German Officers in the Ottoman and Turkish Army and their complicity in the Armenian Genocide

German Officers in the Ottoman and Turkish Army and their complicity in the Armenian Genocide

Between 1882 and 1918, German officers were considered to be the highest brass in the Ottoman top brass in all six Ottoman armies. Embedding high-ranking German officers into the Ottoman army led to the inception of the ‘army within an army’ concept in Turkey. The Ottoman Empire embraced the ‘German Spirit’ ethos. This was a nationalist construct that became prominent in Germany during the years 1871-1914 as a manifestation of the Wilhelmine period. Consequently, German officers had a high degree of control over particular fronts.

Certain German officers were considered part of the army’s elite due to their familiarity with modern warfare principles, which subsequently made them destined for leadership. Turkish forces predominantly used German rifles and other weapons to orchestrate the killings of Armenians. Mauser, Germany’s leading manufacturer of small arms in both world wars, supplied the Ottoman Empire with millions of rifles and handguns. Such weapons were used to carry out the Armenian genocide, and their use was actively supported by German officers. Furthermore, the Essen-based cannon company Krupp supplied Turkey’s mortars. The Ottoman army used mortars to launch their assaults on Armenian resistance fighters holding out on the “Musa Dagh mountain” in 1915.

Even in the years preceding 1914, a German military mission began, which continued during the advent of WWI under the command of General Liman von Sanders. Additionally, Germany also provided the Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Supreme Army Command. From Turkey’s entry into the war until 1 December 1917, this post was held by Generalmajor Bronsart von Schellendorf, followed by Generalmajor von Seeckt. Moreover, on 28 November 1914, the Kaiser attached Generalfeldmarschall Freiherr von der Goltz to the person of the Sultan. Goltz had a high reputation as the reorganiser of the Army in Turkey. On 19 April 1916. Goltz died while Supreme Commander in Iraq. From 21 September 1916, General von Lossow acted as a military plenipotentiary in Constantinople. Fully staffed, the German Military Mission in the Ottoman Army would consist of approximately eleven hundred officers and men based on the command groups and assignments listed below.

Command Group	Operational Assignments	Training Assignments
1 Commander	1 Corps Commander	3 General Staff officers (field grade)
1 General Staff officer (field grade)	1 Division Commander	1 Director, Staff College
2 Aides-de-camp	1 Advisor – Rifle Regiment	2 Instructors, Staff College
3 Other Officers	1 Advisor – Cavalry Regiment	1 Director, Infantry School
	1 Advisor – Field Artillery Regiment	1 Director, Field Artillery School
	1 Advisor-Communications	1 Director, Cavalry School
		1 Officer – Junior Officer School
		6 Officers – for two corps headquarters
		2 Commanders, Demonstration Regiment
		10 Officers for Technical Advice
		1 Military doctor
		1 Director, Gymnastics School
		3 Commanders for NCO Schools

By August 1916, approximately 11,000 German officers and 5,900 German soldiers were in Ottoman territory. About a thousand of these were permanently assigned duties at the Dardanelles defences. There were eight machine-gun detachments in actual German combat, one artillery training detachment, seven heavy artillery batteries, six air detachments, and one light artillery battery assigned to assist the Turkish Army.

Overall, 8,000–20,000 Germans military personnel served in the Ottoman Empire. [1]Journal Mitteilungen der Bundes des Asienkämpfer (Bulletin of the Society of Veterans of Asia), and its yearly book entitled Zwischen Kaukasus und Sinai (Between the Caucasus and Sinai)

In a letter to Mr T. P. O’Connor (The Well Known Irish Member of the British Parliament) – Mr Arthur James Balfour (Foreign Secretary in the Lloyd George ministry and previously the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom) expressed his horrifying concerns about the German involvement and how they can can put a stop to these atrocities:

GERMANY’S RESPONSIBILITY.
SUGGESTION BY MR BALFOUR.
(Received October 11th. 8.5 p.m.) LONDON, October 10.

