1st administrative history/biography: Carl Bach was born on 08.03.1847 in Stollberg in the Erzgebirge mountains as the son of the saddler master and carriage builder Heinrich Julius Bach. After attending primary school and private school in Stollberg, he completed an apprenticeship as a locksmith. In the years 1863 and 1864 he worked in the steam engine construction of the company R. Hartmann in Chemnitz. During this time he learned English in addition to his work. Then he was first a pupil of the Gewerbschule, later of the Werkmeisterschule, where he graduated at Easter 1866 with the overall grade 1 and the silver medal, which was only awarded in one copy. This year he took part in planning work for the Chemnitz water pipeline under the direction of Prof. Kankelwitz. After the following studies at the Polytechnikum Dresden he followed Prof. Kankelwitz as assistant for the years 1868 to 1872 to Stuttgart. After this time Bach studied again, this time with Grashof at the TH Karlsruhe, where he earned his diploma in 1873. In the following five years he worked as an engineer in Wollwich, London and Vienna, finally becoming director of Lausitzer Maschinenfabrik AG in Bautzen. He was elected to the Zittau Chamber of Commerce in 1877 and married in the same year. On 01 October 1878, Bach was appointed full professor of mechanical engineering at the Technical University of Stuttgart, where he established the Materials Testing Institute in 1884 and the Engineering Laboratory eleven years later. From 1885 to 1888 he was rector of the TH Stuttgart. One year later, on 20 June 1889, Bach was awarded the silver commemorative medal by the King of Württemberg on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the government. In February 1892 he received the Knight's Cross and on 25 November 1895 the Honorary Cross of the Order of the Württemberg Crown, connected with the nobility of persons. He was also awarded the title of "Construction Director". Already in 1883 Carl Bach was appointed to the Federal Polytechnic in Zurich, in 1895 to the Technical University in Berlin and in 1902 unofficially to the Technical University in Vienna. However, he did not follow any of these calls. On 22 March 1911 he was awarded the Commander's Cross of the 2nd Class of the Albrecht Order by King Friedrich August of Saxony, in 1914 the title "Staatsrat", in February 1916 he was awarded the Wilhelmskreuz by the King of Württemberg, in February 1918 the Commander's Cross of the Order of the Württemberg Crown. Also this year Bach was the first technician in Württemberg to receive the title "Excellence". From 1912 to 1918 Carl von Bach was a member of the 1st Chamber of the Württemberg State Parliament for the TH Stuttgart. On his 70th birthday, 1917, he became an honorary citizen of his hometown Stollberg and on his 80th birthday an honorary citizen of Stuttgart. In 1920 the senate of the TH Stuttgart had him paint for the senate hall. Two years later Bach was emeritus. In 1926 Bach was painted again, this time for the conference hall of the VDI in Berlin. Carl von Bach died in Stuttgart on 10 October 1931. He holds honorary doctorates from the TH Berlin (1903), the University of Tübingen (1927), the TH Vienna (1927), and the TH Stuttgart (1927). In close cooperation and lively exchange of ideas with renowned entrepreneurs and inventors such as Robert Bosch, Paul Daimler, Rudolf Diesel, Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin and many others, Bach succeeded in bridging the gap in mechanical engineering between practitioners such as Redtenbacher (Karlsruhe) and theorists such as Reuleaux (Berlin) by purposefully combining theory and practice through experimental research in mechanical engineering and civil engineering. In order to secure the scientific basis, Bach successfully established two research institutes, the Materials Testing Institute 1884, of which he was director until 1922, and the Engineering Laboratory 1895. On his initiative, the first chair for aeronautics and automotive engineering was established in Germany in 1925, together with the associated laboratory. Based on his work, Bach is regarded as the founder of static elasticity and strength theory. Both from his own experience and from his work in business circles and technical associations, Bach was aware that the rapid development of German industry required a fundamental reform of engineering education. He demanded a "workshop practice" of at least one year. Bach considered solid practical experience supplemented by thorough, comprehensive training in natural science and technical subjects, but also the teaching of humanities disciplines, the "humanisation of technical universities", to be absolutely essential for the engineer of the future. His educational policy intentions, which he realized in his more than 40 years of work at the Technical University of Stuttgart, he achieved above all through the Association of German Engineers. The appreciation of Bach as a teacher and scholar is expressed not only by his appointments to other universities, but also by the orders and honours of crowned heads and associations of a technical, scientific and socio-political nature, as well as the magnificent letter of thanks from the students of the TH Stuttgart. 