Theodor Duesterberg (; 19 October 1875 – 4 November 1950) was a military officer in the
Imperial German Army
The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the leadership of Kingdom o ...
and later leader of the veterans' organisation ''
Der Stahlhelm'' in
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
prior to the
Nazi
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 ...
seizure of power.
Military service
Born the son of an army surgeon in
Darmstadt
Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...
in the
Grand Duchy of Hesse
The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine () was a grand duchy in western Germany that existed from 1806 to 1918. The grand duchy originally formed from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 as the Grand Duchy of Hesse (). It assumed the name ...
, Duesterberg entered the
Prussian Army on 22 March 1893 as an officer candidate in ''
Infanterie-Regiment Bremen (1. Hanseatisches) Nr. 75'' and was commissioned a ''Sekondelieutenant'' on 18 August 1894.
[German Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv), Nachlass von Theodor Duesterberg, BArch N 1377/1] In 1900, Duesterberg was assigned to the East Asian Expedition Corps that saw action in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
during the
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious F ...
, where he was lightly wounded in the right arm. After returning to Germany, he was promoted to ''Oberleutnant'' on 27 January 1904 and to ''Hauptmann'' on 10 September 1908.
He was transferred to the
War Ministry in Berlin on 22 March 1914.
With the start of the
First World War
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 ...
, Duesterberg returned to the infantry on the
Western Front on 16 August 1914.
He was promoted to ''Major'' on 5 September 1914. and served as a battalion commander in ''Großherzoglich Mecklenburgisches Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 89'' and ''Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 15'' and as adjutant of the 13th Infantry Division. He was wounded on 17 November 1914 with ''Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 15''
Duesterberg was transferred back to the War Ministry on 18 July 1915, serving there as chief of the section "Allied Armies" until his retirement.
He retired on 3 February 1920 with the ''
Charakter'' of ''
Oberstleutnant
() (English: Lieutenant Colonel) is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to lieutenant colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, ...
''.
His retirement was in protest over the
Versailles Treaty
The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace of Versailles, exactl ...
, which Duesterberg viewed as being extremely unfair to Germany. Duesterberg subsequently decided to enter politics and joined the
German National People's Party
The German National People's Party (, DNVP) was a national-conservative and German monarchy, monarchist political party in Germany during the Weimar Republic. Before the rise of the Nazi Party, it was the major nationalist party in Weimar German ...
(DNVP) in 1919.
''Der Stahlhelm''
After various disagreements with the party leadership, however, Duesterberg left the DNVP in 1923 and joined the nationalistic and pro-monarchy ''Der Stahlhelm'', which largely consisted of ex-servicemen disgruntled with 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 ...
. Duesterberg quickly moved through its hierarchy and by 1924 was one of two of its federal leaders (the other being
Franz Seldte). Together with General
Georg Ludwig Rudolf Maercker, Duesterberg was one of the leaders of the extreme anti-Semitic faction within ''Der Stahlhelm'' who wanted to ban Jews from joining, and expel all of the current Jewish members. In March 1924, Maercker and Duesterberg forced Seldte to adopt the "Aryan clause" and expel all Jews from ''Der Stahlhelm''. The "Aryan clause" of 1924 was later to serve as the inspiration for similar "Aryan clauses" under the Third Reich, and in particular influenced the War Minister, General
Werner von Blomberg
Werner Eduard Fritz von Blomberg (2 September 1878 – 13 March 1946) was a German general and politician who served as the first Minister of War in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1938. Blomberg had served as Chief of the ''Truppenamt'', equivalent ...
in his attempts to keep the Wehrmacht "racially clean". Under Duesterberg's leadership, ''Der Stahlhelm'' became Germany's largest para-military group.
