While this is not a grouping I do believe its a very important piece of history.
If you frequent the Wehrpass, Soldbuch and Military IDs forum may have run into this thread about Urban Thiersch:
http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...ighlight=urban
1st LT. Thiersch was involved in the 20 July 1944 plot to assassinate Hitler. He is mentioned in many of the history books about Stauffenberg. We all know how difficult it is to find anything that can be attributed to the planning and execution of Hitlers assassination. I am now the proud owner of his Soldbuch. What follows is a short discussion about his life and involvement in the plot.
I hope over time that I will be able to find additional information to add to this thread.
Urban Thiersch
1. Born: 17 August 1916 in Halle an der Saale
2. Father:Paul Thiersch (May 2,1879to 15 November1928 ), architect, 1915 to 1928 headed the Kunstgewerbeschule Halle.
3. Mother: Fanny Thiersch (born Hildebrandt), painter.
4. Sister:Gemma Wolters - Thiersch (1907-1994), goldsmith.
5. Brother: (Born 1911 died 1984), German architect
6. Pre War Activity: Urban Thiersch trained as and was qualified as a sculptor. He was friends with the well-known German writer Stefan George (1868-1933). George’s poetry emphasized self-sacrifice, heroism and power, and he thus gained popularity in National Socialist circles. Many of the leading members of the German Resistance to Hitler were his followers, notably the Stauffenberg brothers. When George died on December 4, 1933, Urban Thiersch remained in contact with his friends, in particular Rudolf Fahrner .
“Rudolf Fahrner (30 December1903 to 29 February1988) was a university professor and author. He was friends of brothers Berthold and Claus von Stauffenberg. In September 1943, he became an active member of the German Resistance, led by Claus von Stauffenberg.”
7. War Time Service: From 1937 to 1945 Urban Thiersch served as an officer in the German Army . He was wounded in Russia and after an extended period of hospitalization was transferred to a Reserve Artillery unit. See paragraph 10 for additional information.
8. Urban Thiersch and the July 20, 1944 Plot: Urban Thiersch did not become an active member of the resistance until 1944. The circumstances that resulted in him joining the resistance were tied to another conspirator Colonel Georg Alexander Hansen (July 5,1904 toSeptember 8,1944).
“Colonel Georg Alexander Hansen joined the military in 1924. In 1935, Colonel Hansen met the head of the General Staff Ludwig Beck and Claus Schenk Count von Stauffenberg, at the War Academy in Berlin-Moabit. In 1937 he was transferred to the Department of Counterintelligence and Foreign Intelligence (Department of Foreign Armies East) of the Reich War Ministry, headed by Konteradmiral Wilhelm Canaris. In 1939, this office was named the Abwehr .From 1943 onwards; Hansen used his position within the Abwehr to support the resistance. Colonel Hansen became opposed to Hitler’s regime in 1938 and was one of most important participants of the resistance, alongside Generalmajor Henning von Tresckow and Colonel Claus Schenk Count von Stauffenberg.
In 1944 he participated in most of the important meetings to overthrow Hitler. He organized transportation and security for his fellow conspirators. His house in Rangsdorf often served as a meeting place. In the event the plot to overthrow Hitler succeeded Hansen would play a prominent role in the new regime.
After Canaris, resigned in February 1944, plans to reorganize the Abwehr were set into motion. Two months later, in May 1944, Colonel Hansenand most of his staff were transferred to the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (RSHA), where he served as the deputy under his immediate superior, SS General Walther Schellenberg.
This change in leadership left Colonel Hansen surrounded by people he could not trust. This situation was a problem for Claus Stauffenberg, since he needed a reliable officer within the intelligence apparatus. Stauffenberg asked Rudolf Fahrner if he could recommend someone to act as a liaison between himself and Col. Hanson. Rudolf Fahrner gave him Urban Thiersch’s name. At the end of June 1944 Stauffenberg ordered Thiersch by telegram to Berlin. Urban Thiersch met with Stauffenberg on the 1st of July. Stauffenberg greeted him by saying ‘Let us come straight to the point: I am engaged in high treason with all the means available to me.’
Thiersch's function within the circle of the conspirators was to act as a liaison between Stauffenberg and Georg Hansen. He was assigned to Colonel Hansen as an ordnance officer, in order to carry out this function.