Mr Balfour, in a letter to  Mr. T. P. O’Connor, .says: —”Amidst all the horrors of war. nothing is more horrible than the treatment, of the Armenians. The Germans could surely end this disgraceful condition of affair. I would suggest that German-Americans use their influence to check these barbarities.”

The ‘ Daily Telegraph” says that Enver Pasha has acted to avenge his defeats in the Caucasus, and recalls Court Reventlow’s unscrupulous and callous judgment that German public opinion holds that this is a matter concerning Turkey alone.

Also, according to the French Foreign Office, the German Ministry of War suppressed German eyewitness accounts in the local German Media describing the atrocities Armenians were living through in Turkey during this time.

As later revealed, some German officers were directly or indirectly involved in the starvation, deportation, and killing of Armenians during WWI, either willingly or unwillingly. Although German officers initially supported the deportation orders for military reasons, these orders were subsequently interpreted to include the deportation of all Armenians, leading to their extermination.

As early as mid-June 1915, German officers justified the extermination of Armenians as a “hard but useful” measure. Many officers on the war fronts and military representatives in the capital tacitly approved the killing orders issued by the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) officials.

At the same time, German diplomacy adopted a non-interventionist approach, avoiding any active involvement in the atrocities and focusing on repairing Germany’s reputation. This approach, known as “noli me tangere” or “touch me not,” aimed to refute accusations of guilt and shift the blame onto Armenians.

Renowned orientalist Richard Hartmann, in an article he wrote in 1929, considered the killing of Armenians as part of a racial war and predicted that Turkey would become a nation free of significant ethnic minorities “after the racial wars.”  [2]Richard Hartmann, “Diet, vol. 4 (1929): 105, quoted by Dominik J. Schaller, “Die Rezeption des Völkermords an den Armeniern in Deutschland, 1915–45,” In his memoirs, the United States ambassador Henry Morgenthau, Sr. extensively discussed Ambassador Hans von Wangenheim. However, more importantly, Morgenthau held steadfast in his belief that the German military in Turkey was genuinely responsible for Germany’s non-intervention in the Armenian genocide. In his lengthy report to Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg in Berlin, the German Ambassador to Turkey, Baron Hans von Wangenheim, explained how they had chosen to abandon the Armenians to their fate. He stated that “we have to be especially careful. Otherwise, through the act of intervening for a perhaps hopeless cause, we may incur the risk of jeopardizing interests that are more important and vital for us.“

[Note]: During World War I, the Ottoman army’s highest possible rank was “muoir,” which is equivalent to a field marshal in other armies. Among the five officers who held this rank, three were German generals: Guido von Usedom, Erich von Falkenhayn, and Otto Liman von Sanders.

Below are some of these officers, German Consuls, and Vice-Consuls profiles.

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Name: Otto Liman von Sanders
Rank: General. The head of the German military mission in Constantinople

Kaiser Wilhelm II dispatched Liman von Sanders to the Ottoman Empire in June 1913 to head the German military mission and provide advisers to assist the Young Turks in modernizing their military establishment. Initially, he was tasked with commanding an Ottoman Army corps in Constantinople (Istanbul), but his appointment as inspector general of all Ottoman forces, with the ranks of Ottoman field marshal and German general of cavalry, in January 1915 sparked a diplomatic confrontation with Russia. In February 1919, when Liman attempted to return to Germany, British forces arrested him on war crime charges and held him in Malta for six months.

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Name: Guido von Usedom
Rank: German Navy admiral and Ottoman Empire field marshal.

Guido von Usedom was a general in the German army who played a significant role in the German military mission to the Ottoman Empire during World War I. He served as the chief of staff to the Ottoman commander-in-chief, Enver Pasha, and was involved in the planning and execution of the Ottoman offensives against Russia and the British in the Caucasus and Mesopotamia. He was also responsible for overseeing the deportation and massacre of the Armenian population in Ottoman territory, which was carried out under the guise of a military necessity.

