Karl Diebitsch

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Karl Diebitsch (born January 3, 1899 in Hanover , † August 6, 1985 in Kreuth ) was a German painter and porcelain painter and advisor to the Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler on "artistic issues". He was one of the main representatives of the so-called German art under National Socialism .

Artistic career

After attending school in Hanover, Diebitsch began an apprenticeship as a painter, which he was only able to complete after the end of the First World War , since he had already volunteered for the German Army in October 1915 . He moved to Munich to study at the Academy of Fine Arts there, but initially worked politically and as a member of paramilitary associations before he was a student of Hermann Groeber at the academy from 1923 to 1925 . From 1927 to 1931 he was head of a porcelain painting company in Munich, after which he was without a permanent position. At the beginning of 1936 he was a co-founder of the Allach porcelain factory on behalf of Heinrich Himmler , where he became artistic director and designed vases and Julle candlesticks that were intended as gifts for members of the SS.

After the Second World War , Diebitsch worked as a porcelain painter for the Heinrich & Co factory in Selb .

Entry into the NSDAP and promotion to the SS

After moving to Munich , he met Dietrich Eckart , then Adolf Hitler and joined the NSDAP in May 1920 . As a member of the Federal Oberland, Diebitsch took part in the Ruhr battles, and in 1921 also in battles on the border with Poland . In Breslau he was one of the founders of a local branch of the NSDAP. After the party was banned and re-established, he initially did not rejoin, but rather sharply criticized its recent development. Diebitsch did not become a member of the NSDAP again until 1937 - with a new membership number.

Before that, Diebitsch applied for admission to the SS in 1933 , to which he was accepted on September 9, 1934 (SS no. 141,990). Heinrich Himmler promoted him to SS-Sturmführer on the same day. Diebitsch was now listed as an "SS leader in the personal staff of the RFSS". On April 20, 1935, he received his regular promotion to SS-Obersturmführer. In a direct promotion Diebitsch was promoted to SS-Hauptsturmführer on January 1, 1936, to SS-Sturmbannführer on November 9 of the same year and - in another direct promotion - to SS-Obersturmbannführer on July 25, 1937.

From the end of 1939 Diebitsch commanded the 2nd Battalion of the 11th Reinforced SS Totenkopfstandarte . On April 20, 1939, he was promoted to SS-Standartenführer.

On March 1, 1940, Diebitsch was assigned to the Waffen-SS , where he passed through various posts as "SS-Standartenführer der Reserve". He was employed by the Supreme SS and Police Leader in Italy and in the SS Personnel Main Office. In the summer of 1944 Diebitsch was reappointed to the "Personal Staff RFSS, Head Office Munich". In the Nazi ranks Diebitsch rose to an SS-Oberführer of the General SS on April 20, 1944 .

Parallel to his advancement in the SS, Diebitsch Himmler worked on artistic issues and acquired honorary posts in the cultural sector. As early as 1934 he was Himmler's advisor on artistic issues. In 1937 he became a member of the Reich Culture Senate, and in 1939 he was given the honorary title of "Professor". In 1942 Himmler appointed him "Head of Department for Artistic and Architectural Issues".

Works

In addition to his porcelain work, Diebitsch designed postage stamps for the Deutsche Reichspost , tapestries and interior fittings for barracks as well as coats of arms and emblems - for example for the German Ahnenerbe Research Foundation .

In 1938 and 1939 he took part in the Great German Art Exhibition in the Munich House of German Art with paintings.

literature

  • Gabriele Huber: The porcelain manufactory Allach-München GmbH - a "business enterprise" of the SS to protect the "German soul" . Jonas Verlag, Marburg 1992, ISBN 3-89445-132-7 .
  • Ernst Klee : The cultural lexicon for the Third Reich. Who was what before and after 1945. S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2007, ISBN 978-3-10-039326-5 , p. 100.
  • Saur general artist lexicon (AKL). The visual artists of all times and peoples , vol. 27. Saur, Munich and Leipzig 2000., ISBN 3-598-22767-1 .

Web links

Commons : Karl Diebitsch  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ SS Personnel Office: List of seniority of the NSDAP Schutzstaffel , as of December 1, 1938, serial no. 786.
  2. ^ Kurt Mehner: The Waffen-SS and Police, 1939-1945: leadership and troops . Militair-Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall, 1995, p. 291 ( google.de [accessed January 1, 2020]).
  3. ↑ SS-Personalhauptamt: List of seniority of the NSDAP Schutzstaffel, status January 30, 1942, serial no. 772.
  4. ↑ SS-Personalhauptamt: Seniority list of the Waffen-SS , status July 1, 1944, serial no. 2,468.
  5. ↑ Jonathan Petropoulos: Art as Politics in the Third Reich , The University of North Carolina Press, Charlotte, NC, ISBN 0-8078-4809-3 , p. 317.
personal data
SURNAME Diebitsch, Karl
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Diebitsch, Carl
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German painter
DATE OF BIRTH January 3, 1899
PLACE OF BIRTH Hanover
DATE OF DEATH August 6, 1985
Place of death Kreuth