Bolko von Richthofen (September 13, 1899 – March 18, 1983) was a German

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

and a distant relative of the family of

Manfred von Richthofen Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (; 2 May 1892 – 21 April 1918), known in English as Baron von Richthofen or the Red Baron, was a fighter pilot with the German Air Force during World War I. He is considered the ace-of-aces of th ...

, the "Red Baron". He is sometimes confused with his distant cousin and namesake, Karl Bolko von Richthofen (1903–1971) – the youngest brother of the

fighter ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

. Richthofen was born in Mertschütz (

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

Mierczyce),

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

, and fought 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 ...

. After the war ended, he participated as a

Freikorps (, "Free Corps" or "Volunteer Corps") were irregular German and other European paramilitary volunteer units that existed from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. They effectively fought as mercenaries or private military companies, rega ...

volunteer during the

Silesian Uprisings The Silesian Uprisings (; ; ) were a series of three uprisings from August 1919 to July 1921 in Upper Silesia, which was part of the Weimar Republic at the time. Ethnic Polish and Polish-Silesian insurrectionists, seeking to have the area tran ...

. In the early post-war period he entered tertiary studies and quickly became an eminent scholar. A member of the

NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor, the German Workers ...

from 1933, he wrote several antisemitic and anti-Slavic works. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he worked in the antisemitic

Ahnenerbe The (, "Ancestral Heritage") was a pseudoscientific organization founded by the ''Schutzstaffel'' in Nazi Germany in 1935. Established by ''Reichsführer-SS'' Heinrich Himmler in July 1, 1935 as an SS appendage devoted to promoting racial the ...

organisation. He is well known for a bitter dispute about the ethnicity of the Lusatian and Pomeranian cultures with the Polish archaeologist Józef Kostrzewski. In 1964 he received the

Bundesverdienstkreuz The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first President of the Federal Republic ...

. He died in Seehausen am Staffelsee,

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Richthofen, Bolko von 1899 births 1983 deaths Black Reichswehr personnel People from Jawor County People from the Province of Silesia Nazi Party politicians Christian Social Union in Bavaria politicians Militant League for German Culture members German military personnel of World War I Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Bolko People from Garmisch-Partenkirchen (district) 20th-century German archaeologists German Nazi propagandists

Further reading

External links