According to the American Ambassador Morgenthau’s book, Guido von Usedom, as confirmed by him, suggested the deportation of Armenians. Usedom believed that Armenians hindered German success, so their removal was deemed necessary.

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Name: Fritz Bronsart von Schellendorf
Rank: Chief of staff of Ottoman land forces

Fritz Bronsart von Schellendorf was appointed to the General Staff of the Ottoman Army by Sultan Mehmed V in January 1914. He quickly assumed his duties as the first assistant chief of the Turkish General Staff, preparing mobilisation and war plans. Schellendorf took charge of the first army corps when Enver Pasa was absent and wielded significant authority over the armies of the Ottoman Empire. He acted as an advisor during War Minister Enver’s military campaign in eastern Turkey from 1914 to 1915. He was also responsible for the training of Ottoman troops and the establishment of modern military infrastructure in the empire. Schellendorf’s expertise and guidance were essential to the Ottoman Army’s early victories in the war, particularly against the Russians in the Caucasus region.

Schellendorff’s almost complete identification with Turkish national interests and his open hostility towards the Armenians, whom he believed were worse profiteers than Jews, were contributing factors to his active participation in the Armenians’ extermination. While Schellendorff’s essay on July 24, 1921, provides some support for this claim, it does not definitively establish that he was one of the original instigators of the genocide. Despite this, Schellendorff was involved in the Special Organization (Teşkilati Mahsusa), a group that included ex-convicts and played a significant role in the planning and execution of the Armenian genocide. His involvement in the organization made him directly responsible for the genocide. [3]Bronsart von Schellendorff , “Ein Zeugnis für Talaat Pascha,” Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, 24 July 1921..

In 1919, long after the 1915 Genocide, he continued to assert that

Like the Jew, the Armenian outside his homeland is like a parasite, absorbing the wellbeing of the country in which he is established. This also results in hatred that has been directed against him in a medieval manner as an unwanted people, and has led to his murder. [4]Prit Buttar (2016). Collision of empires : the war on the Eastern Front in 1914. Oxford: Osprey Publishing.

Schellendorf’s unpublished memoirs reveal his affinity for National Socialism and his anti-Semitic beliefs.

So it is not surprising that the top German officers joined in the young Turkish tirades of hate against the Armenians and even openly approved of the genocide. “The Armenian,” wrote Bronsart von Schellendorf after the war, “like the Jew, is a parasite outside his homeland, sucking up the health of another country in which he has settled.” And: “This people is 9 times worse in usury than the Jews.” “The Armenians living in the country are all rich,” Vice-Admiral Souchon summarized his knowledge of the Armenians, “the Turks are all poor.” [5]Gust, W., 1993. Der Völkermord an den Armeniern. München: Hanser. page 331

In a cyphered telegram produced by Turkish sources, Schellendorf referred to a ‘decision’ (mukarrerdir) to deport ‘the Armenian people wholesale’ (Ermeni ahali). Accordingly, based on Turkish archives, it is clear that Schellendorf issued a cyphered telegram where he referred to a ‘decision’ (mukarrerdir) to deport ‘the Armenian people wholesale’ (Ermeni ahali). Subsequently, Schellendorf used the same cypher to issue the order to deport thousands of disarmed Armenian labour battalion soldiers, against whom he says ‘severe measures’ (şedide) of security must be taken. The deadly function of the Turkish code word şedide became unmistakably evident when the bulk of these soldiers perished through prearranged massacres. This cyphered note was discovered by Christoph Dinkel, a Swiss historian who thoroughly examined the role of the German military in connection with the Armenian genocide from Turkish archives. Dinkel wrote a set of articles (“Der Armenieraufstand 1915 und seine Folgen” – 1915 Armenian Uprising and Its Results) published in the 10th issue of the “Wissen und Wehr” Magazine in 1925 and later a book (Battles on the Caucasian Front in the First World War” – Die Kaukasusfront im Weltkrieg: Bis zum Frieden von Brest, Leipzig, 1940) on the Armenian question, which was published in the army printing house. Schellendorf explained why it was necessary to exterminate the Armenians, but he did not compare it to the rising Jewish problem in those days. [6]Dinkel, ‘German Officers’ [n. 33], p. 102. Suffice to say, regardless of Schellendorf’s direct complicity, being seen as an instigator or being primarily guided by “military necessity” does not leave any doubt about his role in the deportation of the Armenians. Even by ‘just’ supporting the deportation plan, Schellendorf accepted the risk of Armenians being killed in the deportation. Thus, he was involved in the genocide planned and undertaken by the Young Turks. But even when the genocidal intention of the Turks became evident, Schellendorf was not willing to distance himself from their actions or intervene.

