new old style ribbon bar of a General

[Daniel Krause]

May I present You another old-style ribbon bar?
I bought it monthes ago from my moderator cousin Stogie but it lasted until now to ID him. The bar dates after 1897, shows all 1864 to 1870/71 wartime stuff, a XXV but no additional Red Eagle or Crown Order. No additional awards in 33 years of service is unthinkable, so we speak about a General Officer who had already higher grades around the neck. Now the difficulties start;<O</O
- all campaign awards are not shown in the ranklists and as a “hot spot” we have only the last ribbon, clearly a Oldenburg one.<O</O

- the bar shows not any devices, swords, bars, oakleaves, so everything is vague<O</O

- the 1<SUP>st</SUP> ribbon is double, all others are single; is it a single EK and just a double ribbon was used or are this 2 Prussian war decorations?

With this thin information I could start to search. I listed all Prussian Generals who had a Oldenburg ribbon and at least one Prussian war decoration. More than hundred Officers appeared. Then I could erase everybody who had other ribboned awards on the bar.
The remaining some dozend guys I cross-checked with the 1908/09 Ordensalmanach. After all 5 Generals remained which had only a EK and 5 more with 2 Prussian war decorations. The last problem was now the 1864 campaign. Who from this remaining 10 took part in this campaign and who earned both crosses; Düppel and Alsen? AND with the magnificient help of our Glenn and Andy I found him after endless hours over scribbly old German notes in dozends of sources!!
Louis Ferdinand Oskar von Stephani, born 1843 died 1916, went zD as Generalleutnant in 1902 as Commander 11<SUP>th</SUP> Division and was characterized General der Infanterie in 1913.
He earned his Red Eagle 4 with X in the 1864 campaign, added a Crown Order 4 with X in 1866. In 1870/71 he commanded first a Landwehr- and then a Ersatz-Kompanie, just receiving a 70/71 war medal. In the following years of peace he earned a Oldenburg House Order knight 1<SUP>st</SUP> class and he went through the normal Prussian awards system ending up with a Red Eagle 2<SUP>nd</SUP> class with star and oakleaves and a Crown Order 1<SUP>st</SUP> class; both with swords on the ring.

Best regards

Daniel

[Daniel Krause]

´Here his short bio from the Stammliste of IR 15, many thanks to Glenn!

[Daniel Krause]

and page 2

[Bob Lembke]

Von Stephani

Daniel;

I am a bit lazy (and I have to go and crawl under my car while there still is some sunlight), and you probably have better research assets; is this the only General von Stephani, and did he have a son Major von Stephani, who I think served in the Garde=Schuetzen=Bataillon, and later was the commander of the Freikorps Potsdam?

If it is him, I have some curious and fascinating things to tell about father and son.

Gruss aus Philadelphia,

Bob Lembke

[Gerd Becker]

Fantastisch, Daniel Super-bar! And as always great research!

Thanks for sharing

best,
Gerd

[Ponomarev]

Hi, Daniel!

Great ribbon bar and research too
My congratulations!!!

Alex Ponomarev

[Daniel Krause]

Thank You for Your compliments!

Bob, I have to check the GSB Stammliste, maybe he IS the son of "my" Stephani. If, I would really looove to know some details.

Best regards

Daniel

[paddywhack]

this is why i love ribbion bars! if its a unusal comibtion you might be able to id the person plus even if you cant you can still see an over all picture of what hppened in the soldiers career!!!!
very nice bar by the way!! im jealous!!!!

[Bob Lembke]

The two von Stephanis

Daniel;

I have crawled out from under my van, and no word from you. So I have washed my hands and applied myself to my newly arrived 1898 Rangliste.

As there was only one General von Stephani, I assume that Major Franz von Stephani, who was a S. Leutnant in the Garde=Schuetzen=Bataillon in 1898, was his son. I know nothing about the elder, but let me cite some stuff about the son from a source I will cite later.

