Josef "Seppl" Veltjens (2 June 1894 – 6 October 1943) was a German World War I fighter ace credited with 35 victories. In later years, he served as an international arms dealer, as well as a personal emissary from

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 ...

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

. He was awarded

Pour le Mérite The (; , ), also informally known as the ''Blue Max'' () after German WWI flying ace Max Immelmann, is an order of merit established in 1740 by King Frederick II of Prussia. Separated into two classes, each with their own designs, the was ...

, the

Royal House Order of Hohenzollern The House Order of Hohenzollern ( or ') was a dynastic order of knighthood of the House of Hohenzollern awarded to military commissioned officers and civilians of comparable status. Associated with the various versions of the order were crosses an ...

, and the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

Early life

Josef Veltjens was born in

Geldern Geldern (; , , ; archaic English: ''Guelder(s)'') is a city in the States of Germany, federal German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is part of the Kleve (district), district of Kleve, which is part of the Düsseldorf (region), Düsseldorf Reg ...

Rhineland The Rhineland ( ; ; ; ) is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly Middle Rhine, its middle section. It is the main industrial heartland of Germany because of its many factories, and it has historic ties to the Holy ...

Imperial Germany The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

, the son of a factory manager. He attended the Humanistic High School in Berlin, then the Technical University in Charlottenburg, where he read

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

. His prime interest was

internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal comb ...

s.''Jagdgeschwader Nr II: Geschwader Berthold'', p. 48 He enlisted in the Kaiserin Augusta Guards Regiment Number 4 on 3 August 1914. Four days later, he and his regiment were at the front. When his column was attacked by the French, Veltjens and three others tried unsuccessfully to defend it. The vehicles were set on fire. As a straggler, Veltjens joined Infantry Regiment Number 8. Promotion to ''Vizefeldwebel'' (literally vice-sergeant) rapidly followed. After several requests, he was sent for aviation training.http://babelfish.yahoo.com/translate_url?doit=done&tt=url&intl=1&fr=bf-home&trurl=http%3A%2F%2Fde.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FJoseph_Veltjens&lp=de_en&btnTrUrl=Translate

World War I service

On 2 December 1915, at Johannisthal near Berlin, Veltjens first soloed in a plane. He took his pilot's examination on 15 December after three solo flights. Without waiting for his official pilot's ticket, he took advantage of the confusion of the holiday season to take himself to Tergnier. He was posted as a member of Flieger Abteilung 23 on 10 May 1916, to fly reconnaissance missions. Because of his success, he was commissioned as a ''Leutnant der Reserve'' (lieutenant in the reserves). He served there with another future ace,

Rudolf Berthold Oskar Gustav Rudolf Berthold (24 March 1891 – 15 March 1920) was a German flying ace of World War I. Between 1916 and 1918, he shot down 44 enemy planes—16 of them while flying one-handed. In postwar Germany, Berthold organized a ''Freikor ...

. From there, he moved on to single-seat fighters with Royal Prussian ''

Jagdstaffel 14 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 14 was a "hunting group" (i.e., fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. As one of the original German fighter squadrons, the unit would score 57 aerial v ...

'' when Berthold was given its command. Veltjens scored his first victory, over a SPAD, on 14 April 1917. He was flying an

Albatros D.III The Albatros D.III was a biplane fighter aircraft used by the Imperial German Army Air Service () during World War I. A modified licensed version was built by Oeffag for the Austro-Hungarian Air Service (''Luftfahrtruppen''). The D.III was flown ...

at the time, with his own personal aircraft marking of a white barbed arrow pointed back from the scarlet nose down the length of the royal blue fuselage. By 1 June, he had downed three more SPADs and a Farman. Berthold mentored him through this, but was very demanding. World War One German Aviator Lt

Veltjens was then transferred to Royal Prussian ''

Jasta 18 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 18 was a "hunting squadron" (fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. History The Jasta was formed on 30 October 1916, at Halluin under 4th Army (German ...

'' in August at commanding officer Berthold's request. This ''Jasta'' was then operating Albatros D.Vs and Fokker Dr.1s. Veltjens first scored for them on 16 September 1917; he scored his ninth victory on 15 November to close out 1917. He marked up his tenth kill on 18 February 1918. He was then reassigned to ''

Jasta 15 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 15, commonly abbreviated to Jasta 15, was a "hunting group" (i.e., fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. The unit would score over 150 aerial victor ...

