Georg Leibbrandt (6 September 1899 – 16 June 1982) was a Nazi German bureaucrat and diplomat. He occupied leading foreign policy positions in the Nazi Party Foreign Policy Office (APA) and the

Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories The Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories (german: Reichsministerium für die besetzten Ostgebiete (RMfdbO) or ''Ostministerium'', ) was created by Adolf Hitler on 17 July 1941 and headed by the Nazi theoretical expert, the Baltic ...

(RMfdbO) as an expert on issues relating to Russia. Both agencies were headed by Nazi ideologist

Alfred Rosenberg Alfred Ernst Rosenberg ( – 16 October 1946) was a Baltic German Nazi theorist and ideologue. Rosenberg was first introduced to Adolf Hitler by Dietrich Eckart and he held several important posts in the Nazi government. He was the head o ...

. Leibbrandt was a participant of the Wannsee Conference. In the postwar period, criminal proceedings against Leibbrandt were initiated, but the case against him was ultimately dismissed.

Early life

Leibbrandt was born to

ethnic German , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

parents in Hoffnungstal (now Tsebrykove,

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

), near

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

, in the Zebrikovo district of the

Kherson Governorate The Kherson Governorate (1802–1922; russian: Херсонская губерния, translit.: ''Khersonskaya guberniya''; uk, Херсонська губернія, translit=Khersonska huberniia), was an administrative territorial unit (als ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

. At an early age he emigrated to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

for his studies. In 1918, Leibbrandt studied

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

in Germany, also taking classes in

philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as ...

and

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

. In 1927, he was awarded a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * '' Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. al ...

He traveled extensively through the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

in 1926, 1928 and 1929. During his visits, he was variously represented as a doctor of

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...

, a post-graduate student, a professor of

from

Leipzig University Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December ...

, and an employee of the Institute for the Study of Germans Abroad ( Deutsches Ausland Institut) in Stuttgart. The official purposes of his visits were the study of the history of the development of German colonies in the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

coastal region, and the gathering of historical information. As a result of his work, a book regarding emigrant movement of the Germans was published in Germany. Leibbrandt had a talent for languages, which, coupled with a

Rockefeller Rockefeller is a German surname, originally given to people from the village of Rockenfeld near Neuwied in the Rhineland and commonly referring to subjects associated with the Rockefeller family. It may refer to: People with the name Rockefeller f ...

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholars ...

, enabled him to resume his studies in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

from 1931-33. While in the US he actively kept contact with

Germans from Russia The German minority population in Russia, Ukraine, and the Soviet Union stemmed from several sources and arrived in several waves. Since the second half of the 19th century, as a consequence of the Russification policies and compulsory military ...

who had also immigrated to America.

Nazi Party

Leibbrandt accepted a request from

(whom he resembled physically) in 1933 to return to Germany, and joined the Nazi Party that year. He was then named director of the Eastern Division of the Foreign Policy Office of the

NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

. Leibbrandt was also placed in charge of

anti-Soviet Anti-Sovietism, anti-Soviet sentiment, called by Soviet authorities ''antisovetchina'' (russian: антисоветчина), refers to persons and activities actually or allegedly aimed against the Soviet Union or government power within the ...

and

anti-Communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when the United States and the ...

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

. When the Soviet Union was invaded in 1941, and the Ministry for the Eastern Occupied Territories was established, Rosenberg chose Leibbrandt to direct the Political Department. Thus, Leibbrandt became the liaison for the

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

, Caucasian, Russian and other groups of emigres. Leibbrandt and

Alfred Meyer Gustav Alfred Julius Meyer (5 October 1891 – 11 April 1945) was a Nazi Party official and politician. He joined the Nazi Party in 1928 and was the '' Gauleiter'' of North Westphalia from 1931 to 1945, the '' Oberpräsident'' of the Pro ...

attended the Wannsee Conference in 1942; both represented the ''

Ostministerium The Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories (german: Reichsministerium für die besetzten Ostgebiete (RMfdbO) or ''Ostministerium'', ) was created by Adolf Hitler on 17 July 1941 and headed by the Nazi theoretical expert, the Baltic ...

''. In the summer of 1943, for unknown reasons, he ceased his duties in the Ministry and joined the

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...

(German Navy).

Later life

Leibbrandt was kept in Allied internment from 1945 to May 1949. In January 1950, he was formally charged with involvement in the destruction of

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, by the Nuremberg ''Landgericht''. The case against him was dismissed on 10 August 1950 and he was released from custody. He then returned to America and resumed his earlier studies on the subject of the Russian Germans, making expert contributions to the Association of Germans from Russia (the ''Landsmannschaft der Deutschen aus Russland,'' which might be literally translated as the "Cultural Association of Germans from Russia") until his death in

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

on 16 June 1982. In 1979, Leibbrandt was barred from entering the United States by the U.S. Justice Department and State Department, for his participation in the murder of hundreds of thousands of Jews, in his position as Chief of the Political Division of the Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories from 1941 to 1943. His United States visa was revoked and his name was placed on the watch lists of the U.S. Immigration Service and State Department, so he could not enter the United States. Leibbrandt has a son of the same name, living in Berlin.

Fictional portrayals

In the 1984 television film, '' Die Wannseekonferenz'', Leibbrandt was played by

Jochen Busse Jochen Busse (born 28 January 1941 in Iserlohn) is a German television actor. He began work as a stage actor at the Kammerspiele in Munich in 1960 and made his TV debut the same year. He has made 80 appearances in television since 1960. Jochen ...

. In the 2001 HBO film ''

Conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agr ...

'', Leibbrandt was played by

Ewan Stewart Andrew Ewan Stewart (born 26 August 1957) is a Scottish film, television and stage actor. Early life Stewart was born in Glasgow, and is the son of the late Scottish entertainer Andy Stewart. His mother Sheila lives in Arbroath, Scotland. St ...

. In the 2022 ZDF television film, Leibbrandt was played by Rafael Stachowiak.

Literature

* * Leibbrandt, Georg.
Die Sowjet-Union. Gegebenheiten und Möglichkeiten des Ostraums
', 1943.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leibbrandt, Georg 1899 births 1982 deaths People from Odesa Oblast People from Tiraspolsky Uyezd Ukrainian people of German descent Russian and Soviet-German people Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Germany Nazi Party officials Kriegsmarine personnel of World War II Judges in the Nazi Party Nazi Party politicians German prisoners of war in World War II