Speaking about further right-wing conspiracies right after the Kapp Putsch in early 1920: "Another prominent conspirator was the peculiarly sinister figure of Major Franz von Stephani. The son of a general, Stephani had commanded one of the 'Free Corps' after the war and had been involved in bloody fighting in Berlin, where he participated in attacks on socialists. He was under official investigation for more than two years on no fewer than seven charges of murder, but never stood trial owing to lack of evidence. After joining in the Kapp putsch he fled to Bavaria."

The well-known General Staff officer, Col. Max Bauer, had as his secretary and confidant a rather amazing character, one Ignacz Trebitsch, a Hungarian Jew who had moved to England, became an Anglican cleric, was elected to Parliament, became a missionary to Canada, and ended up as a Buddist Abbot in Shanghai. He was a German spy in both world wars. When von Stephani met Trebitsch, who must be said had a stereotypical "Jewish" appearance fit for a Nazi cartoon, he was really turned off, and when the noted Freikorps leader Captain Ehrhardt visited Budapest, where the right-wing types were conspiring with the Hungarian government, he received a letter:

"Stephani wrote that Trebitsch was still in Budapest, and he advised Ehrhardt to see to it that this 'scoundrel' was eliminated; otherwise, they would never be rid of him. The fact that Trebitsch was a Jew, Stephani added, rendered the matter easy to execute in Budapest (where the White Terror had not yet abated). Ehrhardt is said to have handed this letter, unsealed, to Trebitsch for him to pass on to (Colonel) Bauer - thus enabling Trebitsch to read his own death warrant."

Smelling the coffee, Trebitsch soon fled, but took with him the almost complete archives of the 'White International', the right-wing conspiracy that he had been involved with, and promptly started trying to sell the documents to several foreign intelligence agencies.

Stephani later became a top, and perhaps the top leader of the right-wing Stahlhelm, and eventually an extreme right-wing member of the Reichstag, where he was allowed to sit as he was considered an "Ehrenarier", or "honorary Aryan. This was because the von Stephani family was supposedly Jewish, although obviously quite assimilated.

This story might be considered an anti-Semitic canard, except that the source is a fascinating book, The Secret Lives of Trebitsch Lincoln, by Bernard Wasserstein, Professor of History and Chairman of the History Department at Brandeis University, the leading Jewish university in the United States.

I have a particular interest in this, as my father served in the Freikorps Potsdam, von Stephani's Freikorps, and used the Flammenwerfer burning their way in the back door of the Voerwarts Building in the January 1919 fighting in Berlin. He later was a member of the Stalhelm in Germany and later in New York City after he emigrated to the US in 1926. I and a friend are writing a book about the German flame warfare effort in WW I under contract to Schiffer.

[Daniel Krause]

Hi Bob,
IIINTERESTING info!!!!

There were actually 2 “junior” von Stephani´s in the GSB.
Friedrich Ferdinand Franz Clemens, born 30.06.1872 in Minden Westfalia, most likely a son of my General since his Regiment (IR 15) was in Minden, entered Service in 1890 in the GSB, 1892 SekLt, 1900 OLt, 1900-1903 commanded to the Kriegsakademie, from 1907 Captain in FüsRgt 39. In WW1 he became Commander InfRgt 360 and went aD as OTL. Peacetime decorations: Red Eagle 4 and Saxon Albert knight 2<SUP>nd</SUP> class.

Wolfgang Arndt Georg, born 15.03.1884 Oldenburg, so most likely also a son of him since he served then in Oldenburg, entered Service in 1903 in the GSB, 1904 Lt, 1910 to 1913 Adjutant of the GSB, 1911 Olt, 1913-14 commanded to the General staff. In WW1 he was in General Staff of Generalgouvernement Warschau and went aD as Major. No peacetime decorations.

Another one, Franz, was a famous Colonial Officer. In 1900 he was Lt in Brunswick IR 92, Olt 1904, went to Southwest, then long time to Kamerun, became Captain 1911. He was well decorated before the war; had a KO4X and a KO4 without swords, odd but it happened that somebody could wear 2 different decorations of the same orders class; of course a XXV, Southwest medal, Colonial medal, a British Africa GSM!!!, a Johanniter, a Bavarian MMO4X, a Brunswick House Order knight 2<SUP>nd</SUP> class. In WW1 he earned both Iron crosses and a Hohenzollern knight. He went aD as Major, last assignment 1<SUP>st</SUP> Foot Guards. He died in 1939. I THINK he was the Freikorps guy!