[Note]: The Turkish General Staff Archives alone contain 1.5 million documents on WWI (out of total holdings of over 8 million documents). The other Turkish national archives contain many millions more. However, the vast bulk of these records, particularly those dealing with sensitive political and military issues, are unavailable to researchers, despite Turkey’s claim to making these archives available.

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Name: Otto von Feldmann
Rank: Chief of operations at the general headquarters.

Feldmann served as an advisor in War Minister Enver’s 1914-1915 military campaign in eastern Turkey, where he pushed for the plans for the relocation of Armenians. He insisted on the necessity of “clearing certain regions…of Armenians.” More importantly, Feldmann revealed that other “German officers” were also involved in the push to remove Armenians from eastern Turkey. Along with General Bronsart, Enver Pasha considered Feldmann his confidant and consulted him on every plan that Pasha had, as is evident from the work of historian Major Carl Mühlmann.

Feldmann was the only one of the German officers who served with the Ottoman army to admit that he and others had advised the Young Turks in carrying out Armenian deportations. After the war, Feldmann returned to Germany and became involved in politics. He joined the far-right German National People’s Party (DNVP) and was elected to the Reichstag (German Parliament) in 1924.

During the Nazi regime, Feldmann continued to be a member of the Reichstag, now as part of the Nazi parliamentary group, until he resigned from politics in 1938.

“Even German officers— I myself among them— were forced to advise freeing the rear of the army from Armenians in certain areas at certain times. The duty of self-preservation of the Turkish army did not permit leaving strong forces behind to guard rear lines. Without that, however, no operation was possible, no reverse at the front could be sustained, so long as Armenians lived in the rear.”[7]Otto von Feldmann, “Zum Talaatprozess,” Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, 30 June 1921

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Name: Johann Heinrich von Bernstorff
Rank: Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire

Through his official telegrams, public interviews, and letters, Von Bernstorff provided a detailed account of how the Ottoman policy against the Armenians was based on annihilating the entire Armenian race. In his Memoirs, Count Bernstorff recounted a conversation with Talat Pasha where Pasha admitted that the Armenian question was settled once and for all and that no more Armenians were left. Additionally, when Bernstorff initially denied the crimes committed against Armenians, he recanted his statement once the media pressed him and admitted to it by saying:

“submitted to the United States Government a report of the German Consul General at Trebizond admitting and defending a massacre of Armenians on the ground that the Armenians were disloyal to the Turkish Government and secretly were aiding and abetting Russia.” ^[8] Toynbee, A. (1925). Armenian atrocities : the murder of a nation … With a speech delivered by Lord Bryce in the House of Lords. London: Hodder And Stoughton.

After the war, Bernstorff was tried by a German court for his role in the sinking of the passenger liner Lusitania, which was carrying American passengers. He was acquitted of the charges.

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Name: Felix Guse
Rank: Lieutenant Colonel. Chief of staff of the Ottoman Third Army

Felix Guse was a German officer who served in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. He was a military historian and wrote several books on the subject, including the one mentioned in the previous message about the Caucasian front. Guse was a strong supporter of the Ottoman Empire and defended its actions against the Armenians. He believed that the Armenians were a threat to the Ottoman state and needed to be eliminated. After the war, Guse continued to support Turkish nationalism and even helped train the Turkish army. He also worked as a professor of history and was a member of the Nazi party during World War II.