'' the following month. This was an interesting swap, in which Berthold took his pilots with him when he transferred; ''Jasta 15''s pilots in turn became ''Jasta 18''. The exchange meant Berthold, Veltjens, and the rest of the new ''Jasta 15'' were now part of the prestigious '' Jagdgeschwader II''. ''Jasta 15'' would soon be re-equipped with the

Fokker D.VII The Fokker D.VII is a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the '' Fokker-Flugzeugwerke''. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the second half of 1918. In service with the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the D.VII ...

. Veltjens rose to its command on 18 May, on the same day he scored his 13th victory. He was appointed to replace an officer suspected of conspiring to have the wounded Berthold removed as JG II commander. May also saw Veltjens awarded the First Class

, followed by the Knight's Cross of the

on 20 May, followed by the ''

'' on 16 August 1918.''Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918'', pp. 222-223 By 10 August 1918, Veltjens' score had risen to 23. In that day's fighting his score rose two more. It also marked the day Berthold collided with a British DH.4 and crashed into a house; he survived, but his injuries hospitalized him to the war's end. Veltjens shot down two

Caudron The Société des Avions Caudron was a French aircraft company founded in 1909 as the Association Aéroplanes Caudron Frères by brothers Gaston and René Caudron. It was one of the earliest aircraft manufacturers in France and produced planes for ...

s and an

RAF SE.5a The Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 is a British biplane fighter aircraft of the World War I, First World War. It was developed at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Royal Aircraft Factory by a team consisting of Henry Folland, John Kenworthy and ...

the following day. Another ''Hauptmann'' (captain) was appointed to his command, but Veltjens was chosen to lead JG II into aerial combat. Berthold temporarily escaped from hospital on the 12th despite serious injuries and returned to resume command. The commander of two days surrendered his position. Berthold was ordered the following day to return to hospital and turn command of the entire ''Jagdschwader'' over to Veltjens, who promptly turned leadership of ''Jasta 15'' over to his former pilot in FFA 23, his old friend Joachim von Ziegesar. Three days later, on 16 August, Veltjens received the " Blue Max", as the ''Pour le Mérite'' was nicknamed. His victory total was 31 when he went on leave, leaving Oscar Freiherr von Boenigk in charge. Upon his return, he resumed command of JG II on 28 September, only to be bumped down once again to command ''Jasta 15'' from 12 October to

Armistice Day Armistice Day, later known as Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and Veterans Day in the United States, is commemorated every year on 11 November to mark Armistice of 11 November 1918, the armistice signed between th ...

. During this time, he raised his victory total to 35.

Between the wars

Veltjens joined ''Freikorps'' Gerstenberg in the aftermath of Germany's defeat. He was wounded three times while commanding an armoured car in a January 1919 assault on

Spartakists The Spartacus League () was a Marxist revolutionary movement organized in Germany during World War I. It was founded in August 1914 as the International Group by Rosa Luxemburg, Karl Liebknecht, Clara Zetkin, and other members of the Social Demo ...

(German communists) in

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

. He followed this with a spell as a merchant sailor on his own sailing ship, the ''Merkur'', a 100-ton vessel. By helping the German Navy to rearm in secrecy, he drifted into arms dealing. This became his lifelong business. He supplied

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish field marshal and revolutionary statesman who was the founding father of the Republic of Turkey, serving as its first President of Turkey, president from 1923 until Death an ...

for the establishment of the Turkish Republic and Chiang Kai-shek for the unification of a nationalist China.''Seppl, a step ahead of politics'' by Klaus Veltjens - https://www.amazon.com/dp/144214582X He joined both the Nazi Party and its Brownshirts (''

Sturmabteilung The (; SA; or 'Storm Troopers') was the original paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party of Germany. It played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power, Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and early 1930s. I ...

'', SA) in 1929, as one of the early adherents. This did not last long: after a face-to-face confrontation with Hitler in 1931, he resigned from the party and the SA. This put him on the blacklist of the SS (''

Schutzstaffel The ''Schutzstaffel'' (; ; SS; also stylised with SS runes as ''ᛋᛋ'') was a major paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe during World War II. It beg ...

''), who repeatedly arrested him. His World War I comrade,

, managed to protect him. In 1935, Mussolini requested arms from Germany to support him in the

Second Italo-Abyssinian War The Second Italo-Ethiopian War, also referred to as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, was a war of aggression waged by Italy against Ethiopia, which lasted from October 1935 to February 1937. In Ethiopia it is often referred to simply as the Ita ...

