich . 2nd Edition. Arndt, Kiel 1985, ISBN 3-88741-117-X .
• Dermot Bradley (Ed.): The Generals of the Army 1921-1945. The military careers of the generals, as well as the doctors, veterinarians, intendants, judges and ministerial officials with the rank of general. Volume 1, Biblio-Verlag, Bissendorf 1993, ISBN 3-7648-2423-9 .
• Radomír Luža : Austria and the Greater German Idea in the Nazi Era. (= Research on the history of the Danube region. Volume 2) Böhlau, Vienna 1977, ISBN 3-205-07115-8 .

Web links

Commons : Carl von Bardolff  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Literature by and about Carl von Bardolff in the catalog of the German National Library
• Carl von Bardolff in the database of members of the Reichstag
• Entry on Carl von Bardolff in the Austria Forum  (in the AEIOU Austria Lexicon )

Individual evidence

1. ^ German Club in the Vienna History Wiki of the City of Vienna
2. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from October 4, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
3. ↑ Handbook of the Reichstag  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.