2nd inventory description: Carl von Bach (1847-1931) was one of the most important German technical scientists of his time. In the field of mechanical engineering and material testing he did pioneering work, which is the basis for today's problems and solutions. The estate of Carl von Bach comprises a total of about 40 running metres. Archive material. However, this material does not only contain the scientific legacy of Bach, but much more: in addition to the scientific works - almost all manuscripts of his major works are available in various editions - an extensive part of his private legacy is also preserved. In addition, the University Archives also contain the estate of his son Julius Bach. He was bequeathed in his will the entire legacy of his father's writings, which he finally bequeathed to the then Technical University of Karl-Marx-Stadt alongside his own. Particularly valuable in the estate of Carl von Bach, if one can even pick out a subgroup, is the traditional business correspondence. On approx. 50,000 sheets, both the correspondence received and the correspondence sent out over the period from 1876 to 1931 are almost completely handed down. Because of Bach's focus on work and research, the theory of strength and elasticity, of which he was a co-founder, he came into contact with various representatives from science and industry. Moreover, Bach was a very socially committed person, which is also reflected in this correspondence. However, the preservation of the tradition is endangered. In particular, the copial books with the outgoing correspondence will only be released for use in exceptional cases. The degree of preservation of the writing material is particularly problematic here. As a rule, the deceased did not use commercially available ink, but mixed it himself in varying compositions, some of which faded very strongly. In addition, the transparent paper of the books is only of little stability. For this reason, the business correspondence in the Bach estate was completely filmed and digitized. Selected documents are recorded on colour film and are available as negatives and positives. The Subdivision of the Estate Carl von Bach's estate is divided into six sections in its provisionally final stage of indexing: I. Biographical material This group includes personal documents, testimonies of his educational and professional career, documents about his military service, honours, vocations, anniversaries and autobiographical records. II. private correspondence This is arranged chronologically according to the members of the family and within them. Of these, the correspondence with his son Julius is the most extensive and certainly also the most interesting, since it contains the discussions of various technical problems that were conducted between the two scientists. III. business correspondence This cannot claim to be complete, but the extent of the overdelivery is impressive. Particularly remarkable is the tradition of the outgoing mail, which is recorded in a total of 35 copial books on approx. 35000 sheets. They cover the period from 1876 to 1903 and from 1909 to his death in 1931. Within these copies the letters are arranged chronologically and for almost each of these books there is a register of names of the addressees, which has been made by the deceased. However, the Kopialbücher also contain copies of incoming letters and various concepts, orders, etc., which Bach probably regarded as particularly important. Also the mail archived in this group is quite remarkable with 18 000 sheets. In total, there are about 2500 correspondents in the group of business correspondence. With regard to the two sections on private and business correspondence, it should be noted that correspondence can also be found outside these sections, in the fact files. IV. Business papers Here you will find the manuscripts of his countless publications, statements and expert opinions on the fields of science covered by Bach, as well as extensive material collections on these questions. His work on material testing, the durability of steam boilers and riveted joints, etc. can be particularly well understood here. Bach himself created firm portfolios in which he collected all possible processes into one subject and then labeled them accordingly. This state of order and distortion was largely adopted during the earlier processing of the estate, without verifying the content in detail. This situation was resolved in 2007. The order by subject has been maintained, but the folders have been repackaged and the file titles have been supplemented with extensive "Contains" notes to facilitate access to this material. In addition, papers from the estate of Julius Bach were added to this section, but these clearly have their origin in Carl Bach. V. Material Collections Various types of material have been summarized here. This concerns e.g. his membership cards, orders, promotional gifts, material samples or also different photos. Sections 4 and 5 have not been rearranged, but have been taken over from the original legator. VI. Non-provenance material Here is the material about the legator that was later added to the estate, such as obituaries or copies of and about Bach from other archives. In the revision of the estate, further material on Carl Bach was added. Of particular note here are the numerous photos of the Carl Bach family, which were made available in digital form for the collection. The inventory signature is the number 302, followed by an indication in Roman numerals and the individually numbered file units (in