In the late 1920s, Duesterberg allied ''Der Stahlhelm'' with the
Nazi Party
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...
and other right wing groups. In 1929 Duesterberg campaigned against the
Young Plan
The Young Plan was a 1929 attempt to settle issues surrounding the World War I reparations obligations that Germany owed under the terms of Treaty of Versailles. Developed to replace the 1924 Dawes Plan, the Young Plan was negotiated in Paris f ...
in the
referendum held in November 1929. In 1931, Duesterberg played a key role in forcing the referendum on early elections in Prussia, believing this would help polarize German politics by incorporating the moderate right into the "national" camp. The leader of the German National People's Party,
Alfred Hugenberg
Alfred Ernst Christian Alexander Hugenberg (19 June 1865 – 12 March 1951) was an influential German businessman and politician. An important figure in nationalist politics in Germany during the first three decades of the twentieth century, ...
had starting in 1929 embarked upon a strategy of polarization aimed at the destruction of the political center in Germany, so that the only alternatives were the Marxist parties in the form of the SPD and KPD and the right-wing "national" parties. The failure of the Prussian referendum helped to win Duesterberg away from his strategy of attempting to co-opt the moderate right into the "national" camp, and instead to work for the destruction of the moderate right as Hugenberg advocated. In October 1931, Duesterberg allied ''Der Stahlhelm''m with the Nazis, DNVP, and other right wing groups in order to form the
Harzburg Front. The Harzburg Front attempted to bring about the downfall of
Heinrich Brüning
Heinrich Aloysius Maria Elisabeth Brüning (; 26 November 1885 – 30 March 1970) was a German Centre Party politician and academic, who served as the chancellor of Germany during the Weimar Republic from 1930 to 1932.
A political scientis ...
and the Weimar Republic, but it eventually dissolved due to
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
's unwillingness to subordinate the Nazi Party to such a vast right wing coalition on a long-term basis. After the dissolution of the Harzburg Front, Duesterberg continued to lead ''Der Stahlhelm'' and maintained the organization's alliance with the DNVP.
1932 presidential election
In 1932, Duesterberg was nominated by ''Der Stahlhelm'' and DNVP to run for
President of Germany
The president of Germany, officially titled the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany (),The official title within Germany is ', with ' being added in international correspondence; the official English title is President of the F ...
, but the Nazis ultimately destroyed any chance Duesterberg had of gaining mass support from the German people when they revealed he had
Jewish ancestry. In April 1932, the deeply anti-Semitic Duesterberg learned for the first time that his grandfather was a Prussian Jewish doctor who converted to
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
in 1818, a revelation that caused Duesterberg to suffer a nervous breakdown and to submit his resignation in shame from ''Der Stahlhelm''. Several of Duesterberg's friends persuaded him not to resign, and in an attempt to stay on as ''Der Stahlhelm'' deputy federal leader, he suggested new requirements for every member, namely that:
*That ''Der Stahlhelm'' members present notarized copies of church records proving that their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents had no "Jewish blood".
*That ''Der Stahlhelm'' members swear on their word of honor that they had no personal, familial or business dealings with Jews in any form or way.
*That ''Der Stahlhelm'' members present proof that their ancestors had fought in the
"wars of liberation" against Napoleonic France and/or the wars of unification and on what side.
*That ''Der Stahlhelm'' members present proof that they had fought in the World War and in what capacity.
The revelation of Duesterberg's Jewish ancestry caused Duesterberg to poll poorly in the first ballot of the election, and he withdrew from the runoff election that followed.
During the 1932 presidential elections, the Nazis went out of their way to taunt Duesterberg for having Jewish ancestry with
Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and philologist who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief Propaganda in Nazi Germany, propagandist for the Nazi Party, and ...
and
Richard Walther Darré
Richard Walther Darré (born Ricardo Walther Óscar Darré; 14 July 1895 – 5 September 1953) was one of the leading Nazism, Nazi "Blood and Soil, blood and soil" () ideologists and served as Reich Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Reich ...
being especially vicious in their attacks. Duesterberg was so hurt by Darré's attacks that he challenged him to a duel, a challenge that Darré rejected because it was beneath him to fight a man with "Jewish blood". Duesterberg then took up his dispute with Darré before the court of honor of the Former Officers of the 1st Hanoverian Field Artillery Regiment of Scharnhorst, number 10 to which Darré belonged. Duesterberg argued before the court of honor that Darré should be expelled for engaging in behavior that was unbecoming of a German officer while Darré argued that he had right and duty to subject Duesterberg to anti-Semitic insults. The court of honor ruled in Darré's favor, stating that he was right to insult Duesterberg for having "Jewish blood".
