Dominik Richert

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Richert as a soldier with the EK II

Dominik Richert (born May 4, 1893 in Ortisei , Alsace ; † March 27, 1977 there ) was an Alsatian farmer, who also referred to himself as a "farmer", a German soldier and deserter in the First World War . He became known posthumously with his memories from his wartime, which were only published in 1989 under the title Best Opportunity to Die .

War experience

Richard's autobiographical war experiences, Best Opportunity to Die , only published posthumously in 1989.

Richert was drafted at the age of 20 in October 1913 to the 4th Baden Infantry Regiment "Prince Wilhelm" No. 112 in Mulhouse (Alsace), in which Lieutenant Hermann Göring also served. During World War I he was deployed on the Western Front in Alsace and later in France and on the Eastern Front. With the infantry regiment "von Boyen" (5th East Prussian) No. 41 he was there when the Zwinin was stormed . Then he fell ill with dysentery and spent a time in the hospital in Lemberg and in the convalescent home in Frauenstadt . After recovery, he came to the replacement battalion in Speyersdorf near Königsberg, then to Memel and finally, in order to avoid being deployed again at the front in the Russian winter, he reported for MG training in the 1st replacement MGK of the I AK in the fortress of Pillau . Then he came to the MG company of the infantry regiment "Graf Dönhoff" (7th East Prussian) No. 44 in the trench warfare before Riga. When the regiment was relocated to the western front at the turn of the year 1916/17, all Alsatians, including Richert, had to remain on the eastern front because of the risk of desertion and so he came to the Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 260 and was promoted to NCO. The effects of the turnip winter were also noticeable at the front and the supply situation deteriorated drastically. In Jēkabpils , he commanded a machine gun division with Infantry Regiment No. 332 and witnessed the occupation of Riga . After the peace treaty of Brest-Litovsk , he was prepared for the western front at the Altengrabow military training area . On March 21, 1918, it was used again in France for the German spring offensive . On April 24 and 25, 1918, he took part in his first tank battle on the western front as a machine gunner near the village of Cachy . On the night of July 23rd to 24th, 1918, he defected to the French at risk of death and was sentenced to death by a German military tribunal in his absence . He put his memories on paper in the winter evenings.

Richard's memories of the war were first published in Germany decades later under the title Best Opportunity to Die . In 1992, a documentary entitled Best Opportunity to Die was produced based on the book . Wolfram Wette used these notes in 1992 for research for his 1998 book The Little Man's War. A military story from below .

Awards

Richert was awarded the Iron Cross II. Class and the Braunschweig War Merit Cross.

family

After returning home from the war, Dominik Richert worked as a farmer again. He was married. The marriage resulted in two sons: Ulrich (* 1922) and Marcel. Ulrich Richert is a writer and has written several books about his father, the history of his family and that of his homeland, the Sundgau .

photos

Fonts

  • Dominik Richert: Best opportunity to die. My experiences in the war 1914–1918. Edited by Bernd Ulrich and Angelika Tramitz. Knesebeck Munich 1989, ISBN 3-926901-15-2 .
  • Facsimile of the edition Best Opportunity to Die. My experiences during the war 1914–1918. ISBN 978-2-9565862-0-3
  • Unabridged new edition under the title: The war books by Dominik Richert, Bauer, from St Ulrich / Alsace 1914-1918 . Lulu.com 2018, ISBN 978-2-9565862-2-7 (Paperback), ISBN 978-2-9565862-3-4 (e-book)

literature

  • Rémy Cazals: Deux fantassins de la Grande Guerre: Louis Barthas and Dominik Richert. In: Jules Maurin, Jean-Charles Jauffret (eds.): La Grande Guerre 1914–1918, 80 ans d'historiographie et de représentations. Montpellier, ESID 2002, pp. 339-364, OCLC 695237845 .
  • Hilda Inderwildi: Naissance et constitution d'une conscience pacifiste dans les rangs des paysans alsaciens au moment de la Première Guerre mondiale. L'exemple de Dominik Richert (1893–1977). In: Jean-Paul Cahn, Françoise Knopper, Anne-Marie Saint-Gille (eds.): De la guerre juste à la paix juste. Aspects confessionnels de la construction de la paix dans l'espace franco-allemand (XVIe – XXe) siècle. (= Histoire et civilizations. ) Presses universitaires du Septentrion, Villeneuve d'Ascq 2008, ISBN 978-2-7574-0038-8 , pp. 199-210.
  • Wolfram Wette : The unheroic war memories of the Alsatian farmer Dominik Richert. In: Wolfram Wette: The Little Man's War. A military story from below. Munich 1998, ISBN 3-492-11420-2 .
  • Volker Ullrich : A memorial for deserters . In: Die Zeit , No. 44/1989.

Web links

Commons : Dominik Richert  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Information from his son Ulrich Richerts on December 6, 2013: "Monsieur RICHERT Dominique: Monsieur Dominique est né le 4 mai 1893. II est décédé le 27 mars 1977".
  2. ↑ Wolfram Wette: Ackerer, Alsacien, Deserter, Writer. In: Frankfurter Rundschau , January 3, 1991.
  3. ↑ Dominique Richert, the little farmer from Alsace on dsm1918.de, accessed on February 5, 2014.
  4. ↑ Credits to Best Opportunity to Die on youtube.com, at 1:12:50; accessed on February 5, 2014.
  5. ↑ Perpetrator and victim . In: Der Spiegel . No. 31 , 1992 ( online ).
  6. ↑ Photo and information on Ulrich Richert
personal data
SURNAME Richert, Dominik
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Alsatian farmer, war participant and autobiographer
DATE OF BIRTH May 4, 1893
PLACE OF BIRTH Ortisei , Alsace
DATE OF DEATH March 27, 1977
Place of death Ortisei , Alsace