Arabic numerals). The Roman numerals indicate the six different groups. Example: 302 / III / 0123 Carl von Bach estate estate / business correspondence / foreign correspondence America: Argentina, Chile, Canada, USA Inventory processing The Carl von Bach estate has not yet been finally catalogued. At the beginning of the processing in the 80s a file was created, which was the basis for the input into the database at the end of the 90s. The data was transferred unchanged. A new classification was developed for the estate, according to which the entered units of registration are arranged. New file titles have been created in the Biographical Material, Private and Business Correspondence sections. In 2007, sections IV to VI were finally developed in greater depth. Although most of the titles of the files in the business papers and material collections were originally taken over by the testator, they were supplemented with extensive remarks. The present finding aid book thus represents the most recent state of processing for the time being. Digitisation The correspondence in the estate has been completely filmed and digitised from the film. Due to the state of preservation, the originals are no longer released for use. A high quality silver halide film has been used to secure the existence of the company. As a rule, this part of the estate is used via the electronic data on the PC. The designation of the CD-ROM corresponds to that of the file unit. During scanning, the individual sheets were numbered consecutively. The first part of the file name, however, reflects the file unit. However, the file numbers do not match the page number. 3. state of indexing/scope: indexed; find book, database, digitised material; scope: 40.75 running metres.

1. biography: Karl Joseph Wilhelm Florestan Gero Crescentius Prince of Urach Count of Württemberg was born on 15 February 1865 in Ulm as the younger son of Wilhelm (I.) Duke of Urach and Florestine Duchess of Urach née Princess of Monaco (1); the prince attended the primary school and the Jesuit grammar school in Monaco (2) together with his older brother Wilhelm (II.) Duke of Urach. In 1877 he moved to the Jesuit educational institution of Our Lady Stella matutina in Feldkirch. After a further change of school in 1881, he graduated from the Karlsgymnasium in Stuttgart in 1883 and studied for two semesters at the University of Munich (3) from 1883 to 1884. There he attended lectures in metaphysics and history of Greek philosophy with the professor of philosophy and later Bavarian Prime Minister and German Chancellor Georg Graf von Hertling (1843-1919) as well as lectures in political science with the journalist and writer Professor Wilhelm Heinrich Riehl (1823-1897). 1883 he was appointed second lieutenant à la suite of the Ulan regiment King Karl (1st Württ.) No. 19 (4). In April 1886 Prince Karl entered the active service of this regiment, but had to leave the active service due to illness. In March 1887, the prince retired as an officer à la suite from the active service of the regiment. In the following years the prince was granted the usual promotions for a member of the House of Württemberg under the position à la suite of the regiment: in 1887 he was appointed prime lieutenant, in 1891 cavalry master, in 1899 cavalry major and in 1906 lieutenant colonel. From 1884, Karl Fürst von Urach travelled extensively (5): from 1884 to 1886 he travelled South America, visiting the Cordilleras and studying the Indian tribes on the upper reaches of the Amazon (6). He later handed over the ethnological collection he acquired during his journey to the Linden Museum in Stuttgart. Also in the time after 1887 he often stayed in Italy, Greece, in the Balkans, in Egypt, where he owned real estate in Heliopolis near Cairo (7), and in the Ottoman Empire. In 1891 he took part in an expedition to Spitsbergen (8), in 1893 the prince travelled to the USA(9). The few documents on the trip to the USA (especially letters of recommendation) (10) that are preserved in the present inventory suggest that this trip was also used for ethnological studies of Indian tribes. So he learned Turkish, Arabic and Persian. Last but not least, between 1893 and 1925 the prince had Arab rooms (11) built into his palace on Neckarstraße in Stuttgart, which he decorated with furniture, carvings, tiles, works made of plaster stucco, carpets and other antiques from the Orient. During the First World War, Prince Karl was finally able to use his language skills and the knowledge he had acquired about this region during his many journeys to the Orient for his work as a German liaison officer in the Ottoman Empire (12). He performed this function between 1916 and 1917, when Prince Karl took over several honorary offices. He was president of the Württemberg group of the German Colonial Society (13) and member of the Württemberg regional association of the German Fleet Association (14). He supported the Society for the Promotion of German Settlements in Palestine (15). He also supported the work of the airship designer Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin by subscribing to shares in the company for the promotion of airship travel (16).Karl Fürst von Urach was awarded numerous orders in the course of his life (17): in 1883 the Prince received the Monegasque Order of Saint Charles, in 1889 the Grand Cross of the Persian Order of the Sun and Lions (18), in 1897 the Ottoman Order of First Class, in 1899 the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Medal. In 1910 he was awarded the Prussian Red Eagle Order. In 1916 he received the Wilhelmskreuz with swords and crown, one year later the royal Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen and the Iron Cross 2nd class. Karl Fürst von Urach died on 5 December 1925 in Stuttgart. He was buried in the Catholic section of the crypt of the castle church Ludwigsburg. 