Erich von Müller

Gotthelf Ernst Adolf Johann Erich Müller , von Müller since 1900 , (born September 18, 1877 in Berlin , † after 1943 ) was a German naval officer and naval attaché at the German embassy in London . There he was one of the protagonists of the German-English naval rivalry in the run-up to the First World War .

Life

Erich Müller, son of the officer (most recently General of the Artillery ) Eugen von Müller (1844-1911), who was ennobled in 1900 , joined the Imperial German Navy in the 1890s, where he was promoted to captain of the corvette . He owed his appointment as naval attaché in 1912 mainly to his mentor, the State Secretary in the Reichsmarineamt Alfred von Tirpitz and the advocacy of his predecessor Wilhelm Widenmann . His intervention, while still at the post of naval attaché in London, in favor of Müller prevented the appointment of the more moderate candidate Korvettenkapitän Werner von Rheinbaben , who was originally intended for the London attaché post.

As a naval attaché in London

The London attaché post - in any case the most important naval attaché post that German military diplomacy had to assign - had been of particular importance since the turn of the century and especially in the last few years before the First World War . Since this was a key position in the German-British naval conflict, its occupation was of immense importance. Widenmann's predecessor, Carl Coerper (1854–1942), had drawn attention not only to the explosive nature but also to the causes of the enmity that arose with Great Britain. During Widenmann's tenure, this crisis was even more evident and led, among other things, to the German ambassador Paul Metternich (1853–1934) resigning from office in May 1912 after violent contradictions with Kaiser Wilhelm II. Germany's “hard position” against England had thus prevailed. After a brief interim period for Ambassador Bieberstein, Karl Max von Lichnowsky (1860–1928) was accredited as the new ambassador in September 1912 . With the outbreak of the First World War and the declaration of war, von Müller was recalled from London.

Von Müller, who, like his friend and predecessor Wilhelm Widenmann, advocated a “hard line” towards England, took the view in this conflict that one must be adamant about British demands for a reduction in German naval expansion - because once you do is so strong at sea that the British would not be able to defeat the German deep-sea fleet without their own unreasonable losses if they would seek rapprochement with Germany on their own. That was an extremely unrealistic gamble. That is why the action of Erich von Müller in London, who was keen to avoid giving in or "buckling" by German diplomacy on the naval issue, was highly controversial. In addition, his behavior was completely contrary to the principles of attaché work as they had been formulated in 1900. Kaiser Wilhelm II had praised von Müller's reports as “downright statesmanlike”. In contrast, Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg could discover nothing more in the attaché than a “dangerous agitator”. Foreign State Secretary von Jagow accused von Müller in the same tone of running “tendentious reporting”. But this mocked the self-confident fleet lobbyist as "the beautiful miller".

During the First World War

In the initial phase of the First World War , Erich von Müller advocated for the time being "to behave quite passively" towards the British fleet. For the decision of the liberal British government of Asquith in August 1914 to join the war on the side of France and Russia against Germany, Müller blamed the then British Navy Minister Winston Churchill , under whose influence - according to Müller - the "war party" in the Asquith's cabinet after "hard fighting" against the anti-war party could have prevailed. But on June 12, 1915, he took over the naval attaché post in the Netherlands. At that time, the German ambassador was Felix von Müller (1857–1918), who was then replaced in 1915 by Richard von Kühlmann (1873–1948). Friedrich Rosen characterized the marine attaché from Müller as very "talented but even more spirited". From July 13, 1915, Erich von Müller was also head of the Copenhagen naval branch in this area of ​​responsibility. This belonged to the naval attaché area of ​​the Nordic Empire. The German ambassador in Copenhagen at that time was Ulrich von Brockdorff-Rantzau (1869–1928). For the area of ​​responsibility for the Netherlands, von Müller received from the end of 1918 reinforcement the frigate captain Wilhelm von Haxthausen (1874-1936) as a deputy naval attaché and Walter Köhler as an assistant. On June 5, 1919, von Müller in the Netherlands was replaced by Ernst von Weizsäcker (1882–1951) as the new naval attaché. With effect from March 31, 1920, all attaché positions were dissolved.

