Ernst-August Köstring

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Hans Krebs (left) and Ernst-August Köstring (1941)

Ernst-August Köstring (born June 20, 1876 in Serebrjanyje Prudy , Tula Gouvernement ( Russian Empire ); †  November 20, 1953 at the Bichlhof near Unterwössen ) was a German diplomat and officer , most recently a general of the cavalry in World War II .

Life

Ernst-August Köstring was born near Moscow as the son of Gustav Köstring and his wife Emilie, née Gade. The upbringing in the family was shaped by Protestant values. From August 1885 he attended the secondary school of St. Michaelis Church in Moscow. Here he received his secondary school leaving certificate in 1894.

Prussian Army

On October 1, 1895, Ernst-August Köstring joined the Uhlan Regiment “von Schmidt” (1st Pomeranian) No. 4 in Thorn as a one-year volunteer and retired there as a non-commissioned officer . After several reserve exercises with his regiment , he was appointed lieutenant in the reserve on November 25, 1898 . In the same year he began studying law and economics at the University of Leipzig. A year later he moved to the University of Zurich, where he continued his studies from 1899 until 1900.

On July 1, 1901, Ernst-August Köstring joined the Cuirassier Regiment "Duke Friedrich Eugen von Württemberg" (West Prussian) No. 5 , with his patent as an active officer being dated July 1, 1900. From April 1904 he was then used as a regimental adjutant. He was promoted to first lieutenant in 1910. In 1912 he was assigned to the military riding institute in Hanover for two years and then to the officers riding school in Paderborn , where he was employed as an adjutant and tactics teacher. He was promoted to Rittmeister on December 18, 1913.

With the beginning of the First World War , Ernst-August Köstring was appointed Ordonnanzoffizier at the General Command of the XX. Army corps deployed. Further assignments followed in various general staffs , including in Army Group Scholz and in 1916 in the Austrian Army Command of the 12th Army. A serious wound in autumn 1916 was followed by a long convalescence . Recovered, he served in the German military mission in Turkey from December 1917 and was First Adjutant of the Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Army, Major General Hans von Seeckt (1866–1936) from January 17, 1918 . At the end of his assignment in August 1918, he was referred to the representative of the Kiev military mission from September 1 and assigned to the Ukrainian Minister of War. Returned to Germany in November 1918, he became a battalion leader in Landwehr Infantry Regiment No. 76.

Reichswehr

When he was taken over by the Reichsheer , Ernst-August Köstring came to the Reichswehr Ministry in Berlin on March 3, 1919 . From October he headed the cavalry department of the Reichswehr Ministry, but then switched to the " Foreign Armies " department on November 24, 1919 . Friedrich von Boetticher (1881–1967) was the head of this department, which later traded under the name Army Statistics Department T 3 of the Troops Office TA . During this time Köstring took part in numerous exploratory trips, military cooperation talks and troop exercises. In early 1920 he was called in to the talks led by General Hans von Seeckt (1866-1936) with members of the government and the military of Soviet Russia in Moscow with the aim of agreeing on joint cooperation on military armaments issues. At the beginning of 1922 he was promoted to major , with the seniority fixed on June 1, 1921. On October 1, 1922, he moved to the regimental staff of the 16th Cavalry Regiment in Langensalza . At the beginning of 1925 he was transferred back to the Reichswehr Ministry as Adjutant General Hans von Seeckts on the staff of the Army Command . During this time he had a serious car accident in December 1926 and was then appointed commander of the 10th (Prussian) cavalry regiment in Züllichau on March 1927 . In this position he was promoted to lieutenant colonel on May 1, 1927 . This time up to the end of 1929 was filled with participation in numerous courses and the implementation of military exploratory trips to other countries. On August 1, 1930 Köstring was promoted to colonel . From this time on he prepared for another assignment abroad.