2. to the order and distortion of the stock:: Together with the Archive of the Dukes and Princes of Urach Grafen von Württemberg, the GU 120 collection was deposited in the Main State Archives in 1987. There, the archives of the House of Urach form the GU series of inventories within the inventory classification (tectonics). During the reorganization of the archive by Wolfgang Schmierer, Director of the Archive, the documents on Karl Fürst von Urach were given the signature GU 120, and since the materials were in a poor state of order, the units of registration had to be formed for the most part first. Where it made sense, the existing units were retained. During the indexing work, extensive documents were removed from the GU 120 holdings and assigned in particular to the GU 96 (Miscellaneous and Unclear), GU 100 (Foreign Archives and Other Collections), GU 107 (Florestine Duchess of Urach), GU 117 (Wilhelm (II.) Duke of Urach) and GU 202 (Bertha Freiin von Biegeleben) holdings. Moreover, it cannot be ruled out that further material of the provenance of Karl Fürst von Urach may be found in the as yet unlisted holdings of the House of Urach. by far the largest part of the holdings consists of the extensive correspondence of the Prince (category 2), above all with his mother (category 2.1.1) with his brother Wilhelm and his family (category 2.1.2) as well as with Bertha von Biegeleben (category 2.1.5). The latter was the court lady of his mother Florestine and a close confidante of the prince. In addition, correspondence with representatives of the German and European ruling and former ruling princely houses can be found in the holdings (Section 2.5). Karl Fürst von Urach also corresponded with numerous public figures (section 2.7), including scholars. Almost all correspondence is so-called unilateral correspondence, that is, only the letters of the correspondence partner are found in the existing stock. If there are isolated letters or drafts of letters from the Reigning Prince to the respective addressee, this is expressly mentioned in the title recording. Usually these are letters of the prince returned to the prince or his family afterwards. It should also be noted that Prince Karl did not make any copies of his correspondence. The correspondences can be regarded as an interesting source for the history of everyday life and mentality of the nobility. They show the manifold contacts which the prince maintained with members of other noble families. They also certainly offer details of the Prince's numerous journeys. However, it was not possible to index the contents of the correspondence due to the time and effort involved. Unfortunately, the correspondences and correspondence series contained in this collection sometimes have smaller gaps. It is not possible at the present time to answer the question of whether the previously unlisted holdings of the archives of the House of Urach still contain correspondence of the prince. Besides the correspondence, the extensive collections of photos and photographs (category 10) form the second largest part of the holdings in terms of the number of title recordings. Of particular interest are the photos and photo albums with photos from the Prince's numerous travels to South America, Egypt, the Ottoman Empire and the Balkans (Section 10.2.2). There are also photos taken during the aforementioned activity of the prince as a liaison officer in the Ottoman Empire during the First World War (section 10.2.4). Prince Karl's interest in Islamic (Arabic) art is also reflected in the numerous photographs of buildings and artworks of Islamic art, which are combined in section 10.3. Of the other materials preserved in the present collection, the Prince's manuscripts with literary and art-historical texts and a memorandum on the political reorganization of Europe by Germany in the First World War should also be mentioned, as well as interesting documents on the associations and societies in which the Prince was active and in which he was active. In an appendix (column 16) photos, an album and seal from the possession of the Wera Duchess of Württemberg née Grand Duchess of Russia are united, which after the death of the Duchess were handed over by her daughter Olga Prinzessin zu Schaumburg-Lippe to Karl Fürst von Urach.In addition, correspondences of the brother of Karl Fürst von Urach, Wilhelm (II.) Duke of Urach, to Charlemagne's estate, to the Arab rooms and to a newspaper article about the princes were added to the collection (19). Since these materials refer to Karl Fürst von Urach, the classification into the present holdings seemed to be reasonable. As expected, documents on Karl Fürst von Urach are also available in other holdings of the archives of the House of Urach. In particular the holdings GU 99 (photo albums and collections), GU 107 (Florestine Herzogin von Urach née Prinzessin von Monaco), GU 117 (Wilhelm (II.) Herzog von Urach) and GU 202 (Bertha von Biegeleben) are to be mentioned here. the archives of the holdings may only be inspected with the prior permission of the chief of the House of Urach. the holdings GU 120 were catalogued by the undersigned from autumn 2004 to April 2005. It comprises 4.6 running meters with 318 numbers.Stuttgart, in April 2005Eberhard Merk footnotes: (1) For Karl Fürst von Urach see above: Article by Wolfgang Schmierer in: The House of Württemberg. A biographical encyclopedia. Edited by Sönke Lorenz, Dieter Mertens, Volker Press. Stuttgart 1997. p. 390. Heinrich Fischer: Prince Karl von Urach as a research traveller. In: Swabian Mercury of 11 December 1926 pp. 17f. (Sunday supplement to the Swabian Mercury No. 580). Newspaper articles and obituaries in M 743/2 Bü 542.