Ironically, Duesterberg was offered a position in Hitler's cabinet when Hitler became
Chancellor of Germany
The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, is the head of the federal Cabinet of Germany, government of Germany. The chancellor is the chief executive of the Federal Government of Germany, ...
in 1933, but Duesterberg flatly refused the proposal. Franz Seldte, however, did enter Hitler's cabinet,
which undermined ''Der Stahlhelm'' and Duesterberg's authority over the organization, and thus he resigned his leadership position in 1933.
In April 1933, Duesterberg was strongly urged to resign from ''Der Stahlhelm'' by President
Paul von Hindenburg
Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934) was a German military and political leader who led the Imperial German Army during the First World War and later became President of Germany (1919� ...
and the Defense Minister, General
Werner von Blomberg
Werner Eduard Fritz von Blomberg (2 September 1878 – 13 March 1946) was a German general and politician who served as the first Minister of War in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1938. Blomberg had served as Chief of the ''Truppenamt'', equivalent ...
, who told him that he was now a liability to them with Hitler now chancellor.
Arrest and later life
In 1934, Duesterberg was arrested by the Nazis during the
Night of the Long Knives
The Night of the Long Knives (, ), also called the Röhm purge or Operation Hummingbird (), was a purge that took place in Nazi Germany from 30 June to 2 July 1934. Chancellor Adolf Hitler, urged on by Hermann Göring and Heinrich Himmler, ord ...
and sent to
Dachau concentration camp
Dachau (, ; , ; ) was one of the first concentration camps built by Nazi Germany and the longest-running one, opening on 22 March 1933. The camp was initially intended to intern Hitler's political opponents, which consisted of communists, s ...
, where he was briefly interned. After being released, he drifted into obscurity. He was known to have had limited contacts with the
anti-Nazi Carl Friedrich Goerdeler
Carl Friedrich Goerdeler (; 31 July 1884 – 2 February 1945) was a German conservative politician, monarchist, executive, economist, civil servant and opponent of the Nazi regime. He opposed anti-Jewish policies while he held office and was op ...
in 1943, but Duesterberg ultimately did not play any role in Goerdeler's plots against Hitler. In 1949, Duesterberg wrote ''The Steel Helmet and Hitler,'' in which he defended his pre-war political career and ''Der Stahlhelm'' and detailed the movement's independence from the Nazi Party and "the insane Jew hatred preached by Hitler". A year later, Duesterberg died in
Hamelin
Hameln ( ; ) is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hameln-Pyrmont and has a population of roughly 57,000. Hamelin is best known for the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin.
History
Hameln ...
.
Honours and awards
*
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...
:
**
Order of the Crown, 4th Class with Swords (28 May 1901)
**
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 ...
2nd Class (20 September 1914)
** Iron Cross 1st Class (10 December 1914)
** 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 ...
, Knight's Cross with Swords (16 October 1917)
** Officer's Service Decoration Cross for 25 years' service
[German Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv), Nachlass von Theodor Duesterberg, BArch N 1377/3]
**
Kaiser Wilhelm I. Memorial Medal (22 March 1897)
*
House of Hohenzollern
The House of Hohenzollern (, ; , ; ) is a formerly royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) German dynasty whose members were variously princes, Prince-elector, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern Castle, Hohenzollern, Margraviate of Bran ...
: 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 ...
, Commander's Cross
* :
**
China Medal (19 October 1901)
**
Wound Badge
The Wound Badge () was a German military decoration first promulgated by Wilhelm II, German Emperor on 3 March 1918, which was first awarded to soldiers of the Imperial German Army, German Army who were wounded during World War I. Between the worl ...
in Black (25 June 1918)
*
Duchy of Anhalt
The Duchy of Anhalt () was a historical German duchy. The duchy was located between the Harz Mountains in the west and the River Elbe and beyond to the Fläming Heath in the east. The territory was once ruled by the House of Ascania, and is now ...
