Carlo Otte

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Karolus "Carlo" Otto Wilhelm Max Friedrich Otte (born May 20, 1908 in Hamburg ; † August 24, 1980 in Hamburg-Wandsbek ) was an economic functionary, regional economic advisor to the NSDAP in Hamburg and from 1940 head of the main economics department at the Reich Commissioner for Norway .

School and advancement

Otte attended secondary school from 1914 to 1923 and did a commercial apprenticeship from 1923 to 1926. He was interested in economic issues at an early age and, without completing a degree, became an autodidact by attending individual lectures at the University of Hamburg . In 1930 he joined the NSDAP ( membership number 402.102) and the SA , and in 1931 the SS (SS number 24.024). During the " fighting time ", Otte was a comrade-in-arms of the Hamburg Gauleiter Karl Kaufmann . Otte was sponsored early on by the Hamburg regional economic consultant Gustav Schlotterer and, after he had recognized his organizational skills, was appointed his deputy.

Gau economic advisor

Otte succeeded Schlotterer in 1935 as NSDAP regional economic advisor for Hamburg and officially held this position until 1945. In this function he was largely responsible for the " Aryanization " in Hamburg. Otte was intellectually inferior to his predecessor Schlotterer and initially “not up to his position”, according to the judgment of a former employee after 1945. However, as a “fanatical idealist” he enjoyed the full trust of the Gauleiter Kaufmann, to whom he was “loyally devoted”. In addition, Otte tried to hide his lack of competence and life experience with his arrogant and arrogant behavior, which is why he enjoyed little reputation in Hamburg's Hanseatic business circles.

Otto Wolff , Otto Wolff , who worked for many years in the Gauwirtschaftsamt , was in charge of essential "Aryanization procedures" . After Otte's delegation to Norway in 1940, Wolff also became the provisional district economic advisor.

In the function of the district economic advisor, Otte nominally had the task of looking after the party's interests in the field of economic life. In fact, however, his influence was far greater, since the NSDAP's claim to totality gave him the power to interfere in all economic questions of his district and, above all, to exert decisive influence on the filling of the most important posts in economic administration.

In autumn 1939 Otte became head of the “Management Staff for Economy” in Hamburg and thus the highest economic director in the Hanseatic city. In 1942 Otte was appointed Hamburg Senator for Shipping, Trade and Commerce and an alderman for the Hanseatic City of Hamburg. However, due to his duties in Norway, he did not perform these functions full-time.

Economic functionary in Norway

From 1940 to 1945 Otte was head of the main economics department and personal advisor to the Reichskommissar Norway, Josef Terboven in Oslo . In this position he had a position of power that no one has had before or since in Norwegian economic history. In July 1942 he was appointed the Reich Commissioner for Maritime Shipping in Norway.

Between the busy and assertive Otte and his department heads on the one hand and personalities from Norwegian industry, shipping and business administration as well as the authorities and associations on the other, a trusting cooperation was maintained in many cases , in which the Norwegian government Vidkun Quisling circumvented and sometimes also conflicts with this was carried out. In some of these disputes, Otte's technical decisions played a role less than his arrogant demeanor, in which he made the Norwegian collaborators of the National Socialists, above all Quisling and the Norwegian Interior Minister Albert Viljam Hagelin , feel who was in charge of economic policy in Norway .

Otte appeared several times as a lawyer for the Norwegian economy and, among other things, fended off excessive demands by the Wehrmacht .

Other functions and "honors"

In addition to his functions in Hamburg and Norway, Otte was on the supervisory boards of numerous companies:

  • Member of the supervisory board of Gemeinnützige Siedlungs AG, Hamburg
  • Member of the supervisory board of Nordische Aluminum AG / Hansa Leichtmetall AG, Berlin
  • Member of the board of directors of Hamburgische Baubank

The NSDAP awarded Otte the " Angle for Old Fighters " and in 1943 the " Golden Decoration of the NSDAP " . Within the SS, Otte achieved the rank of SS Oberführer in 1943 .

After the end of the war

An investigation by the Oslo War Crimes Court came to the conclusion that Otte would not be charged. The case against him has been dropped. However, Otte had to be available as a witness in other proceedings until 1948.

In 1949 Otte was classified by the denazification committee for the Lüneburg administrative district in category IV (fellow travelers) with the comment: "Supported National Socialism, but without having significantly promoted it" .

Fonts

  • Carlo Otte: Job creation is honorary service to the people! Guide to practical job creation . Langebartels & Jürgens, Altona 1934
  • Carlo Otte: 50 years of customs union, 50 years of seaport . Bülk, Hamburg 1938
  • Carlo Otte: The new Norway in Europe and other contributions to German-Norwegian cooperation during the war . Stenersen, Oslo 1942

literature

  • Frank Bajohr : "Aryanization" in Hamburg. The displacement of Jewish entrepreneurs 1933–1945 (= Hamburg Contributions to Social and Contemporary History, Volume 35). Christians, Hamburg 1997, ISBN 3-7672-1302-8 .
  • Robert Bohn : Reichskommissariat Norway. "National Socialist Reorganization" and War Economy (= Contributions to Military History, Volume 54). R. Oldenbourg Verlag, Munich 2000, ISBN 3-486-56488-9 .
  • Robert Bohn (Ed.): The German rule in the "Germanic" countries 1940-1945 (= historical reports, supplement 263). Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-515-07099-0 .

Web links

Commons : Carlo Otte  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Death register of the Hamburg-Wandsbek registry office No. 2374/1980.
  2. ^ Robert Bohn: Reichskommissariat Norway. "National Socialist Reorganization" and War Economy. Munich 2000, p. 162
  3. ^ Frank Bajohr: "Aryanization" in Hamburg. The displacement of Jewish entrepreneurs 1933–1945. Hamburg 1997, p. 176f
  4. ^ Robert Bohn: Reichskommissariat Norway. "National Socialist Reorganization" and War Economy. Munich 2000, p. 163
  5. ^ Robert Bohn: Reichskommissariat Norway. "National Socialist Reorganization" and War Economy. Munich 2000, p. 162f.
  6. ^ Robert Bohn: Reichskommissariat Norway. "National Socialist Reorganization" and War Economy. Munich 2000, p. 343
  7. ^ Robert Bohn: Reichskommissariat Norway. "National Socialist Reorganization" and War Economy. Munich 2000, p. 192
  8. ↑ Carlo Otte on www.dws-xip.pl
  9. ^ Frank Bajohr: "Aryanization" in Hamburg. The displacement of Jewish entrepreneurs 1933–1945. Hamburg 1997, p. 176
personal data
SURNAME Otte, Carlo
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Otte, Karolus Otto Wilhelm Max Friedrich (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German economic functionary and NSDAP regional economic advisor
DATE OF BIRTH May 20, 1908
PLACE OF BIRTH Hamburg
DATE OF DEATH August 24, 1980
Place of death Hamburg-Wandsbek