For reasons of secrecy about this mission, Ernst-August Köstring was officially transferred to the staff of Group Command 1 in Berlin on February 1, 1931. The actual destination, however, was Moscow, where he was transferred to Moscow from January 19, 1931 as a military advisor to support the military cooperation between the Reichswehr and the Red Army. Since there was no agreement between the Weimar Republic and the Soviet Union on the mutual use of military attachés at the time, he was declared as military advisor to the German embassy in Moscow. The German ambassador to the Soviet Union at this time was Herbert von Dirksen (1882–1955), who was immediately informed about the priorities of the military cooperation and supported them in terms of content. For example, mutual military support projects were carried out at 5 locations on the territory of the Soviet Union. For the future air force, the development, construction and testing of aircraft took place on the basis of German design documents. Lipetsk Airport was used for the training of pilots and aerial observers. New warfare agents were developed for chemical warfare, their effectiveness tested, and the technology and technology for deploying warfare agents further developed. Engines and combat vehicles were developed, manufactured and tested for the future armored forces. An armored car testing and driving school existed near the village of Kama. For several years, the joint training of German and Soviet general staff officers, the dispatch and care of interned officers for both general staffs, and mutual participation in maneuvers and technical exercises, was organized. The office of the special troops R (Russia) established in Moscow under the direction of Oskar Ritter von Niedermayer (1885–1948) was responsible for the practical implementation of this cooperation . Köstring worked closely with this office on content and organizational issues. Since 1929, German-Soviet cooperation had also been expanded to include the mutual exchange of intelligence between the military intelligence services of both countries. The reports required for this went through the Köstring division. On March 1, 1933, he was promoted to major general. However, since the urgency to keep this activity consistently secret had increased significantly in recent years, but also with the chancellorship of Adolf Hitler from January 1933 onwards, because of this activity in Moscow, the danger for Koestring into the anti-Soviet hysteria of the National Socialist ideology had increased To be drawn into it, he was officially retired from active service in the Reichswehr on March 31, 1933. He stayed out of the consistent handling of the individual projects of German-Soviet cooperation in the field of military affairs, which began in autumn 1933. Until 1935 he went on commissioned officer trips to other countries.

Wehrmacht

With confirmation of his rank as major general, Ernst-August Köstring returned to active military service on August 1, 1935. His current assignment was to perform the duties of the military attaché at the German embassy in Moscow. This was very well-known territory for him, as he had only handed over the contacts two years earlier and now, on October 1, 1935, replaced Lieutenant Colonel Otto Hartmann (1884–1952), his successor. His field of activity now extended to the USSR and Lithuania , and he was based in Moscow. Norbert von Baumbach (1900–1977) worked as an assistant at his side, especially for maritime issues, until December 1936. Captain Schubath and, from 1939, Colonel Ralph von Heygendorff (1897–1953) dealt with army issues. While the Soviet side showed extensive efforts to revive military cooperation with Germany via the German embassy and its military attachés after Köstring took over the post, the German side held back extremely. The reason for this was that the Soviet Union had meanwhile been classified by the Wehrmacht in the category of “foreign armies” and since August 1936 it had even been designated as a target for a future military attack. This was clearly reflected in the request for information from the attachés, but also in their reports. In connection with the efforts for a German-Soviet non-aggression agreement, both sides signaled during this time that they had the common enemy image of “Poland” at their disposal. On August 1, 1937, Köstring was promoted to lieutenant general.

From 1938 Ernst-August Köstring, together with Norbert von Baumbach , who had been promoted to naval attaché in 1936, was involved in the planning and informal work steps in preparation for the German-Soviet non-aggression treaty. A day before it was signed, a joint military agreement was completed as a result of the work of the German-Soviet military commission by Köstring and People's Commissar Kliment Jefromowitsch Voroshilov (1881-1969) to regulate further military cooperation between the two countries. The points contained therein rekindled the attachés' hope of long-term military cooperation. Therefore, immediately afterwards, they very quickly increased the number of their auxiliary staff until the end of September 1939 and held preliminary talks to determine the common information requirements. On the days when the Foreign Ministers signed the non-aggression treaty in Moscow, on August 23 and 24, 1939, both attachés were among the members of the German delegation. On October 1, 1940, Köstring was promoted to general of the cavalry .

