Otto Steinbrinck (19 December 1888 – 16 August 1949) was a highly decorated

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

naval officer and German industrialist who was later indicted and found guilty in the

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

Flick Trial. Having had a very successful career as a

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

commander in

, during which he won the much-coveted

Pour le Mérite The ' (; , ) is an order of merit (german: Verdienstorden) established in 1740 by King Frederick II of Prussia. The was awarded as both a military and civil honour and ranked, along with the Order of the Black Eagle, the Order of the Red Eag ...

, Steinbrinck had a highly successful career in industry in the 1920s. Through the ''Freundeskreis Reichsführer SS'', he cultivated relationships with the

Third Reich Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

's leading circles. Steinbrinck's leading position within the Flick conglomerate and his role in integrating

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

mines and

heavy industry Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); o ...

in occupied

West Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

into the German

war economy A war economy or wartime economy is the set of contingencies undertaken by a modern state to mobilize its economy for war production. Philippe Le Billon describes a war economy as a "system of producing, mobilizing and allocating resources t ...

were what in the end brought him before the court at Nuremberg.

U-boat commander

The schoolteacher's son was from 1907 a professional soldier in the

German Imperial Navy The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Wilhel ...

, and as of 1911 saw service on several submarines. His younger brother,

Erich Steinbrinck Z15 ''Erich Steinbrinck'' was a built for Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' in the mid-1930s. The ship was named after the First World War German naval officer Erich Steinbrinck. At the beginning of World War II on 1 September 1939, the ship w ...

, also served in the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

until he was killed during the Battle of Jutland in 1916. In World War I, Steinbrinck was one of the most successful

commanders; in 1916, he was decorated with the

. He eventually sank 204 merchant ships totalling , as well as the protected cruiser and the submarine ''E22''. However, in 1919, after the German Empire had lost the war, no further use could be found for him in the reconstituted ''

Reichsmarine The ''Reichsmarine'' ( en, Realm Navy) was the name of the German Navy during the Weimar Republic and first two years of Nazi Germany. It was the naval branch of the ''Reichswehr'', existing from 1919 to 1935. In 1935, it became known as the '' ...

'', and so he was discharged with the rank of ''

Kapitänleutnant ''Kapitänleutnant'', short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( en, captain lieutenant) is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the German Bundeswehr. The rank is rated OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to Hauptmann in the Heer an ...

''.

Business career post-war

Steinbrinck served as a company director of the Organization of German Iron and Steel Industrialists, until he found a new post in 1924 at the Flick conglomerate, where he became First Associate in Friedrich Flick's private secretariat by 1925 and later rose to vice president. Steinbrinck also worked as a board member in many companies.

Nazi career

In May 1933, Steinbrinck joined the

National Socialist German Workers Party 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 ...

(NSDAP) and soon became a '' Standartenführer'' in the SS, later becoming an SS

Oberführer __NOTOC__ ''Oberführer'' (short: ''Oberf'', , ) was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) dating back to 1921. An ''Oberführer'' was typically a NSDAP member in charge of a group of paramilitary units in a particular geographic ...

in April 1935. Soon after that, he was a member in the so-called '' Freundeskreis des Reichsführers SS'', a rather exclusive circle whose leader was Wilhelm Keppler. Between 1937 and 1939, Steinbrinck functioned as a general plenipotentiary for the Flick conglomerate. Moreover, he carried out various other functions, becoming in April 1938 a ''Wehrwirtschaftsführer'' – a title given industrialists who were important to Germany's armament industry – and as of January 1939 a SS-

Brigadeführer ''Brigadeführer'' (, ) was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) that was used between the years of 1932 to 1945. It was mainly known for its use as an SS rank. As an SA rank, it was used after briefly being known as ''Untergruppenf ...

. In the summer of 1939, he resigned from Flick and as of December of the same year began work as a trustee at Krupp. Shortly before this, he had also been remobilized as a frigate captain. From May 1940 until March 1942, Steinbrinck worked as a general plenipotentiary for the steel industry in

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, and functioned in April 1941 as an associate in the presidium of the ''Reichsvereinigung Kohle'' (Reich Coal Association). From March 1942 until the evacuation of the western occupation zones in the autumn of 1944, Steinbrinck was also general plenipotentiary for the ''Reichsvereinigung Kohle'' for mining and coal economy in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, Belgium and France, the so-called ''Beko (Befehlskommando) West''. In April 1945 – World War II had by now long ago been lost – Steinbrinck operated as a link between Ruhr industry and Army Group B under

Generalfeldmarschall ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; en, general field marshal, field marshal general, or field marshal; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several ...

Walter Model.

Flick Trial

In August 1945, Steinbrinck was arrested by the

Americans Americans are the citizens and nationals of the United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many dual citizens, expatriates, and permanent residents could also legally claim Ame ...

and faced charges at the so-called Flick Trial in Nuremberg. On 22 December 1947, he was sentenced to 5 years in prison. Steinbrinck died while serving his sentence at Landsberg Prison on 16 August 1949.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steinbrinck, Otto 1888 births 1949 deaths People from Lippstadt People from the Province of Westphalia U-boat commanders (Imperial German Navy) People convicted by the United States Nuremberg Military Tribunals SS-Brigadeführer Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) German prisoners and detainees Prisoners who died in United States military detention Steel industry of Luxembourg Imperial German Navy personnel of World War I Military personnel from North Rhine-Westphalia