Hanns Möller-Witten

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Hanns Möller-Witten (born May 16, 1901 in Witten ; † July 1, 1966 there ) was a German military writer and journalist.

Life

The son of an entrepreneur grew up in Witten, where he wrote for the local newspaper under a pseudonym as a schoolboy. After graduating from high school, Möller initially studied agricultural sciences in Münster for two semesters. He then started studying history at the University of Leipzig . There he became a member of the student union Landsmannschaft Suevia .

During his studies Möller turned his attention to the history of war, in particular that of the First World War , in which he had participated as a soldier in 1918. He was involved in the Witten department of the monarchist-nationalist Prussian League, founded in 1923 . Möller headed the youth and student organization that cultural evenings held and paramilitary luggage marches and shooting practice organized. As early as 1925 he made contact with Franz Pfeffer von Salomon , the Gauleiter of the NSDAP in Westphalia. Möller and the miners' unions who depend on him are either already members of the NSDAP or SA or are willing to join. The Witten Prussia Federation joined the SA in 1929. The Witten Tageblatt published at this time tales of Möller. The historian Heinrich Schoppmeyer takes a story from 1926 as an example of the emotions and thoughts of the young members of the Witten Prussia Federation and characterizes them as a “youthful and pubescent gay”, in which “false knight and castle romance” Möller led the pen. "This mixed in Germanic characteristics (or what Möller thought they were)" and other clichés.

After the founding of the "Knighthood of the Order Pour le Mérite " he became the secretary of the knighthood under the managing director Friedrich Karl von Witzleben (1867-1947). Even after the Second World War , he led the chancellery of the knighthood. In addition to 25 regimental stories, which he wrote on behalf of the officer corps, Möller-Witten published thousands of military biographical articles on officers and articles in newspapers and magazines. His main work is a two-volume biographical work on the knights of the Pour le Mérite from 1935. During the Second World War he lost his personal archive. He is said to have intended to write a work similar to the one on the Knights of Pour le Mérite on the Knight's Cross bearers.

During the Second World War he wrote propaganda such as “The Prussian from Hanover - Scharnhorst , the creator of German military strength”, after 1945 for the Groschenheft series “ Der Landser ”. Möller-Witten was temporarily responsible for the military-political section of the Deutsche National-Zeitung and accordingly worked in the militaristic and right-wing environment. Until 1968 he was editor of the OASE magazine of the German Africa Corps Association .

Publications (selection)

  • History of the knights of the order “Pour le mérite” in the World War. 2 volumes, Bernard & Graefe, Berlin 1935.
  • Fight and victory of a fighter squadron. Bernard & Graefe, Berlin 1939.
  • Fritz von Below, General of the Infantry. A picture of life. Bernard & Graefe, Berlin 1939.
  • The Prussian from Hanover. Scharnhorst, the creator of German military strength. Lühe, Leipzig 1942.
  • Run to the enemy! Mittler, Berlin 1943
  • with Josef Folttmann: The generals' sacrifice: The losses of the generals and admirals and the other officers and officials in the same rank in World War II. Bernard & Graefe, Berlin, 1957.
  • Soldiers' stories, men and deeds. Knight's Cross bearers tell. Julius Friedrich Lehmann , 1959.
  • With the oak leaves to the knight's cross. Pabel, Rastatt 1962.

literature

  • Max Mechow: Well-known CCers. Historia Academica, Volume 8/9, p. 169.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Obituary for Hanns Möller-Witten. In: Journal for Army and Uniform Studies. 208 (1966), p. 145.
  2. ^ Heinrich Schoppmeyer : The National Socialism in Witten. Part 1: ascent and seizure of power. = Yearbook of the association for local and in the county of Mark . 82./83. Jg. Witten 1985, pp. 112-114.
  3. ^ Heinrich Schoppmeyer: The National Socialism in Witten. Part 1: ascent and seizure of power. = Yearbook of the association for local and in the county of Mark . 82./83. Witten 1985, p. 120.
  4. ^ Heinrich Schoppmeyer: The National Socialism in Witten. Part 1: ascent and seizure of power. = Yearbook of the association for local and in the county of Mark . 82./83. Jg. Witten 1985, pp. 116-118, cit. 120.
  5. ↑ Horst Mühleisen: The order Pour le Mérite and its knighthood. In: Military History. Civic Education Journal. 11, 4 (2001), p. 75.
  6. ↑ Paperback of public life. 11 (1961), p. 405.
  7. ↑ Dirk Wilking : "The Landser". How a man becomes a man (pdf; 2.3 MB) . In Wolfram Hülsemann, Michael Kohlstruck (eds.): Mobile consulting team. Insights. Brandenburgische Universitätsdruckerei 2004, ISBN 3-00-015288-1 , p. 76.
  8. ↑ Manfred Jenke : Conspiracy from the right? 1961
  9. ↑ Heinz Brüdigam: The lap is still fertile ... Neo-Nazi, militarist, nationalist literature and journalism in the Federal Republic. Röderberg-Verlag, 1965.
  10. ^ Franz Kurowski : The legacy. Siegfried Westphal - As chief of staff of three field marshals in the war 1939–1945. Pöppinghaus, Bochum 1982, p. 139.
personal data
SURNAME Möller-Witten, Hanns
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Möller-Witten, Hans; Möller Witten, Hanns; Möller Witten Hans; Möller, Hanns; Möller, Hans
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German military writer
DATE OF BIRTH May 16, 1901
PLACE OF BIRTH Witten
DATE OF DEATH July 1, 1966
Place of death Witten