Thiersch would meet with 1st Lieutenant Werner Karl von Haeften (Oct. 9, 1908 - July 20/21, 1944), Stauffenberg’s adjutant on 8 July, 1944. Thiersch also briefly met with Stauffenberg on the same day. According to Urban Thiersch's adopted son Paul Thiersch, his father was to serve as a personal adjutant to Stauffenberg in the days prior to the assassination attempt.
8. July 20, 1944 and Beyond: I have been unable to find out where or what Urban Thiersch was doing on 20 July, 1944. One thing is clear, Colonel Hansen, because of differences of opinion with Stauffenberg decided against actively participating in the assassination attempt and on 18 July left to attend to the baptism of his youngest daughter. After determining that the plot had failed, he returned to Berlin on the 21st of July and was arrested by the Gestapo on July 22. After a quick trial in which he was found guilty of treason, he was sentenced to death. Hansen was executed on September 8, 1944.
It’s possible since Thiersch joined the conspiracy so late or because his boss Colonel Hansen was not actually involved in the events on 20 July, that he was able to escape detection. Urban's superior in Regensburg destroyed the telegram for his transfer to Berlin, and granted him eight days of leave to go hunting.
His "hunting holiday" was used by Urban Thiersch to join up with his friend Rudolf Fahrner and his sister Gemma Wolters-Thiersch. The three of them would hide out at the "Haus am See" in Überlingen, until the end of the war. On 15 or 16 September 1945, Alexander Graf Schenk von Stauffenberg , the only survivor of the three Stauffenberg brothers, also to arrived at Lake Constance and become a member of the Überlingen "Haus am See" community.
Just how he alluded detection and capture for almost is unknown or at least not documented in any of the contemporary works about the plot..
9. After the Second World War: Urban Thiersch would return to his artistic pursuits after the war. He was a successful sculptor and had an influence on the art world.
In July 2004, a memorial for the Stauffenberg brothers was set up in the Old Palace in Stuttgart. In addition to memorial plaques, a bronze sculpture group from the three brothers by Urban Thiersch was also set up. Urban Thiersch died on September 8, 1984.
Here is a picture of the statue in Stuttgart as well as the soldbuch in my collection. Regards Jim
If you frequent the Wehrpass, Soldbuch and Military IDs forum may have run into this thread about Urban Thiersch:
http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...ighlight=urban
1st LT. Thiersch was involved in the 20 July 1944 plot to assassinate Hitler. He is mentioned in many of the history books about Stauffenberg. We all know how difficult it is to find anything that can be attributed to the planning and execution of Hitlers assassination. I am now the proud owner of his Soldbuch. What follows is a short discussion about his life and involvement in the plot.
I hope over time that I will be able to find additional information to add to this thread.
Urban Thiersch
1. Born: 17 August 1916 in Halle an der Saale
2. Father:Paul Thiersch (May 2,1879to 15 November1928 ), architect, 1915 to 1928 headed the Kunstgewerbeschule Halle.
3. Mother: Fanny Thiersch (born Hildebrandt), painter.
4. Sister:Gemma Wolters - Thiersch (1907-1994), goldsmith.
5. Brother: (Born 1911 died 1984), German architect
6. Pre War Activity: Urban Thiersch trained as and was qualified as a sculptor. He was friends with the well-known German writer Stefan George (1868-1933). George’s poetry emphasized self-sacrifice, heroism and power, and he thus gained popularity in National Socialist circles. Many of the leading members of the German Resistance to Hitler were his followers, notably the Stauffenberg brothers. When George died on December 4, 1933, Urban Thiersch remained in contact with his friends, in particular Rudolf Fahrner .
“Rudolf Fahrner (30 December1903 to 29 February1988) was a university professor and author. He was friends of brothers Berthold and Claus von Stauffenberg. In September 1943, he became an active member of the German Resistance, led by Claus von Stauffenberg.”
7. War Time Service: From 1937 to 1945 Urban Thiersch served as an officer in the German Army . He was wounded in Russia and after an extended period of hospitalization was transferred to a Reserve Artillery unit. See paragraph 10 for additional information.
8. Urban Thiersch and the July 20, 1944 Plot: Urban Thiersch did not become an active member of the resistance until 1944. The circumstances that resulted in him joining the resistance were tied to another conspirator Colonel Georg Alexander Hansen (July 5,1904 toSeptember 8,1944).