:
Friedrich Cross (30 July 1915)
* :
Military Merit Order, 4th Class with Crown and Swords (4 June 1917)
* Free and Hanseatic City of
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 ...
:
Hanseatic Cross
The Hanseatic Cross () was a military decoration of the three Hanseatic city-states of Bremen, Hamburg and Lübeck, who were members of the German Empire during World War I. Each republic established its own version of the cross, but the design ...
(10 December 1915)
*
Grand Duchy of Hesse
The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine () was a grand duchy in western Germany that existed from 1806 to 1918. The grand duchy originally formed from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 as the Grand Duchy of Hesse (). It assumed the name ...
:
**
Order of Philip the Magnanimous, Knight 2nd Class with Swords (8 January 1902)
**
General Honor Decoration for Bravery (7 June 1915)
*
Principality of Lippe
Lippe (later Lippe-Detmold and then again Lippe) was a state in Germany, ruled by the House of Lippe. It was located between the Weser river and the southeast part of the Teutoburg Forest. It originated as a state during the Holy Roman Empire, an ...
:
War Merit Cross
The War Merit Cross () was a state decoration of Nazi Germany during World War II. By the end of the conflict it was issued in four degrees and had an equivalent civil award. A " de-Nazified" version of the War Merit Cross was reissued in 1957 ...
(6 June 1915)
*
Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
The Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin () was a territory in Northern Germany held by the House of Mecklenburg residing at Schwerin. It was a sovereign member state of the German Confederation and became a federated state of the North German C ...
:
Military Merit Cross, 2nd Class (15 December 1916)
*
Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
The Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was a territory in Northern Germany, held by the younger line of the House of Mecklenburg residing in Neustrelitz. Like the neighbouring Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, it was a sovereign member state ...
: Cross for Distinction in War (15 November 1915)
*
Kingdom of Württemberg
The Kingdom of Württemberg ( ) was a German state that existed from 1806 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Electorate of Württemberg, which existed from 1803 to 1806.
Geogr ...
:
Order of the Württemberg Crown, Knight's Cross with Swords (19 January 1917)
*
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
:
Military Merit Cross, 3rd Class with War Decoration (28 July 1917)
* :
Order of Military Merit, Commander's Cross with War Decoration (12 September 1916)
*
Democratic Republic of Georgia
The Democratic Republic of Georgia (DRG; ka, საქართველოს დემოკრატიული რესპუბლიკა, tr) was the first modern establishment of a republic of Georgia (country), Georgia, which exist ...
:
Order of Queen Tamara
* :
**
Order of Osmanieh
The Order of Osmanieh (, Modern ) was a civil and military decoration of the Ottoman Empire.
History
The order was created in January 1862 by Sultan Abdülaziz. With the obsolescence of the Nişan-i Iftikhar, this became the second highest order ...
, 3rd Class with Sabers (21 January 1918)
**
Order of the Medjidie
Order of the Medjidie (, August 29, 1852 – 1922) was a military and civilian order of the Ottoman Empire. The order was instituted in 1851 by Sultan Abdulmejid I.
History
Instituted in 1851, the order was awarded in five classes, with the Firs ...
, 3rd Class with Sabers (10 January 1917)
**
Liakat Medal
The Liakat Medal () translated as "Medal of Merit," was a decoration of the Ottoman Empire established in 1890. It could be awarded in two classes, gold or silver. The medal was a common military decoration of the late Ottoman Empire, through the ...
in Silver with Sabers (15 February 1916)
**
Imtiaz Medal in Silver with Sabers (18 October 1917)
**
War Medal (15 February 1916)
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duesterberg, Theodor
1875 births
1950 deaths
20th-century Freikorps personnel
20th-century German male writers
20th-century German non-fiction writers
Candidates for President of Germany
Dachau concentration camp survivors
German anti-communists
German Army personnel of World War I
German military personnel of the Boxer Rebellion
German National People's Party politicians
German nationalists
German people of Jewish descent
Organization founders
Politicians from Darmstadt
People from the Grand Duchy of Hesse
People from the Weimar Republic
Prussian Army personnel
Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class
Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 2nd class
Stahlhelm members