After Germany's attack on the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, the employees of the German embassy were briefly interned, and Ernst-August Köstring returned to Germany a few days later. He has arrived here in the Führerreserve offset the Army (OKH) of the high command, but then the officer from September 1, 1942 Caucasus issues in the Army Group A ordered. During his stay in the Caucasus, he had numerous encounters with the regional administrative bodies and also with the population. At a Muslim folk festival in Kislovodsk , Köstring aroused such enthusiasm among the local Karachay people , who felt the German occupation policy, at least on religious issues, as milder than the previous practice of the Soviet authorities, with a speech in Russian that they threw him into the air several times, according to national custom . In the spring of 1943 he was transferred back to the Führerreserve. In mid-June 1943 he was appointed inspector of the German-commanded Turkic people associations , and on January 1, 1944, he was appointed general of the "volunteer" associations in the Army High Command.

After the Second World War

On May 4, 1945 Ernst August Köstring came at Bad Aibling in US captivity . He spent the first few weeks in the Bad Aibling camp near Rosenheim. He was then flown out to the USA and stayed for about three months in a special camp near Washington to answer questions about German-Russian military events, especially about the years of military cooperation in the Weimar Republic and after 1933. When he returned to Germany, he was supposed to testify in court as a defense witness in the case of Reich Foreign Minister von Ribbentrop during the Nuremberg Trial . However, the representatives of the Soviet prosecution at the trial rejected this request. He continued to stay in prisoner-of-war camps on German territory, most recently in the Ludwigsburg prison camp. From here he was released home in 1947.

Ernst-August Köstring died on November 20, 1953 at the Bichlhof in Unterwössen.

Awards

literature

  • Dermot Bradley , Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Markus Rövekamp: The Generals of the Army 1921-1945. Volume 7: Knabe – Luz. Biblio, Bissendorf 2004, ISBN 3-7648-2902-8 , pp. 133f.
  • Herbert von Dirksen, Moscow-Tokyo-London 1919–1939, Stuttgart 1949
  • Jurij Djakow, Fašistskij meč kovalsja v SSSR: Krasnaja Armija i rejchsver; tajnoe sotrudničestvo 1922–1933; neizvestnye dokumenty (The Fascist Sword was forged in the Soviet Union) Publishers Sowjetskaja Rossija 1992
  • Olaf Groehler, Suicidal Alliance, German-Russian Military Relations 1920–1941, Visia Verlag, Berlin, 1992
  • Sebastian Haffner, Der Teufelspakt, Manesse Verlag Zurich, 1989
  • Hans von Herwarth : Between Hitler and Stalin: Experienced Contemporary History 1931–1945. Propylaea, Frankfurt 1982, ISBN 3-549-07627-4 .
  • Gerd Koenen, The Russia Complex. The Germans and the East 1900–1945, CH Beck Verlag, Munich 2005
  • Werner H. Krause: Despised Brothers in Arms. The tragedy of the Eastern peoples 1941–1945. From the estate of the military attaché and general Ernst Köstring. Druffel & Vowinckel , Inning am Ammersee 2011, ISBN 3-8061-1212-6 .
  • Klaus Mehnert, A German in the World, Memoirs 1906–1981, Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt GmbH Stuttgart, 1981,
  • Hermann Teske (editor) General Ernst Köstring, the military mediator between the German Reich and the Soviet Union. 1921–1941, Mittler & Sohn publishing house, Frankfurt am Main, 1965
  • Manfred Zeidler, Reichwehr and Red Army 1920–1933, R.Oldenbourg Verlag Munich 1993
  • Ernst Köstring , in: Internationales Biographisches Archiv 52/1953 of December 14, 1953, in the Munzinger Archive ( beginning of article freely accessible)
  • Reichswehr and Red Army, documents from the military archive, no publisher, no date