, and Göring delegated the task of supply to Veltjens. The United Kingdom and France were actually the official allies of Italy at the time in order to stop Italy from getting too close to Germany, but refrained from supplying arms because both warring countries were members of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

. Just before the outbreak of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

in March 1936, Colonel Veltjens was contacted by

Infante Alfonso, Duke of Galliera Alfonso de Orleans y Borbón, Infante, Infante of Spain, Duke of Galliera (12 November 1886 – 6 August 1975), was a Spanish prince, military aviator and first cousin of Alfonso XIII of Spain. Early life Alfonso was born in Madrid, Spain, ...

Infante Infante (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as "infant" or translated as "prince", is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to the ...

of Spain, who lived in Portugal at the time. He asked Veltjens to assist with the supply of arms to the generals, who planned a coup d'état against the newly elected leftist alliance. In late 1936, Veltjens was instrumental in founding a shipping company of three vessels to supply munitions to the Nationalists. His shipments could be as large as ten million rounds of ammunition at a time, or half a dozen fighter planes. He specialised in transporting high explosives, although he once shipped a brigade of 600 Irish

Blueshirts The Army Comrades Association (ACA), later the National Guard, Young Ireland and finally League of Youth, known by the nickname the Blueshirts (), was a paramilitary organisation in the Irish Free State, founded in 1932.New Irish Army Arises, Ne ...

to the war. Veltjens was requested by the Soviets to also supply the Spanish Republicans. This deal was cut in Paris. However, the cargo was not arms, but a load of rocks, loaded in boxes and disguised by a layer of boxes with rifles on top. The shipment went through

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, where it was transferred to a Russian freighter, which took it to

Gijón Gijón () or () is a city and municipality in north-western Spain. It is the largest city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality by population in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Asturias. It is located on the coa ...

in the north of Spain. This operation got him into trouble with the Swedish government. The proceeds were, after costs, donated to a charity for German widows of the Spanish Civil War, and to General

Emilio Mola Emilio Mola y Vidal (9 July 1887 – 3 June 1937) was a Spanish military officer who was one of the three leaders of the Nationalist coup of July 1936 that started the Spanish Civil War. After the death of José Sanjurjo on 20 July 1936, M ...

's war chest. He later added a few more ships to his fleet, which sailed under the Panamanian flag to disguise German involvement. Veltjens was paid by both sides in British pounds sterling. When Hitler later decided to support

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" * Franco of Cologne (mid to late 13th cent ...

, he did so in secrecy at first, but Veltjens was allowed by Göring to continue his private dealings, mainly because of his possession of

tungsten Tungsten (also called wolfram) is a chemical element; it has symbol W and atomic number 74. It is a metal found naturally on Earth almost exclusively in compounds with other elements. It was identified as a distinct element in 1781 and first ...

and

molybdenum Molybdenum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mo (from Neo-Latin ''molybdaenum'') and atomic number 42. The name derived from Ancient Greek ', meaning lead, since its ores were confused with lead ores. Molybdenum minerals hav ...

necessary for the prompt production of his orders. When Finland was about to be attacked by Soviet Union in November 1939, Veltjens was approached by the Finns in the hope that he could help with the supply of arms, since Hitler had prohibited direct arms shipments from Germany in order to avoid provoking Soviet Union. However Veltjens was able to ship some quantities of arms and ammunition from various countries at extremely short notice. He later received a Finnish decoration, the Commander Cross First Class with Swords of the

Order of the White Rose of Finland The Order of the White Rose of Finland (; ) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. The President of Finland is the Grand Master of all three orders. The ...

World War II

Veltjens was recalled into the

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

at the start of World War II. In August 1940, Veltjens, with the rank of ''Oberstleutnant'' (lieutenant colonel), served as Göring's personal emissary in negotiations with Finland just before the

Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet–Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union during World War II. It began with a Finnish declaration of war on 25 June 1941 and ended on 19 ...

. Despite his relatively low rank, he ended up dealing with Prime Minister Ryti and Marshal Mannerheim because of his close, albeit secret, prior relations with them before and during the

Winter War The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...

. These negotiations resulted in a trade-off; German troops would have unhindered transit through Finnish territory in exchange for arms that the Finns could use against a threatened Russian encroachment. As a result of the so-called Veltjens-Agreement in 1941, German troops moved into Finland beginning on 8 June 1941. ''Oberst'' Veltjens' next assignment was as special

plenipotentiary A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of a sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the word can als ...

against

black market A black market is a Secrecy, clandestine Market (economics), market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality, or is not compliant with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the set of goods and services who ...

ing in occupied Europe, beginning in May, 1942. It was his job to be sure only authorised German conglomerates bought the goods needed by that country. In 1943 during World War II, Veltjens also served as Göring's emissary to

Salò Salò (; ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Brescia in the region of Lombardy (northern Italy) on the banks of Lake Garda, on which it has the longest promenade. The city was the Governance#Seat of government, seat of government of th ...

