Officers' union

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The Officer's Association (also: Officer's Conspiracy) was a secret resistance group of Swiss officers during World War II with the aim of continuing the armed struggle under all circumstances in the event of a surrender.

Origin and goal setting

Under the impression of the capitulation of France and the ambiguously interpretable radio address by Federal President Marcel Pilet-Golaz on June 25, 1940, the captains Alfred Ernst , Hans Hausamann and Max Waibel, together with corporal August R. Lindt (an employee in the Ha office ), decided on a secret one To found a covenant. His goal was that the army should fight even if the Federal Council and the army command surrendered. These bodies should be imprisoned in such a case.

Founding meeting and manifesto

19 officers and Kpl Lindt attended the founding meeting on July 21, 1940 in Lucerne. The manifesto called for unconditional armed resistance and the renewal of Switzerland, which should be based on the following basic ideas: soldierly comradeship and discipline, federal principle, unconditional respect for the individual and the family, and a rejection of the idea of ​​the total state. Two officers did not sign the manifesto: the intelligence officer of the 5th Division, who had been sent to the meeting as an observer on behalf of his chief of staff, and a captain who had a conflict of conscience with his superior Gustav Däniker .

The adoption of the manifesto was not the only point at the meeting in Lucerne. To trigger an emergency, the keyword “Nidwalden” was defined. The participating officers should take appropriate precautions in their command areas and involve other shop stewards.

Detection and further course

On July 29th, Alfred Ernst sent out invitations by courier for a further meeting, planned for August 4th, to a selected group of staff officers. One of the addressees, the intelligence chief of the 4th Army Corps, was absent on leave. Since the message was not signed, it was forwarded to his deputy. Since it was not clear whether it was an action coordinated with the Army High Command or not, the process was later handed over to the senior auditor , authorized by General Guisan . The military examining magistrate initially investigated in the direction of a conspiratorial, defeatist organization and high treason .

Due to the preliminary investigation, the officers Alfred Ernst, Hans Hausamann and Max Waibel were arrested on August 3 and relieved of their functions with immediate effect. Hausamann's colleague, Corporal August R. Lindt, managed to contact the politician Hans Oprecht about the arrests and to inform him about the objectives of the conspiracy. Oprecht's contacts led to broad-based sympathy for the officers across party lines. The chief of staff, Jakob Huber, also supported the officers' intentions. General Guisan reduced the sentence demanded by the chief auditor and finally sentenced the officers to disciplinary sentences of three to 15 days of "strict arrest". The other parties involved received a written reprimand. A total of 32 members of the army were determined. The exact number of those involved can no longer be determined, as Corporal Lindt destroyed the list of members shortly before his arrest. All convicted officers were reinstated in their original functions. Some of them were given direct access to him at Guisan's express request.

reception

According to the historian Willi Gautschi, a conclusive assessment of whether it was a conspiratorial organization suitable for a coup d'etat can no longer be conclusively determined. In the context of the time, Gautschi points out that the idea of ​​the officers involved corresponded to a broad consensus between politics and the public, which stood in contrast to the efforts of Ulrich Wille junior and Gustav Däniker. It is undisputed that the relevant officers were able to get involved in legal groups and movements such as the Gotthard League and the National Resistance Campaign. B. Walter Allgöwer and Gerhart Schürch . Likewise, their involvement in the officers' union did not prevent them from pursuing a military career. Alfred Ernst later became corps commander of the 2nd Army Corps .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Gautschi: General Henri Guisan. 1994, p. 235 ff.
  2. ^ Gautschi: General Henri Guisan. 1994, p. 239
  3. ^ Gautschi: General Henri Guisan. 1994, p. 237
  4. ^ Gautschi: General Henri Guisan. 1994, p. 260 ff.