Max Bastian

Max Bastian (born August 28, 1883 in Spandau , † March 11, 1958 in Wilhelmshaven ) was a German naval officer , most recently an admiral and from September 1939 to October 1944 president of the Reich Court Martial .

Life

Max was the son of the private builder and factory owner Franz Bastian and went after visiting the Royal Grammar School in Spandau on 1 April 1902 as a midshipman in the Imperial Navy one. He completed his ship training on the cruiser frigate SMS Moltke and then went to the naval school .

After completing his training, he was transferred to the East Asia Squadron on October 1, 1904 ; he was on duty there on the large cruiser SMS Hansa . On September 29, 1905 he was promoted to lieutenant in the sea and from October 1905 Bastian was employed as an officer on watch on the gunboat SMS Luchs . After returning to Germany, on November 21, 1906, he first came on board the liner SMS Schwaben and on April 4, 1907, he was officer on the watch on the liner SMS Kaiser Friedrich III. offset. In the same function, Bastian switched to the liner SMS Kaiser Barbarossa on October 1 and was promoted to lieutenant at sea on October 15, 1907 . From October 1, 1908 to September 14, 1910, he was a company officer in the I. Department of the ship's master division, and was then used as a watch officer on the liner SMS Prussia until September 30, 1912 . By June 30, 1914, he was assigned to the Naval Academy in Kiel and was promoted to captainleutnant on March 22, 1913 .

First World War

For a month he was placed at the disposal of the Naval Education Inspectorate and at the outbreak of the First World War he was transferred to the small cruiser SMS Amazone as an officer on watch . From October 23, 1914, he was employed first as a flag lieutenant , then as an admiral staff officer in various staffs in the Baltic Sea. Bastian played a key role in the planning of the Albions company. On November 17, 1916, his son Helmut was born, who, like his father, started a career in the navy.

Weimar Republic

After the end of the First World War , he was briefly active as a naval liaison officer in the Eastern Border Guard and in the naval archive and was then taken over into the Reichsmarine . For almost half a year he was Second Admiral Staff Officer on the staff of the Commander in Chief of the Naval Station of the Baltic Sea , then came to Berlin as a department head in the naval command and was promoted to Corvette Captain on June 29, 1920 . From June 15, 1923 to March 31, 1924 Bastian was again active in the naval archives, interrupted by a two-month assignment on the liner Alsace . Then followed until January 3, 1926, the transfer as a navigation officer to the ship of the line Braunschweig . On January 4, 1926 Bastian was appointed First Admiral Staff Officer in the Fleet Command and promoted to frigate captain on April 1, 1927 . From 1 October 1928 he led for one year as commander of the battleship Silesia , two months later on December 1, 1928 sea captain and came subsequently to the end of September 1932 as head of the Finance Division of Marine (Hamar) in the Ministry of Defense to Berlin.

Third Reich

On October 1, 1932 Bastian was appointed commander of the ships of the line (BdL) and promoted him to rear admiral on September 1, 1933 . After he had given up command on September 30, 1934, he was used for one year as II. Admiral of the Baltic Sea (II. AdO). Following this, Bastian was from October 1, 1935 to April 3, 1938 Chief of the General Naval Office (Department B or B for short) at the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. In this capacity he was promoted to Vice Admiral on December 1, 1935 and to Admiral on April 1, 1938. Until September 30, 1938 he was at the disposal of the Wehrmacht High Command. He then served as President of the Reich Welfare and Supply Court of the Wehrmacht .

President of the Reich Court Martial

Bastian acted as President of the Imperial Court Martial from September 12, 1939. In this capacity he was responsible for a number of death sentences . The Austrian conscientious objector Franz Jägerstätter was among the victims .

The sick Max Bastian was represented by Paul von Hase in 1943/1944 . On October 31, 1944, he was made available to the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy and on November 30 , 1944, he was honored to retire.

War crimes charges

On March 27, 1947, Bastian was handed over by the British to the French occupying forces and charged with various war crimes . From May 12, 1947, he was imprisoned in Wittlich prison and then in Bastion XII until April 17, 1948, without a trial.

Awards

Iron Cross (1914) 2nd and 1st class

Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with swords

Prussian service award cross

Hanseatic Cross Hamburg

Mecklenburg War Merit Cross, 2nd class

Hanseatic Cross Bremen

Hanseatic Cross Lübeck

War Merit Cross II. And I. Class with swords

Knight's Cross of the War Merit Cross with Swords on October 12, 1944

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 Publishing House. Osnabrück 1988. ISBN 3-7648-1499-3 . Pp. 63-64.
Manfred Messerschmidt : Admiral Max Bastian. In: Gerd R. Ueberschär (ed.): Hitler's military elite. 68 CVs. Primus. 2. reviewed u. bibliographically updated edition Darmstadt 2011. ISBN 978-3-89678-727-9 . Pp. 272-282.

Web links

Institute for Contemporary History Munich-Berlin: Witness literature online. ZS 1483, Bastian, Max (PDF file; 5.29 MB). Record 1957: Development of the Reich judiciary during war; the Sponeck case; political attitude of the navy in the Weimar Republic; Judgment on Admiral Canaris; Etc.

Individual evidence

^ The German Leader Lexicon 1934/1935. Publishing house Otto Stollberg GmbH
^ Manfred Messerschmidt : Annulment of the death sentence against Franz Jägerstätter. (PDF) In: Critical Justice. Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft , 1998, archived from the original on January 6, 2020 ; accessed on January 6, 2020 : “Franz Jägerstetter refused. He was on the right side from the start. It was just recognized far too late. "
^ Roland Kopp: Paul von Hase: from the Alexander barracks to Plötzensee; a German soldier biography 1885 - 1944 . LIT Verlag Münster, 2001, ISBN 978-3-8258-5035-7 , p. 177 ( google.de [accessed October 15, 2018]).
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Ranking list of the German Reichsmarine. Ed .: Reichswehr Ministry . ES Mittler & Sohn . Berlin 1929. p. 43.

personal data
SURNAME	Bastian, Max
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German naval officer, most recently admiral and president of the Imperial Court Martial
DATE OF BIRTH	August 28, 1883
PLACE OF BIRTH	Berlin-Spandau
DATE OF DEATH	March 11, 1958
Place of death	Wilhelmshaven

[1] The German Leader Lexicon 1934/1935. Publishing house Otto Stollberg GmbH

[mm_1998-2] Manfred Messerschmidt : Annulment of the death sentence against Franz Jägerstätter. (PDF) In: Critical Justice. Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft , 1998, archived from the original on January 6, 2020 ; accessed on January 6, 2020 : “Franz Jägerstetter refused. He was on the right side from the start. It was just recognized far too late. "

[3] Roland Kopp: Paul von Hase: from the Alexander barracks to Plötzensee; a German soldier biography 1885 - 1944 . LIT Verlag Münster, 2001, ISBN 978-3-8258-5035-7 , p. 177 ( google.de [accessed October 15, 2018]).

[RanglisteM1929-4] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Ranking list of the German Reichsmarine. Ed .: Reichswehr Ministry . ES Mittler & Sohn . Berlin 1929. p. 43.