(2) See also Bü 1 (serial number 1) in this inventory. Schmierer does not mention attending school in Monaco. The data on the school attendance of Karl Fürst von Urach were taken from the short curriculum vitae written by Wilhelm (II.) Duke of Urach in Bü 21 (Ordnungsnummer 11).(3) See Bü 11 (Ordnungsnummer 2).(4) On military careers see the personal file of Fürst Karls in: M 430/1 Bü 2797, also Bü 7 (serial number 3), 121 (serial number 98).(5) A list of the Prince's travels, prepared by Karl's brother Duke Wilhelm (II.), is kept in Bü 21 (serial number 11). This list also served Heinrich Fischer as the basis for his article (loc. cit.)(6) See the manuscript of the prince in Bü 269 (Ordnungsnummer 145). A detailed description of the itinerary of the South American trip can be found in the article by Heinrich Fischer (loc. cit.)(7) Bü 297, 298 (serial number 208, 211)(8) Cf. the correspondence of Max Graf von Zeppelin in Bü 161 (serial number 118) and the manuscript of the prince in Bü 273 (serial number 146). Photos of Spitzbergen and Norway can be found in Bü 59 (serial number 247).(9) There are no photos of this trip in this collection.(10) Bü 177 (serial number 138)(11) See Bü 20 (serial number 217), Bü 80 (serial number 288), Bü 83 (serial number 202), Bü 316 (serial number 198). An impressive description of the Arabic spaces provides: Claus Mohr: Arab Art in Stuttgart. In: Deutsches Volksblatt 1926 No. 170 of 28 July 1926(12) See also Bü 108, 293 (serial numbers 5 and 6). Photos from this period have been preserved in Bü 42 (serial number 264).(13) There are no materials on the prince's work in the D e u t s c h e K o l o n i a l g e s c h e l l l s c h a f t in this collection.(14) Bü 285 (serial number 193)(15) Bü 294 (serial number 191)(16) Bü 296 (serial number 189)(17) See also Bü 6, 101 (serial numbers 7 and 8)(18) The award was made on the occasion of the state visit of Schah Nasir-el-din in 1889 in Stuttgart(19) Bü 10 (serial number 9), Bü 21 (serial number 11), Bü 23 (serial number 216)

• description: Contains: Memorial Medal of Kaiser Wilhelm I., 22. March 1893 China commemorative coin, 29. Sept. 1901 Red Eagle Order 4th Class with Swords, 21. Oct. 1901 St. Stanislaus Order 3rd Class, 1903 Crown to Red Eagle Order 4th Class with Swords, 3. Nov. 1904 Bavarian Military Order of Merit 4th Class, 29. May 1906 Crown Order 3rd Class with Swords, 16. Sept. 1906 Knight's Cross of the Order of the Württembergische, 9. Apr. 1908 (25-year-old) Service Award Cross, 4 June 1908 Commander's Cross 2nd Class of the Dukes of Saxony-Ernestine House Order, 19 July 1910 Bavarian Military Merit Order 4th Class with the Crown, 19 Nov. 1910 Lions to the Knight's Cross of the Order of Württemberg Crown, 1 March 1913 Bavarian Merit Order of Saint Michael 3. Class, March 31, 1913 Iron Cross 1st and 2nd Class, July 28, 1915 Saxon Officer's Cross of the Albrecht Order with Swords, Oct 2, 1916 Grand Ducal Mecklenburg Military Cross of Merit 2nd Class, July 2, 1917 Hamburg Hanseatic Cross of Merit, Aug 1, 1917 Oldenburg Honorary Grand Commander's Cross of Merit with Swords and Laurel, Aug 1, 1918 Wounded Badge in Black, August 1, 1918 March 1919 Bremisches Hanseatenkreuz, March 19 1919 Lübeckisches Hanseatenkreuz, March 28 1919 Sächsisches Ritterkreuz vom Militärischen-Sankt-Heinrichsorden, Feb 20 1922 Österreichisches Militärisches Verdienstkreuz 1. Klasse, Feb 17 1923 Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer, March 20 1935 Includes:<br />Rememembrance Medal of Kaiser Wilhelms I., 22. March 1893<br />China commemorative coin, 29. Sept. 1901<br />Red Eagle Order 4th Class with Swords, 21. Oct. 1901<br />St. Stanislaus Order 3rd Class, 1903<br />Crown to the Red Eagle Order 4th Class, 1903<br />Crown to the Red Eagle Order 3rd Class, 21. Oct. 1901<br />Crown to the Red Eagle Order 3rd Class, 22. Sept. 1901<br />Crown to the Red Eagle Order 3rd Class, 21. Oct. 1901<br />Crown to the Red Eagle Order 3rd Class, 22. Sept. 1901<br />Crown to the Red Eagle Order 3rd Class, 21. Oct. 1901<br />Crown to the Red Eagle Order 3rd Class, 22. Class with Swords, Nov. 3, 1904<br />Bavarian Order of Military Merit 4th Class, May 29, 1906<br />Crown Order 3rd Class with Swords, Sept. 16, 1906<br /> Knight's Cross of the Order of the Württembergische, 9th Class, Sept. 16, 1906<br />Bavarian Order of Military Merit 4th Class, May 29, 1906<br />Crown Order 3rd Class with Swords, Sept. 16, 1906<br /> Knight's Cross of the Order of the Württembergische, Sept. 9, 1906<br /> Knight's Cross of the Order of the Württembergische, Sept. 9 Apr. 1908<br />(25-year-old) Service Award Cross, June 4, 1908<br />Comtur Cross 2nd Class of