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Otto Karlowa

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Otto Karlowa
Born(1883-07-26)July 26, 1883
Heidelberg, Germany
DiedApril 7, 1940(1940-04-07) (aged 56)
Oslo, Norway
AllegianceGermany
Service / branchImperial Navy
Years of service1901-1919
RankKorvettenkapitän (corvette captain)[1]
CommandsSMS S54
6th Half Flotilla
5th Half Flotilla
Battles / warsBattle of Jutland
Spouse(s)Mary Sthamer
RelationsFriedrich Sthamer (father in law)
Other workBusinessman, Diplomat, Nazi Party organizer

Otto Georg Gustav Karlowa (26 July 1883 – 7 April 1940) was a German Naval Officer, Diplomat and Nazi Party Organizer in Britain.

Karlowa was born in Hiedelburg on 26 July 1883. At his family's behest, he joined the Imperial German Navy in 1901.[2] He was commander of the torpedo boat SMS S54 at the Battle of Jutland in May 1916[3] [Note 1], and by June 1918 he was commander of the 5th Half-Flotilla of the 3rd Torpedo Boat Flotilla, based in Flanders.[5] In 1919 he retired from the Navy with the rank of Korvettenkapitän (Lieutenant-Commander) [Note 2].

In 1919 Karlowa married Mary Sthamer (b. 1887[1]), daughter of Friedrich Sthamer, the German ambassador to Great Britain. Karlowa was resident in London from 1923 onwards, as a representative of various German engineering companies. He held a diplomatic post at Batavia, Dutch East Indies in the early thirties, but in 1933 he was retired by the German Foreign Ministry due to his pro-Nazi views. He returned to London (where he lived at 213 Ashley Gdns, SW1) and became a member of the Nazi Party on 1 May 1934. In the spring of 1935 became the Ortsgruppenleiter (Local Group Leader) for Nazi Party members resident in London, and from May 1937 he was Landesgruppenleiter (Country Group Leader), organizing the activities of some 500 expatriate German Nazis throughout Britain and Ireland.[2] Karlowa and the Nazi Party members in Britain were suspected of spying and intimidating German refugees, to such an extent that British government expelled him and eight others in May 1939 for Nazi activities.[6][7]

Karlowa was killed in action during the invasion of Norway[6] during the sinking of the cruiser Blücher in Oslofjord, 7 April 1940.[1]

Notes

  1. ^ Groos also states that he was commander of the 6th Half-Flotilla at Jutland, as does the German commander at Jutland, Admiral Scheer ,[4] although it is more likely that Korvettenkapitän Theodor Riedel held that post at the start of the battle; see Groos, Op. Cit., p. 304.
  2. ^ There were three grades of Captain in the German Navy (Korvettenkapitän, Fregattenkapitän and Kapitän zur See, roughly corresponding to Lieutenant-Commander, Commander and Captain, respectively. Karlowa's highest rank is variously reported as Captain,[2] Korvettenkapitän[1] and Lieutenant-Commander.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Mundia, by Ancestry.com, Otto Georg Gustav Karlowa (accessed 4 May 2013).
  2. ^ a b c James J. Barnes and Patience P. Barnes (2010), Nazis in Pre-war London 1930-39: The fate and role of German party members and British sympathizers. Eastbourne: Sussex Academic Press. pp. 165-175 (accessed 4 May 2013).
  3. ^ Groos, Korvettenkapitän Otto (1925). Der Krieg zur See, 1914-18. Der Krieg in der Nordsee vol.5. Berlin: Verlag von E. S. Mittler & Sohn. p. 468.
  4. ^ Reinhard Scheer, Germany's High Seas Fleet in the World War, (1920), Ch.10.
  5. ^ Gladisch, Admiral Walter (1965). Der Krieg zur See, 1914-18. Der Krieg in der Nordsee vol.7. Frankfurt: Verlag von E. S. Mittler & Sohn. p. 321.
  6. ^ a b c Sydney Morning Herald, 20 April 1940, p.17, col.5 Search for traitors (accessed 4 Mar 2013).
  7. ^ The Straits Times, 3 May 1939, p.11 Nazis expelled from Britain (accessed 4 Mat 2013).
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