Adolf von Trotha (1 March 1868 – 11 October 1940) was a German

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

in the '' Kaiserliche Marine''. After the German revolution he briefly served as the first ''Chef der Admiralität'', which replaced the imperial '' Reichsmarineamt''. After supporting the Kapp-Lüttwitz Putsch of March 1920 he resigned his post. He later held several political and maritime posts in the

Third Reich Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

Family

Trotha was born 1 March 1868 at

Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...

, at the time part of the Rhine Province of the Kingdom of Prussia. Trotha was the third son of Karl von Trotha (1834–1870), who was killed in the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

, when his son was only two years old. Trotha married Anna von Veltheim (15 January 1877 – 8 August 1964) on 4 June 1902, the daughter of Fritz von Veltheim and Elizabeth von Krosigk.

Naval career

Trotha entered the Imperial Navy in 1886 as an officer candidate and was promoted to '' Leutnant zur See'' in 1891. He served as a commander of the torpedo boat ''D3'' and as a navigations officer on the small cruiser SMS ''Seeadler''. In 1900 he was a staff officer at

Tianjin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...

. From 1914 to 1918, Trotha served in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In 1916 he became Chief of Staff of the High Seas Fleet. As ''Chef der Admiralität'' from March 1919 Trotha was a (non-voting) ex-officio member of the first two cabinets of the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

, the Scheidemann cabinet and the Bauer cabinet from March 1919 until March 1920. In March 1920, he supported the failed Kapp Putsch and resigned his post. He retired from the navy in October 1920 with the rank of '' Vizeadmiral''.

Career under the Third Reich

After retirement, Trotha took over the management of the '' Grossdeutscher Jugendbund'' (Greater German Youth League) in 1921. In October 1931 he was one of the participants in the Harzburg Front march of

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

and other anti-democratic right-wing nationalists. After the Nazi seizure of power he became a Provincial Councillor for the Province of Brandenburg and Posen-West Prussia. Prussian Minister President

Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician, aviator, military leader, and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which gov ...

also appointed him to the Prussian State Council on 13 September 1933. On 23 March 1934, the Reich Federation of German Seafaring was founded under Trotha's chairmanship; this was the successor organization to the Navy League. Trotha was made honorary leader of the Marine

Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth ( , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth wing of the German Nazi Party. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. From 1936 until 1945, it was th ...

on 15 February 1935. On 1 March 1938, he was awarded the Golden Party Badge. From 4 March 1939, he also served as the honorary chairman of the German High Seas Sport Federation. In August 1939, he was granted the title of

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

. After his death on 11 October 1940 a state funeral was held in Berlin.

Honours and awards

References

Sources

External links

* 1868 births 1940 deaths 19th-century Prussian military personnel Admirals of the Kriegsmarine Counter admirals of the Imperial German Navy German National People's Party politicians Imperial German Navy admirals of World War I Members of the Prussian State Council (Nazi Germany) Military personnel from Koblenz Military personnel from the Rhine Province Officers Crosses of the Military Merit Order (Bavaria) Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Vice admirals of the Reichsmarine {{germany-navy-bio-stub