“Colonel Georg Alexander Hansen joined the military in 1924. In 1935, Colonel Hansen met the head of the General Staff Ludwig Beck and Claus Schenk Count von Stauffenberg, at the War Academy in Berlin-Moabit. In 1937 he was transferred to the Department of Counterintelligence and Foreign Intelligence (Department of Foreign Armies East) of the Reich War Ministry, headed by Konteradmiral Wilhelm Canaris. In 1939, this office was named the Abwehr .From 1943 onwards; Hansen used his position within the Abwehr to support the resistance. Colonel Hansen became opposed to Hitler’s regime in 1938 and was one of most important participants of the resistance, alongside Generalmajor Henning von Tresckow and Colonel Claus Schenk Count von Stauffenberg.
In 1944 he participated in most of the important meetings to overthrow Hitler. He organized transportation and security for his fellow conspirators. His house in Rangsdorf often served as a meeting place. In the event the plot to overthrow Hitler succeeded Hansen would play a prominent role in the new regime.
After Canaris, resigned in February 1944, plans to reorganize the Abwehr were set into motion. Two months later, in May 1944, Colonel Hansenand most of his staff were transferred to the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (RSHA), where he served as the deputy under his immediate superior, SS General Walther Schellenberg.
This change in leadership left Colonel Hansen surrounded by people he could not trust. This situation was a problem for Claus Stauffenberg, since he needed a reliable officer within the intelligence apparatus. Stauffenberg asked Rudolf Fahrner if he could recommend someone to act as a liaison between himself and Col. Hanson. Rudolf Fahrner gave him Urban Thiersch’s name. At the end of June 1944 Stauffenberg ordered Thiersch by telegram to Berlin. Urban Thiersch met with Stauffenberg on the 1st of July. Stauffenberg greeted him by saying ‘Let us come straight to the point: I am engaged in high treason with all the means available to me.’
Thiersch's function within the circle of the conspirators was to act as a liaison between Stauffenberg and Georg Hansen. He was assigned to Colonel Hansen as an ordnance officer, in order to carry out this function.
Thiersch would meet with 1st Lieutenant Werner Karl von Haeften (Oct. 9, 1908 - July 20/21, 1944), Stauffenberg’s adjutant on 8 July, 1944. Thiersch also briefly met with Stauffenberg on the same day. According to Urban Thiersch's adopted son Paul Thiersch, his father was to serve as a personal adjutant to Stauffenberg in the days prior to the assassination attempt.
8. July 20, 1944 and Beyond: I have been unable to find out where or what Urban Thiersch was doing on 20 July, 1944. One thing is clear, Colonel Hansen, because of differences of opinion with Stauffenberg decided against actively participating in the assassination attempt and on 18 July left to attend to the baptism of his youngest daughter. After determining that the plot had failed, he returned to Berlin on the 21st of July and was arrested by the Gestapo on July 22. After a quick trial in which he was found guilty of treason, he was sentenced to death. Hansen was executed on September 8, 1944.
It’s possible since Thiersch joined the conspiracy so late or because his boss Colonel Hansen was not actually involved in the events on 20 July, that he was able to escape detection. Urban's superior in Regensburg destroyed the telegram for his transfer to Berlin, and granted him eight days of leave to go hunting.
His "hunting holiday" was used by Urban Thiersch to join up with his friend Rudolf Fahrner and his sister Gemma Wolters-Thiersch. The three of them would hide out at the "Haus am See" in Überlingen, until the end of the war. On 15 or 16 September 1945, Alexander Graf Schenk von Stauffenberg , the only survivor of the three Stauffenberg brothers, also to arrived at Lake Constance and become a member of the Überlingen "Haus am See" community.
Just how he alluded detection and capture for almost is unknown or at least not documented in any of the contemporary works about the plot..
9. After the Second World War: Urban Thiersch would return to his artistic pursuits after the war. He was a successful sculptor and had an influence on the art world.
In July 2004, a memorial for the Stauffenberg brothers was set up in the Old Palace in Stuttgart. In addition to memorial plaques, a bronze sculpture group from the three brothers by Urban Thiersch was also set up. Urban Thiersch died on September 8, 1984.
Here is a picture of the statue in Stuttgart as well as the soldbuch in my collection. Regards Jim
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