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Pyotr Sokolov: 65-летие Победы. Два генерала: русский след ( Memento from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) (= 65th anniversary of the victory. Two 20160304100149 generals: Russian trace). Literaturnaja Gazeta No. 18 (6273) from May 5, 2010. Accessed June 21, 2014.
  2. ↑ Edmund Glaise von Horstenau , Peter Broucek (Ed.): A General in the Twilight. The memories of Edmund Glaise von Horstenau. Volume 2: Minister in the corporate state and general in the OKW. Series “Publications of the Commission for Modern History of Austria”, Vol. 70, Böhlau, Vienna 1983, ISBN 3-205-08743-7 , p. 502.
  3. ↑ Ernst Köstring , in: Internationales Biographisches Archiv 52/1953 of December 14, 1953, in the Munzinger archive ( beginning of the article freely available)
  4. ^ Dermot Bradley , Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Markus Rövekamp: Die Generale des Heeres 1921–1945. Volume 7: Knabe – Luz. Biblio, Bissendorf 2004, ISBN 3-7648-2902-8 , p. 133 f.
  5. ↑ Manfred Zeidler, Reichwehr and Red Army 1920–1933, R. Oldenbourg Verlag Munich 1993, p. 49 ff.
  6. ^ Dermot Bradley , Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Markus Rövekamp: Die Generale des Heeres 1921–1945. Volume 7: Knabe – Luz. Biblio, Bissendorf 2004, ISBN 3-7648-2902-8 , p. 133 f.
  7. ^ Hermann Teske (editor) General Ernst Köstring, The military mediator between the German Empire and the Soviet Union. 1921–1941, Mittler & Sohn publishing house, Frankfurt am Main, 1965.
  8. ^ Herbert von Dirksen, Moscow-Tokio-London 1919–1939, Stuttgart 1949.
  9. ^ Olaf Groehler, Suicidal Alliance. German-Russian military relations 1920–1941, Visa Verlag Berlin 1992, p. 43 ff.
  10. ↑ Jurij Djakow, Fašistskij meč kovalsja v SSSR: Krasnaja Armija i rejchsver; tajnoe sotrudničestvo 1922–1933; neizvestnye dokumenty (The Fascist Sword was forged in the Soviet Union) Publishers Sowjetskaja Rossija 1992
  11. ^ Notes by Ernst August Köstring from March 24, 1932; and from April 4, 1932. In: Olaf Groehler, Suicide Alliance, German-Russian Military Relations 1920–1941, Visia Verlag, Berlin, 1992, pp. 61 f.
  12. ↑ Ernst Köstring , in: Internationales Biographisches Archiv 52/1953 of December 14, 1953, in the Munzinger archive ( beginning of the article freely available)
  13. ↑ Manfred Kehring, The Re-establishment of the German Military Attaché Service after the First World War (1919–1933), Harald Boldt Verlag, Boppard am Rhein 1966, p. 227
  14. ↑ Hermann Teske (ed.) General Ernst Köstring. The military mediator between the German Reich and the Soviet Union 1921–1941, Verlag ES Mittler & Sohn GmbH, Frankfurt / Main 1965, p. 79 ff.
  15. ↑ Der Spiegel : A red star is rising in the east . Issue 12/1985, March 18, 1985.
  16. ^ Dermot Bradley , Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Markus Rövekamp: Die Generale des Heeres 1921–1945. Volume 7: Knabe – Luz. Biblio, Bissendorf 2004, ISBN 3-7648-2902-8 , p. 133 f.
  17. ↑ a b c d e f g h Ranking list of the German Reichsheeres , Ed .: Reichswehrministerium , Mittler & Sohn Verlag, Berlin 1930, p. 113.
  18. ^ Dermot Bradley, Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Markus Rövekamp: Die Generale des Heeres 1921–1945, Volume 7 Knabe-Luz ; Biblio Verlag, Bissendorf 2004, ISBN 3-7648-2902-8 , p. 78.
  19. ↑ the specific profile of the publisher must be observed.
personal data
SURNAME Köstring, Ernst-August
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German officer, general of the cavalry and general of the volunteer units in the high command of the army
DATE OF BIRTH June 20, 1876
PLACE OF BIRTH Serebryanyye Prudy
DATE OF DEATH November 20, 1953
Place of death Bichlhof near Unterwössen