In the Weimar Republic

Around 1931, Erich von Müller was the third chairman of the German high seas sports association HANSA . In the Berlin address book of 1943 he is listed as a captain at sea . D. with residential address in Berlin-Wannsee verifiable.

family

Erich von Müller had been married to Emily Symington, daughter of a US lieutenant colonel and niece of Admiral Robley D. Evans , since July 1913 .

literature

• Dermot Bradley (eds.), Hans H. Hildebrand, Ernest Henriot: Germany's Admirals 1849-1945. The military careers of naval, engineering, medical, weapons and administrative officers with admiral rank. Volume 1: A-G. Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1988, ISBN 3-7648-1499-3 , pp. 216-217.
• Klaus Volker Giessler, The Institution of Naval Attachés in the Empire, Harald Boldt Verlag, Boppard am Rhein 1976, p. 77.
• Hans Hildebrand, Formation History and Staffing of the Imperial Navy, Volume 2, Biblio Verlag Osnabrück, 2000
• Marine Attaché, Books LLC, Wiki Series, Memphis USA. 2011, p. 6 f.
• Wilhelm Widenmann: Navy attaché at the Imperial German Embassy in London. 1907-1912. 1952,
• Gothaisches genealogisches Taschenbuch der Briefadeligen houses, 1911, p.661

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Birth register of the Berlin III registry office No. 1305/1977.
2. ↑ Michael Epkenhans: From the life of a Wilhelminer. Register of persons.
3. ↑ Wilhelm Widenmann: Marinattaché at the German Embassy in London 1907 to 1912 , p. 219. Widenmann praised Müller “in addition to excellent knowledge”, above all, that he had “skilful but reserved forms and the necessary strength of character that guarantee offered that he would be up to the difficult position in London ”.
4. ↑ Klaus Volker Giessler, The Institution of Naval Attachés in the Empire, Harald Boldt Verlag, Boppard am Rhein 1976, p. 77.
5. ↑ See General Instructions of the Reich Chancellor for the Military and Naval Attachés in the version dated February 2, 1900, BA / MA Fasz. 5056 I. 1–17; Under point 3 it was determined here: "You may want to play an independent political activity (and role with footnotes)" in: Heinrich Otto Meissner, Military Attachés and Plenipotentiaries in Prussia and the German Reich, Rütten & Loening Verlin Berlin, 1957, pp. 73ff .
6. ↑ Werner von Rheinbaben: Kaiser, Chancellor, President , 1968, p. 129.
7. ↑ Bethmann to Wangenheim in April 1914, printed in Michael Epkenhans: Hopmann-Tagebuch , p, 368. At the same point, Bethmann assumed - who wanted to avoid reporting on questions of naval negotiations that would influence the Kaiser in an anti-British sense or to reinforce it the naval armament could cause - von Müller to be influenced by his opponent Tirpitz.
8. ^ Jagow to Lichnowsky February 26, 1914, GP 37 / I 14697/105. At the same point Jagow asked the ambassador Karl Max Fürst von Lichnowsky to take von Müller on a leash, since his "eternal agitation and suspicions of English politics [...] were extremely disturbing".
9. ^ Letter to Maximilian Harden dated June 8, 1917, Bundesarchiv Koblenz NL Harden, N1062766, fol. 22nd
10. ^ Wilhelm Ernst Winterhager: Mission for Peace. European Power Policy , p. 183.
11. ^ Wilhelm Ernst Winterhager: Mission for Peace , p. 183.
12. ^ Friedrich Rosen: From a diplomatic wandering life , 1931, p. 87.
13. ↑ Klaus Volker Giessler, The Institution of the Naval Attachés in the Empire, Harald Boldt Verlag, Boppard am Rhein 1976, p. 309
14. ↑ DHH advertising brochure 1931
15. ^ Berlin address book 1943, p. 2000 ( online )
16. ↑ Shellbrook Chronicle, July 12, 1913, p. 7.