the Dukes of Saxony-Ernestine House Order, July 19, 1910<br />Bavarian Military Merit Order 4. Class with the Crown, 19. Nov. 1910<br />Lions to the Knight's Cross of the Order of the Württemberg Crown, 1. March 1913<br />Bayerischer Verdienstorden vom heiligen Michael 3. Klasse, 31. March 1913<br />Iron Cross 1st and 2nd Class, 28 July 1915<br />Saxon Officer's Cross of the Albrecht Order with Swords, 2 Oct. 1916<br />Grossherzoglich mecklenburg Military Cross of Merit 2nd Class, 28 July 1915<br />Grossherzoglich mecklenburgisches Militär Verdienstkreuz 2. Class, 2. July 1917<br />Hamburgisches Hanseatenkreuz, 1. Aug. 1917<br />Oldenburgisches Ehren-Großkomturkreuz mit Schwertern und Lorbeer, 1. Aug. 1918<br />Worded badge in black, 1. Aug. 1917<br />Oldenburgisches Ehren-Großkomturkreuz mit Schwertern und Lorbeer, 1. Aug. 1918<br />Worded badge in black, 1. Aug. 1917<br />Hamburgisches Hanseatenkreuz, 1. Aug. 1917<br />Oldenburgisches Ehren-Großkomturkreuz with swords and laurel, 1. 1918<br />Worded badge in black, 1. March 1919<br /> Bremen Hanseatic Cross, 19 March 1919<br />Lübeck Hanseatic Cross, 28 March 1919<br /> Saxon Knight's Cross of the Military Saint Henry Order, 20 Feb. 1922<br />Austrian Military Cross of Merit 1st Class, 17 Feb 1923<br />Honour Cross for Front Fighters, 20 March 1935 1897-1935, Federal Archives, BArch N 103 Lettow-Vorbeck, Paul von (Major General)

Naval officer, Freikorpsführer and writer Bogislaw Selchow Life data July 4, 1877 born in Köslin died February 6, 1943 died in Berlin Military career April 7, 1897 Recruitment as cadet of the Kaiserl. Navy May 1897 Cadet on board of SMS stone 6.12.1897 Participation in the siege of the port of Port au Prince on Haiti with SMS stone 27.4.1898 Promotion to sea cadet Apr. 1898- Sep. 1900 In various functions on board of SMS Moltke, Hela, Mars and Blücher Jan.March 1900 Meningitis, Marinelazarett Kiel 3.9.1900 Ensign at sea 23.9.1900 Transportation to lieutenant at sea Nov. 1900- Nov. 1901 On board of SMS Sachsen, from Oct. 1901 as adjutant; on 4.9.1901 Collision with SMS Wacht near Rügen, which then sinks Nov. 1901- Sep. 1902 Adjutant aboard SMS Kaiser Wilhelm der Große 15.3.1902 Promotion to lieutenant at sea Oct.-Dec. 1902 Wachoffizier aboard SM Torpedoboot G 109 Jan.-Apr. 1903 Company officer of the second company of the I. Torpedo Department, in April radio course on SMS Neptun Apr.-Sep. 1903 Watch officer aboard SM Torpedoboot G 109 Oct./Nov. 1903 Departure as passenger to East Asia aboard SS King Albert Nov. 1903- May 1905 Watch officer aboard SMS Hertha in the Asian region with return journey to Kiel via Africa and the Mediterranean Sea 11.9.1904 Award of the Kung-Pai Order of Merit (Chinese Silver Medal of Remembrance) on the occasion of an audience with the Empress's widow and the Emperor of China 11.2.1905 Award of the Royal Siamese Crown Order of the Fourth Class on the occasion of an audience with the King of Siam June-Sep. 1906 Commander of SM Torpedoboote S 29, S 25 and S 30 as well as services in the Mine Company and as First Officer of the Mine Search Reserve Division Oct. 1906 - June 1907 Naval Academy 6.3.1907 Promotion to Captain Lieutenant July 1907 Service on board of SMS Elector Friedrich Wilhelm Aug.Sep. 1907 Service on board SMS Yorck Oct. 1907- June 1908 Naval Academy July-Sep. 1908 Language leave in England 22.8.1908 Appointment as Honorary Knight of the Johanniter Order Oct. 1908 Departure as a passenger to West Africa on SS Lucie Woermann Nov. 1908- Nov. 1909 First officer on board SMS Sperber Nov./Dec. 1909 Return as a passenger to Germany on SS Lucie Woermann Dec. 1909- Jan. 1909- Jan. 1909 1911 Admiral Staff of the Navy Jan. 1911- March 1913 Adjutant of the North Sea Station 19.9.1912 Award of the Red Eagle Order 4th Class Apr. 1913- Nov. 1914 First Officer aboard SMS Victoria Louise 22.3.1914 Promotion to Corvette Captain 17.7.1914 Award of the Royal Crown to the Red Eagle Order 4th Class 10.11.1914- 30.6.1915 Commander of the 1st Btl. of the Sailor Artillery Regiment III (10.-25.11.1914); II. Part of Sailor's Artillery Regiment I (26.11.-31.12.1914); Part of Sailor's Artillery Regiment II (1.1.-4.2.1915); Part of Sailor's Regiment 4 (5.2.-10.5.1915); Part of Sailor's Regiment 5 (III.2.-10.5.1915); Part of Sailor's Regiment 5 (11.11.-31.12.1914).5.-30.6.1915); Field of application: Flanders 1.5.1915 Wound at Het Sas/Belgium by splinters of shell in head, right shoulder, right arm and right leg 7.2.1915 Iron cross II. class Aug.-Dec. 1915 First officer aboard SMS Freya Jan.-March 1916 Reservelazarett Liebenstein Apr. 1916- July 1917 First officer aboard SMS Hannover, in this function participation in the Battle of Skagerrak on 31.5./1.6.1916 30.6.1916 Award of the Iron Cross I. Class 22.8.1916 Award of the Oldenburg Friedrich-August-Kreuz I. and II. Class 14.9.1916 Neurasthenia recognised as war service damage by the Kdo. von SMS Hannover July 1917 - end of war Admiralstab der Marine 1918 Publication of the propaganda "World War and Fleet" 10.4.1918 Austrian Military Merit Cross 3rd class with war decoration 20.5.1918 Award of the Grand Ducal Hessian Medal of Valour 16.11.1918- 20.8.1919 Department head in the Reichsmarineamt 20.8.1919 Promotion to frigate captain Civil life After his departure from the navy, Bogislav von Selchow began studying history in Marburg and was at the same time commissioned by the Reichswehr Brigade Kassel to form a voluntary