Guse wrote a set of articles entitled “Der Armenieraufstand 1915 und seine Folgen” (The Armenian Uprising of 1915 and Its Consequences), which were published in the 10th issue of “Wissen und Wehr” magazine in 1925. He then wrote a book titled “Battles on the Caucasian Front in the First World War” (Die Kaukasusfront im Weltkrieg: Bis zum Frieden von Brest, Leipzig, 1940) on the Armenian question, which was published by the army printing house. In his book, Guse explained why it was necessary to exterminate the Armenians, but he did not compare it to the growing Jewish problem [9] Dinkel, “German Officers,” 100; Felix Guse, Die Kaukasusfront im Weltkrieg bis zum Frieden von Brest (Leipzig: Koehler and Amelang, 1940).

Guse stressed that the Armenians had revolted wholly unprovoked and that “it must be emphasized that the Armenians must assume the blame for all that followed.” He later described the Armenians as a people deserving “punishment.”

In 1940, during Hitler’s war of annihilation, Guse published his book about the Caucasian front during WWI, in which he repeated his version of events of Armenian treason and justified genocide.

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Name: Hans Humann[10]Hans Humann to Otto von Lossow, 28 May 1919 and Humann’s sister Marie Sarre to Lossow, 27 May 1919. Bay HS 3158, n.p
Rank: Naval attaché at Istanbul

Hans Humann was called the ‘most influential German’ in Constantinople during the war. However, he was a regrettable choice as a liaison officer between Germany and the Young Turk leadership due to his anti-Semitic and expansionist-imperialist views. He went on record saying that ‘the Armenians are being more or less exterminated—as a result of their conspiracy with the Russians! This is harsh but useful.’ Humann actively supported the policies of the Young Turks and provided them with advice on how to carry out the deportations and massacres of the Armenians. Despite his involvement in the Armenian Genocide, Humann was never held accountable for his actions and continued to hold high positions in Germany after the war. [11]Quoted in Meissner, Martin Rades “Christliche Welt,” 112

Humann was motivated by Social Darwinism, which was evident in the belief he expressed of the Armenians. He was inspired by Jäckh, founder of the German-Turkish Association. Humann did not believe such “colonization” to be detrimental to the target countries but lauded its benefits to Turkish nationalism. After the war, he was a member of the veterans’ organization Bund der Asienkämpfer(League of Asian Fighters). Under his sway, the Asienkämpfer became a lobbying organization for German-Turkish rapprochement. He defended the Ottoman government’s genocidal Armenian policy vehemently from criticism. Humann served as a de facto liaison officer, dispatching German offers directly to Enver and instructing him on how to negotiate with other Ottoman politicians.

Some of famous Humann’s quotes:

“I spent most of my life in Turkey, and I know Armenians. That’s why I know that Armenians and Turks cannot live together in this country. One of these two people has to disappear. I do not reproach the Turks for what they have done to the Armenians. I think they are right. The weaker people should lose. Armenians in Turkey”

“The Turkish Government’s use of the war process and tied-up Europe to root out the Armenian problem and forcibly settle the Armenian problem …”, “Armenians are now almost eradicated. Sounds cruel but useful.”

An American embassy employee Lewis Einstein in Constantinople, called Humann

“the most influential German here” and “Enver’s bosom friend”. [12]Ibid 4 page 326

In his book Der Völkermord an den Armeniern Die Tragödie des ältesten Christenvolks der Welt, Wolfgang Gust writes:

“The role of Lieutenant Commander and Naval Attaché Hans Humann was completely different. He was the evil spirit among the German officers. The American Ambassador Henry Morgenthau wrote that a German diplomat had told him that Humann was more of a Turk than Enver or Talaat. Even Wangenheim’s tentative protests against the Armenian massacres went too far for the Enver friend, and Humann described the ambassador Wolff-Metternich, just like the grand vizier, as “a German who was an Armenian ambassador”. Humann played a significant role in Paul Graf Wolff-Metternich’s recall to Germany in the fall of 1916″ [13]Ibid 4 page 328

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Name: Wilhelm Souchon
Rank: Admiral. The Commander of the Ottoman Navy.