. He was to negotiate the distribution of the Italian National Reserves of gold bullion that had been removed from Rome to Milan by the SS. This involved its allocation as payment of Italy's debts on behalf of the various stakeholders, including the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

, the new

Italian Social Republic The Italian Social Republic (, ; RSI; , ), known prior to December 1943 as the National Republican State of Italy (; SNRI), but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò (, ), was a List of World War II puppet states#Germany, German puppe ...

, Germany and lastly the

Swiss National Bank The Swiss National Bank (SNB; ; ; ; ) is the central bank of Switzerland, responsible for the nation's monetary policy and the sole issuer of Swiss franc banknotes. The primary goal of its mandate is to ensure price stability, while taking econ ...

as the major creditor. Before his subsequent flight from Milan to Rome to finalise aspects of his negotiations, Veltjens' pilot had been warned of the possibility of Allied fighters in the area, and elected to fly low across the

Apennine Mountains The Apennines or Apennine Mountains ( ; or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; or – a singular with plural meaning; )Latin ''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which would be segmented ''Apenn-inus'', often used with nouns s ...

. However, on 6 October 1943 the

Junkers Ju 52 The Junkers Ju 52/3m (nicknamed ''Tante Ju'' ("Aunt Ju") and ''Iron Annie'') is a transport aircraft that was designed and manufactured by German aviation company Junkers. First introduced during 1930 as a civilian airliner, it was adapted int ...

crashed into Monte Cervellino, Veltjens and all but one of the crew died as a result. Veltjens was originally buried in Italy, but his body was later transferred home to

Lübeck Lübeck (; or ; Latin: ), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Lübeck (), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 220,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city on the German Baltic Sea, Baltic coast and the second-larg ...

, Germany.

End notes

References

* ''Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918''.

Norman Franks Norman Leslie Robert Franks (1940 – 21 May 2023) was an English militaria writer who specialised in aviation topics. He focused on the pilots and squadrons of World Wars I and II. Biography Franks published his first book in 1976. H ...

, Frank W. Bailey, Russell Guest. Grub Street, 1993. , . * ''Albatros Aces of World War 1, Part 2''. Greg VanWyngarden. Osprey Publishing, 2007. * ''Fokker D VII Aces of World War 1''. Norman Franks, Greg VanWyngarden. Osprey Publishing, 2003. * ''Hitler and Spain: The Nazi Role in the Spanish Civil War, 1936–1939'', Robert H. Whealey. University Press of Kentucky, 2005. * ''Jagdgeschwader Nr II Geschwader 'Berthold' (Aviation Elite Units)''. Greg VanWyngarden. Osprey Press, 2005. * ''Seppl, a step ahead of politics''. Klaus Veltjens. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2009. * ''Tobacco, Arms, and Politics: Greece and Germany from World Crisis to World War, 1929-41'' Mogens Pelt. Museum Tusculanum Press, 1998. * ''Wartime Administration, Economy, and Manpower Resources 1942–1944/5''. Bernhard R. Kroener. Oxford University Press, 2003

External links

* http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/veltjens.php Accessed 26/27 September 2008. * http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/veltjens.htm Accessed 26/27 September 2008. * http://www.pourlemerite.org/ Accessed 27 September 2008. * :de:Joseph Veltjens Accessed 26/27 September 2008. * https://web.archive.org/web/20080914111052/http://www.socsci.flinders.edu.au/scanlink/nornotes/vol4/articles/gnezda.html Accessed 27 September 2008. * http://www.univ-paris8.fr/histoire/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/frenchpoliticscultureandsociety-2007.pdf Accessed 24 July 2020. * http://www.fliegerrevue.de/fr_extra.asp?PG=157&AID=18596 Accessed 26/27 September 2008. * http://www.flieger-album.de/geschichte/portraits/portraitjosefveltjens.php Accessed 26/27 September 2008. * http://www.oldgloryprints.com/Queen%20of%20the%20Prussian%20Sky.htm Accessed 27 September 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Veltjens, Josef 1894 births 1943 deaths People from Geldern Military personnel from the Rhine Province German World War I flying aces Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Luftstreitkräfte personnel 20th-century Freikorps personnel German people of the Spanish Civil War Prussian Army personnel Military personnel from North Rhine-Westphalia Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in Italy Luftwaffe personnel killed in World War II Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1943 Nazi Party members