Friedrich von Boetticher

Friedrich von Boetticher
Born(1881-10-14)14 October 1881
Berthelsdorf, Kingdom of Saxony, German Empire
Died28 September 1967(1967-09-28) (aged 85)
Bielefeld, West Germany
Allegiance
  •  German Empire
  •  Weimar Republic
  •  Nazi Germany
Branch
Service years
1900–1945
Rank
General der Artillerie
Wars
AwardsKnight's Cross of the House Order of Hohenzollern
Iron Cross (1914) 2nd and 1st class

Friedrich von Boetticher (14 October 1881 – 28 September 1967)[1] was a German career military officer who served in the armies of the German Empire, the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany. He was the military attaché to Washington D.C. from 1933 to 1942.[2][3] For the remainder of the war, he served as a department head at the German armed forces high command.

Early life and World War I

Boetticher was born in 1881 at Berthelsdorf in the Kingdom of Saxony, and entered the Royal Saxon Army as an officer cadet in 1900. He participated in World War I chiefly as a staff officer, including assignment as a general staff officer in the Kingdom of Bulgaria, then Germany's ally. He also served on the staff of Generalfeldmarschall Paul von Hindenburg.[4] At the end of the war, he was a Major, the chief German General Staff officer to the 241st Infantry Division and had received numerous war decorations.[5]

Interwar period and World War II

Boetticher remained in the post-war Reichswehr, chiefly serving in staff positions, including the command of the military training academy at Jüterbog.[6] He was promoted to Generalmajor in October 1931, Generalleutnant in October 1933 and General der Artillerie in September 1940. From April 1933 until America's entry into the war, he served as the military attaché to the United States at the German embassy in Washington D.C.[5] While serving as attaché,[7] he provided many intelligence reports to Berlin documenting the isolationist movement in the United States, and the state of military preparedness before Pearl Harbor.

Returning to Germany in June 1942, Boetticher was assigned to the Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH – the army high command) until December. At that time, he was appointed as the chief of the central department at the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW – the armed forces high command). a post that he retained until Germany's defeat in May 1945.[5] He remained in captivity as a prisoner of war until 1947.

Awards and decorations

Personal life

Friedrich von Boetticher was married to Olga von Wirsing, and the couple had three children: Friedrich Heinrich (who studied law at the University of Königsberg, Adelheid (who studied medicine at the University of Würzburg), and Hildegard.[9]

References

  1. ↑ Alfred M. Beck: Hitler's Ambivalent Attaché: Gen.Lt. Friedrich von Boetticher in America 1933–1941. Potomac Books, Washington DC 2005, ISBN 1-57488-877-3, S. 232.
  2. ↑ Those Angry Days: Roosevelt, Lindbergh, and America's Fight Over World War II, 1939-1941 (2013) ISBN 978-0812982145 by Lynne Olson
  3. ↑ Lübken, Uwe (January 2007). "Hitler's Ambivalent Attaché: Lt. Gen. Friedrich von Boetticher in America, 1933–1941 (review)". The Journal of Military History. 70 (1): 251–252. doi:10.1353/jmh.2007.0049. S2CID 159147005.
  4. ↑ "Blacks, Under Cover of Night and Fog, Turn Blue Flank" (PDF). Evening Star. 16 August 1939. Retrieved 26 March 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Webb 2024, p. 89.
  6. ↑ "New German Attache To Come To Washington" (PDF). Evening Star. 1 March 1933. Retrieved 26 March 2025.
  7. ↑ Fischer, Klaus P. (2011). "1". Hitler & America. Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press. Bötticher was Hitler's only military attaché who reported from the German embassy in Washington, D.C.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Reichswehrministerium (Ed.): Rangliste des Deutschen Reichsheeres. E.S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin: 1930, p. 109.
  9. ↑ "Family To Arrive" (PDF). Washington Times. 30 May 1933. Retrieved 26 March 2025.

Sources

  • Webb, James Jack (2024). Generals and Admirals of the Third Reich: For Country or Fuehrer. Vol. 1: A–G. Havertown, PA: Casemate Publishers. ISBN 978-1-952-71512-9.
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