Robert Carlsen

Robert Carlsen (born February 13, 1879 in Ranten , Lötzen district , † March 7, 1959 in Hamburg ) was a German officer , most recently Lieutenant General of the Air Force in World War II, as well as a farmer and politician ( DNVP ).

Life

After attending grammar schools in Lötzen and Rastenburg , Carlsen joined the Prussian army on October 16, 1897 as a flag junior with the Danzig Infantry Regiment No. 128 . He was promoted to ensign in 1898 and lieutenant in 1899 . From 1905 to 1908 he completed a technical degree at the Military Technical Academy and the Technical University of Charlottenburg . Most recently he made a study trip to England . In 1909 he was assigned to the Prussian War Academy as a first lieutenant , where he continued his studies until 1912. He then made a quarterly study visit to France and passed the interpreting exam in English and French . In April 1913 he was assigned to the Great General Staff and in October of the same year he was promoted to captain .

Shortly after the outbreak of the First World War , Carlsen was finally transferred to the Great General Staff and initially served as an adjutant of the Military Railway Directorate 1. In December 1914, he was transferred to the staff of the Chief of Field Railways at the Supreme Army Command . In December 1915 he became First General Staff Officer of the 14th Reserve Division , in September 1916 then First General Staff Officer of the 213rd Infantry Division . From February 1917 he was chief of the field railway of the German Crown Prince Army Group . He then worked as a teacher at the General Staff School in Sedan . In March 1918, he was promoted to major and appointed first general staff officer of the 10th Reserve Division . Half a year later he took over the position of chief of the field railways in the Great General Staff. During the war, Carlsen was awarded the Iron Cross, 2nd and 1st class. After the end of the war he was assigned to the General Staff of the Army High Command North of the Border Guard East , where he replaced Wilhelm Heye as Chief of Staff. On August 12, 1919, he left the army at his own request.

Carlsen worked as a farmer in the following years and had been the leaseholder of the Taberlack estate in the Angerburg district since December 1919 . Before that he had joined the DNVP, for which he was a member of the Angerburg district council from 1925 to 1933 and the Prussian state parliament from 1932 to 1933 . Since February 1931 he was regional association leader of the DNVP in East Prussia . In addition, he was active in the Heimatbund East Prussia and was a member of the Stahlhelm .

Carlsen was reactivated as an Air Force officer on June 20, 1934, and was appointed First General Staff Officer and Quartermaster at Luftkreis-Kommando I in November of the same year as Lieutenant Colonel . In July 1937 he was appointed commander of Luftzeuggruppe 7. In his further career as an officer, he was promoted to colonel in October 1937 , major general in January 1939 and lieutenant general in October 1940. He was discharged from the Wehrmacht on November 30, 1942, but briefly reactivated in 1943 and 1945 and used as an industrial advisor for the Air Force. During his military career he was awarded the Wehrmacht service awards I to IV class.

literature

• Ernst Kienast (Ed.): Handbook for the Prussian Landtag , edition for the 5th electoral period, Berlin 1933, p. 315.

Web links

• Robert Carlsen in the online version of the Reich Chancellery Edition Files. Weimar Republic
• Robert Carlsen at Axis Biographical Research