formation of Marburg students to protect the young republic. Von Selchow founded the Freikorps "Studentenkorps Marburg" (StuKoMa) and subsequently commanded it in the suppression of Spartacist and Council Democratic riots in Thuringia. On 20 March 1920, the so-called massacre of Mechterstädt took place, in which 15 workers suspected of being rebels, who had been arrested by a StuKoMa strike force, were shot - allegedly "on the run". The accused for these killings were acquitted in two sensational trials, the sentences received by the public as an act of class justice with disgust and protest. Von Selchow had stood before his men during the trial, and Marburg University also showed solidarity with its students and rehabilitated them completely. In addition, von Selchow organized himself in the right-wing extremist, later illegal so-called organization Escherich (Orgesch), which he temporarily led in West Germany. The paramilitary organization set up secret arsenals for an expected fight against Bolshevism and was responsible for murders of personalities of the opposing political camp. Disappointed by Escherich's hesitation to take an offensive course against the Republic, he turned away from Orgesch again in December 1922, resigned his command of the StuKoMa and withdrew from the political public until 1933. Bogislav von Selchow received his doctorate from the University of Marburg on 24.1.1923. Already in 1920 he had published his first volume of poems "Deutsche Gedanken", and soon he succeeded with his poems in the right spectrum. He was now active as a writer and philosopher of history and developed, as a child of his epoch, a so-called "Zeitwendemodell", which depicted the spiritual-historical and political development of mankind. Von Selchow defined the ages of the "all-time", the "we-time" and the "ego-time", which were shaped by various social forces. This system of thought became the basis for his works and, together with the topos of the heroic that he repeatedly took up, made him an ideological pioneer of National Socialism. His anti-Semitism and his view of current events after the fall of the old world had brought him close to the NSDAP by 1933 at the latest: although he was never a party member, he developed into a passionate National Socialist and was one of the 48 personalities who publicly called for Adolf Hitler to be elected in 1933. In 1936 the NS-Studentenkameradschaft, which had emerged from the former Marburger Burschenschaft Germania, named itself after von Selchow. On 9.6.1939 he was appointed honorary senator of the Philipps-Universität Marburg. Description of the holdings: The estate consists of two main areas: the so-called logbooks and a literary-philosophical collection of material, which is supplemented by manuscripts. The so-called logbooks are available until 1931 without gaps and reflect individual experiences and facts in partly epic breadth. 39 of the 51 "logbooks contain records of Selchow from his time as an active naval officer and as leader of the "student corps Marburg" in Freikorpseinsatz. In addition there are copies of the logbooks 61 to 68, which only contain illustrations and cover the period from 1935 to 1940. The "logbooks", however, are not diaries in the narrower sense, but rather through-composed memory books. Von Selchow transferred his diary entries recorded on loose-leaf collections - an example of which can be found in the collection folder of the planned "Logbuch" 65 (N 428/86) - into leather-bound folios and decorated his work with artistic watercolour and pen drawings, among other things. Empty places in the logbooks, on which notes on the pictures or drawings to be inserted are entered in pencil, to be traced in N 428/46, indicate this procedure. The basis of the logbooks, the diary pages, but also his correspondence and other documents, which were unfortunately destroyed privately in the 1950s, are lost except for fragments found in the present collection. Von Selchow created the "logbooks" by first collecting and compiling his notes and supplementary material in folders. Based on this, he transferred text and illustration onto sheets which he had incorporated into the high-quality leather covers bearing the coat of arms of the von Selchow family and embossed inscriptions. This procedure can be traced by means of the above-mentioned collection folder, other folders he used again for other material collections, among others, see N 428/75. The source value of the "logbooks" is increased by the more than 1,000 precisely identified pictures and photos that illustrate the text beyond the drawings. The illustrations show places, ships, everyday scenes from the soldier's but also private life in the homeland and in international waters, crews and persons for the time up to 1919. In addition there are various documents like nautical charts, invitations, etc. From the context of the tradition it can be concluded that the "logbooks" in the form presented here were probably written in the 1930s, since volumes 61 to 68 have inscribed illustrations and empty spaces for the text to be entered. Bogislav von Selchow belonged to the Uradel and had a large circle of relatives and acquaintances. The logbooks give an insight into the life of these circles from the imperial era to National Socialism and reflect the wealth of official and social contacts in the written memoirs and the correspondence, some of which is