Wilhelm Souchon was a German naval officer who played a key role in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. In addition to his appointment as commander of the Ottoman Navy, he also served as the German naval attaché to the Ottoman Empire.

Under Souchon’s command, the Ottoman Navy was able to achieve some initial successes against the Russian Black Sea Fleet. However, these victories were short-lived, and by 1915 the Ottoman Navy was largely ineffective due to a lack of resources and training.

Souchon was involved in several controversial incidents during the war, including the sinking of the Russian battleship Potemkin in 1915. He also played a role in the Ottoman Empire’s decision to deport and massacre its Armenian population.

After the war, Souchon was tried and convicted for his role in the sinking of the British passenger liner RMS Lusitania in 1915, which resulted in the deaths of 1,198 people. He was sentenced to five years in prison, but was released in 1920 and went on to work in the shipping industry.

On 15 August 1914, the Ottoman minister of war, Enver Pasha, appointed Souchon commander of the largely decrepit Ottoman Navy. Souchon remained at odds with the Ottoman leadership, with the exception of Enver.  [14]Tucker, S., 2014. World War I. 5 vols. The definitive encyclopedia and document collection. Westport: Greenwood Press.

It will be salvation for Turkey when it has done away with the last Armenian; it will be rid them of subversive bloodsuckers. [15]Bloxham, D. (2008). Genocide, the world wars and the unweaving of Europe. London ; Portland, Or: Vallentine Mitchell.

In his diary on August 15 1915, Souchon wrote that ‘Turkey is acting against the Armenians with thoroughness and the utmost discretion. Three-quarters of them have already been liquidated. I hope this drama will soon come to an end.’ On 19 August, his entry read, ‘It will be salvation for Turkey when it has done away with the last Armenian…’  ^[16]Papers (Nachlass) of Admiral Wilhelm Souchon, Bundesarchiv Militärarchiv, Koblenz, N156, no. 14; quoted in Dinkel, ‘German Offi cers’ [n.33], p. 117.

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Name: Karl Anton Böttrich
Rank: Lieutenant Colonel. Head of the railway department of the Ottoman general staff, who, in October 1915, signed the Ottoman order to deport the Armenian employees working on the Baghdad Railway.

On October 17, 1915, a document was signed by Karl Anton Böttrich “stating that the deportation of railway employees was part of the general deportation policy of the Ottoman government, without providing any further explanation. The order demanded the deportation of all Armenian employees, including those living in Constantinople, without any exemptions” [17]Midlarsky, M.I. and Netlibrary, I. (2005). The killing trap : genocide in the twentieth century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Page 217

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Name: Max von Scheubner-Richter [18]Leverkuehn, P., Kaiser, H. and Lean, A., 2008. A German officer during the Armenian genocide. London: Taderon Press for the Gomidas Institute
Rank: Acted as the German vice-consul in Erzerum in Ottoman Turkey during the genocide of Armenians in 1915. Scheubner-Richter later became a founding father of the Nazi Party and was one of Hitler’s closest colleagues.

Scheubner-Richter enlisted in the German army as a volunteer in 1914. He was on his way to the Caucasus front as part of a German contingent assigned to carry out special missions in Persia and the Caucasus when the consul at Erzurum, Dr Paul Schwarz, died. Scheubner-Richter was then appointed acting consul and stayed on for several months. Some speculate that his appointment was a guise for a secret German operation to sabotage the Russian oil fields in the Caucasus, which they believed would halt the Russian war effort.

It was during this time that the Armenian Genocide began. Scheubner-Richter believed that the deportation of the Armenians was based on racial hatred and that none could survive such a journey. He concluded that the deportations were a policy of annihilation.

