Paul Boethke

Paul Boethke (born September 24, 1872 in Thorn in West Prussia , † September 7, 1964 in Göttingen ) was a German naval officer , most recently in the character of a rear admiral .

Career

Boethke joined the Imperial Navy as a cadet on April 10, 1891 . After basic training , he was appointed sea ​​cadet on April 11, 1892 . His further theoretical and practical training followed until he was promoted to sub-lieutenant at sea on September 20, 1894 . From 1895 to 1896 he was then used on the cruiser corvette SMS Prinzess Wilhelm , which as part of the East Asia Squadron manned the naval station there . On April 12, 1897 he was promoted to lieutenant in the sea (renamed Oberleutnant zur See on January 1, 1899). This was followed by further commands on land and at sea, as well as further promotions to lieutenant captain on March 21, 1905 and to corvette captain on October 13, 1908.

From 1910 to 1912 Boethke then served as first officer on the ships of the line SMS Hannover and SMS Helgoland .

On October 2, 1912, Boethke then traveled as a transport leader with the steamer Princess Alice to Tsingtau , where he was deployed as an artillery officer from November 22, 1912 and as head of the artillery and mine depot . On November 15, 1913 he was appointed frigate captain.

After Tsingtau was captured by Japanese forces at the beginning of World War I , he was taken prisoner in Japan in November 1914 and was taken to the Fukuoka camp in Japan. On March 22, 1918, he was transferred to the Narashino camp.

In December 1919 Boethke was released and traveled back to Germany from January 5th to March 3rd as a transport driver for other German prisoners of war. During the voyage he was promoted to sea captain on January 30th , the patent was dated January 27th 1916.

Shortly after his arrival in Germany, Boethke was retired on March 9, 1920. On September 20, 1920 he was given the character of rear admiral.

In World War II Boethke was not reactivated. After the war he lived in Göttingen from 1955, where he died in 1964.

Private

Boethke was married and had two children.

Web links

• Short biography of Paul Boethke. In: Tsingtau and Japan 1914–1920 - Historisch Biographisches Projekt. Retrieved March 23, 2016 .