reproduced. Some spectacular insights into naval life are provided by Selchow's memoirs about his active service with the Imperial Navy. They show the diversity of experience and impressions as an officer of the Imperial Navy, which was deployed around the German colonies. For the first years of the Weimar Republic the so-called logbooks give valuable insights into the world of the Freikorps, above all the so-called student corps Marburg and the so-called organization Escherich; but also to the organization Consul von Selchow maintained contacts - to the latter two numerous statements can be found in the "logbooks". However, his notes not only bear witness to the early phase of the Weimar Republic, but also to the soldierly thinking of Selchow. Even after his withdrawal from public life in 1922, he remained a soldier in his basic attitude as a poet, writer and philosopher of history living in Berlin. The "logbooks" give direct and unique impressions of the life of a member of the Imperial Navy Corps of Officers - also a nobleman - and of his reactions to the collapse of the old order. In terms of the history of mentality, this part of the estate is revealing for the transition from the Empire to the Weimar Republic and probably the only one of its kind that provides information about the revolutionary events in Berlin. Its value might increase with the inclusion of Selchow's publications, especially his autobiography "One hundred days from my life" from 1936. The estate illustrates Selchow's relationship to the old and despised new system. The copies of the "logbooks" for the years 1935 to 1940 also document Selchow's proximity to and access to parts of the NSDAP leadership in their illustrations. In addition to the logbooks, the literary-philosophical estate of Selchow forms the second focal point of the collection. As a conservative-nationalist thinker, von Selchow attempted to establish a time model that divided world history into intellectual epochs, to which he assigned certain developmental steps of mankind in intellectual, but also scientific, political, and religious terms. He thus followed a research trend of his time. His legacy from this phase of his life as a humanities scholar includes collections of various, often loose materials, texts, smaller publications, newspaper articles and his own drafts, but also large diagrams which represent the basis or intermediate steps of his literary work: the note box of a conservative-nationalist writer of the 1920/30s, enriched with his own manuscripts, some published, some unpublished. The tradition of this material, which can be understood from the diagrams, is, however, incomplete; materials on individual subject areas are missing, but may simply not have been laid out. Notes on other stocks BArch MSg 100 (Bogislav Frhr. von Selchow: Deutsche Marineoffiziere) BArch N 253/262 (Estate of Alfred von Tirpitz, correspondence, letter S) BArch RM 5/920 (Critique of the corvette captain of Selchow on birthday congratulations of the members of the admiral's staff for Grand Admiral v. Holtzendorff, Jan. 1919) Vorarchivische Ordnung: The so-called logbooks are continuously available for the years 1897 to 1931. The Federal Archives acquired volumes 39 to 54 as early as 1957 together with the non-military estate of Selchow and in 1960 bought the remaining pieces from the Marine-Offizier-Hilfe, today: Marine-Offizier-Vereinigung. The first two volumes and volume 51 of the former 68 logbooks contained information on family history and were already missing when the estate was acquired; while volume 1 remains in family possession, volume 2 has been considered lost since 1945. The same applies to the main estate consisting of documents and letters, which was destroyed privately in 1957. These volumes are supplemented by copies of the "Logbooks" 61 to 68 for the period September 1935 to December 1940. The originals of these logbooks are still in family ownership. They differ from the "logbooks" available for the years up to 1931 in that they have remained without text. Only pictures and photos were pasted here and also only these sides were copied and taken over into the present estate. This addition to the collection was carried out in 1987 in cooperation with Selchow's nephew Wolfgang von Selchow, who owned the "logbooks" 61 to 68 at that time. Despite this addition, there is a gap in the stock which cannot be clarified on the basis of the available information: While information is available on the whereabouts of volumes 1, 2 and 51, the whereabouts and contents of volumes 55 to 60, covering the period January 1932 to August 1935, are unknown. The memory books are joined by the literary-historical-philosophical archives, which cover the intellectual work of Selchow from 1920 onwards. After the military archive moved to Freiburg in 1968, the so-called logbooks and the literary material initially remained at the main office in Koblenz due to the literary portions. Only in 1976 did the estate come to Freiburg, where in the Military History Collection under the signature MSg. 100 the so-called pennant boards as well as the so-called commemorative plaques were stored since 1957 or partly since 1964 - personnel sheets of the German naval officers from 1848 to 1909 or short biographies and pictures of all officers of the navy who died and died between 1914 and 1918 and in the post-war fights. Citation style: BArch, N 428/...