Scheubner-Richter was one of Hitler’s early comrades in the Nazi party. While serving as the German consul in Erzurum during World War I, he documented the genocide for the Kaiser’s government. Scheubner-Richter met Hitler in October 1920, becoming his foreign policy adviser and a financier who identified other sources of income for the party. Hitler likely received a first-hand account of the mass murders from Scheubner-Richter. Scheubner-Richter was killed by police gunfire during the Beer-Hall Putsch in Munich in 1923. Walking arm in arm with his leader, he dragged Hitler to the ground and may have saved his life. Mein Kampf is dedicated to Scheubner-Richter and the other Nazi dead.

In his notes taken after a meeting with the Young Turk leaders of the Committee of Union and Progress, Scheubner-Richter described plans to “destroy” the Armenians of the Ottoman Empire.

The first item on this agenda concerns the liquidation of the Armenians. Ittihad will dangle before the Allies a specter of an alleged revolution prepared by the Armenian Dashnak party. Moreover, local incidents of social unrest and acts of Armenian self defense will deliberately be provoked and inflated and will be used as pretexts to effect the deportations. Once en route, however, the convoys will be attacked and exterminated by Kurdish and Turkish brigands, and in part by gendarmes, who will be instigated for that purpose by Ittihad.[19]2 Deborah Dwork and Robert Jan van Pelt, The Holocaust: A History (New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2002),p. 38.

Peter von der Dunk, a historian at the University of Utrecht, has argued that Scheubner-Richter’s views on the Armenians were formed by his experiences during World War I and his belief in the need for Germany to establish a strong position in the Middle East. According to von der Dunk, Scheubner-Richter saw the Armenians as a potential ally of the Russians and believed that their elimination was necessary to secure German interests in the region.

Scheubner-Richter’s involvement with the Nazi Party was significant, as he played a key role in shaping Hitler’s foreign policy and establishing links with other far-right groups in Europe. He was also involved in the planning of the failed Beer Hall Putsch, which aimed to overthrow the Bavarian government and establish a Nazi regime in Germany.

Scheubner-Richter died during the Beer Hall Putsch in Munich on November 9, 1923. He was walking arm in arm with Hitler when they were caught in a crossfire of police gunfire. Scheubner-Richter was hit and fell to the ground, pulling Hitler down with him.

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Name: Colmar Freiherr von der Goltz
Rank: General Field Marshal

On 28 November 1914, the Kaiser attached Goltz to the person of the Sultan. Goltz had a high reputation as the organiser of the army in Turkey. Goltz died while Supreme Commander in Iraq. However, Goltz was not new to Turkey; earlier, he had supervised Turkish military training from 1883 to 1885. From 21 September 1916, General von Lossow acted as Military Plenipotentiary in Constantinople. Goltz was also empowered to make inspections of the Ottoman army itself. Goltz influenced many young Ottoman officers, creating a generation who would wage total war with full force. Mahmud Shevket Pasha, an Ottoman military officer, translated Goltz’s book Das Volk in Waffen into Turkish for use in the Harbiye. Enver Pasha was the foremost practitioner of the total war in the Ottoman Empire. 

Famous quote:

“The great Revolution of 1908 is the work of…Young Turks and in particular young officers. Most of them were in their 30s or even younger…They were the saviors of the fatherland.” [20]Akmeșe, Handan Nezir The Birth of Modern Turkey The Ottoman Military and the March to World I, London: I.B. Tauris page 67

Goltz, known as “Golç Paşa” in Ottoman Turkish, had achieved legendary status among the Ottoman officer corps. He had trained an entire generation of Ottoman staff officers, who in turn educated the young officers that led the 1908 revolution. Enver Pasha and Mustafa Atatürk applied Goltz’s theories in their reorganization of the Ottoman army. They had both studied at the newly transformed Imperial Military Academy, which Goltz had reformed. They were also familiar with the Ottoman translation (Millet-i Müselleha 1884) of Goltz’s book “Volk in Waffen,” which had become mandatory reading in Ottoman military schools.

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Name: Eberhard Graf Wolffskeel von Reichenberg,
Rank: Captain. Chief of staff in the Ottoman of the Eighth Ottoman Army Corps, who commanded the force that crushed the Armenian self-defense at Urfa (September–October 1915)

Eberhard Graf Wolffskeel von Reichenberg was born in Germany in 1886 and joined the German army in 1904. He fought in World War I and became known for his brutal tactics against civilians in the Ottoman Empire during the Armenian Genocide.

Eberhard Graf Wolffskeel von Reichenberg was a major in the German army who played a significant role in the Armenian Genocide. He was stationed in the Ottoman Empire during World War I and was responsible for overseeing the destruction of the Armenian quarter in the city of Urfa (now Sanliurfa, Turkey).

Following General Fahrettin Türkkan, who was unable to overcome the resistance of the defenders of Musa Dagh (August–September 1915) and Urfa (September–October 1915), Major Eberhard Graf Wolffskeel von Reichenberg bombarded and reduced the city’s Armenian quarter, after which he destroyed the town and its survivors through hangings, machine-gunning, and other atrocities.

After the Armenian resistance at Musa Dagh in 1915, the Ottoman authorities decided to deport the Armenian population of Urfa. However, the Armenian quarter was able to resist the deportation for several months. Eventually, Wolffskeel was brought in to deal with the situation, and he ordered the bombardment of the Armenian quarter, followed by the use of machine guns and other atrocities to eliminate the remaining resistance. The city was then destroyed, leaving it in ruins.

Wolffskeel later wrote to his fiancé describing the situation in Urfa and his role in the Armenian Genocide. In his letters, he expressed his pride in his actions and his belief that he was serving his country by carrying out the orders of the Ottoman authorities. He was a committed German nationalist and believed that the destruction of the Armenians was necessary to further the German war effort. [21](Reichenberg, V., Kaiser, H., and Gomidas Institute (2004). Eberhard Count Wolffskeel Von Reichenberg, Zeitoun, Mousa Dagh, Ourfa: letters on the Armenian genocide. Princeton, Nj; London: Gomidas … Continue reading

“You see I’m waging war again, if that’s how you are, but you can hear it banging and balls whistling again.”

“Today you couldn’t hear a shot. The city is still searched for hidden people, but in general everything that is not beaten to death is already in captivity. So far the thing was quite interesting and pretty. Now the unpleasant part begins again. The removal of the population and the courts martial.”

Wolffskeel’s extreme actions against Armenians were considered to be beyond the call of duty, and his letters to his fiancé, later his wife and father, provide a real insight into the mind of this German officer during the Armenian genocide.

After the war, Wolffskeel was captured by the British and was held as a prisoner of war. He continued to express his nationalist views and was known to be unrepentant about his actions during the Armenian Genocide. However, his letters provide a valuable insight into the mindset of a German officer who was complicit in the genocide and believed that he was serving his country.

During his captivity, he was interviewed by American authorities, who recorded his statements about the Armenian Genocide.

In his statements, Wolffskeel admitted to participating in the deportation and massacres of Armenians, but he also claimed that he had tried to help some Armenians and had even sheltered some in his home. However, his actions in the Ottoman Empire showed a different story, as he was known for his ruthless tactics against civilians.

Wolffskeel died in 1958 in Wurzburg, Germany, at the age of 72. His legacy remains controversial, as he is remembered for his role in the Armenian Genocide and the atrocities committed against the Armenian people.

There are various accounts of Wolffskeel’s actions during the Armenian Genocide, and his letters reveal his strong anti-Armenian sentiments. Some historians have pointed out that his actions may have been influenced by his belief in the “Eastern question,” which referred to the geopolitical situation in the Ottoman Empire and the desire of some European powers to maintain their influence in the region. However, regardless of his motivations, his actions contributed to the tragic loss of many innocent lives during this dark period in history.