This are the only von Stephani´s serving in Prussian Army. About the above 2 I´m sure they are sons of General v.Stephani, the last one probably also.

Best regards

Daniel<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o></o>

[Bob Lembke]

Franz von Stephani

Daniel;

Franz must be the Freikorps leader. Literature on the Freikorps mention that Major von Stephani, the commander of the Freikorps Potsdam, was a Guards officer, and Garde=Schuetzen=Bataillon. Freikorps Potsdam was a Guards-based Freikorps, I believe, my father was a Garde=Pionier.

In the 1912 voll. Dienstaltersliste I found Franz in Kamerun, Haupt. DOR 27. 1. 11., Oblt. DOR 15. 11. 04., Leut. DOR 22. 3. 95. (Page 31)

I found him in the 700 page Rangliste for October 1912, Hauptmann serving in Kamerun, five decorations listed.

In the 1911 (full) Rangliste I found Friedrich as Hauptmann in FuesRgt 39 and Franz in Kamerun, only four decorations listed, date of rank 27. 1. 11., as in 1912, of course.

In the 1910 voll. Dienstaltersliste I didn't find Franz as Oberleutnant der Infanterie with a DOR 15. 11. 04. Why not???

I am sure that Professor Wasserstein was very careful when he said that the von Stephani's seemed to be a Jewish family, and why else would von Stephani be a Ehrenarier?

I'm sure there is a book here. (However I see book topics everywhere, I am currently planning to write nine, all on the Kaiserzeit Heeres in one way or another.)

A nice exchange of information. Thank you.

Bob Lembke

Daniel wrote:

"Another one, Franz, was a famous Colonial Officer. In 1900 he was Lt in Brunswick IR 92, Olt 1904, went to Southwest, then long time to Kamerun, became Captain 1911. He was well decorated before the war; had a KO4X and a KO4 without swords, odd but it happened that somebody could wear 2 different decorations of the same orders class; of course a XXV, Southwest medal, Colonial medal, a British Africa GSM!!!, a Johanniter, a Bavarian MMO4X, a Brunswick House Order knight 2<SUP>nd</SUP> class. In WW1 he earned both Iron crosses and a Hohenzollern knight. He went aD as Major, last assignment 1<SUP>st</SUP> Foot Guards. He died in 1939. I THINK he was the Freikorps guy!

This are the only von Stephani´s serving in Prussian Army. About the above 2 I´m sure they are sons of General v.Stephani, the last one probably also.

Best regards"

[Rick Research]

No von Stephanis were killed in WW1, so there is nothing in the Helden-Gedenkmappe for relationships.

Major aD, former Schutztruppen officer Friedrich Franz Adolf Louis Ferdinand von Stephani, born 12 June 1876 in Bielefeld, IS listed in the 1935 "Wer Ist's?" as Oberlandesführer- und- Bundeshauptmann aD from the Stahlhelm, son of General der Infanterie Louis von Stephani (born 25.9.1843 Minden, died 28.2.1916 Berlin and Marie Sophie Dorothea Johanna Mensing, born Bückeburg 1 July 1847 died Schönwaldau 1 October 1919). He gave grandparents on both sides as well as his last famous (1623-1707) paternal ancestor, but no siblings. His entry boasts of being the founder and commander of Freikorps Potsdam, and getting off on 7 murder charges (in the SPD's "Vorwärts" newspaper building 11 January 1919-- ? Communists Rosa Luxemburg, Karl Liebknecht etc if I recall correctly?) after 2 1/2 years of his Valuable Time being wasted.

General von Stephani's parents were: Premierlieutenant aD Landesrentenmeister, Stadtmajor Ferdinand von Stephani (born Biebersdorf bei Reinerz 21 October 1812 died Minden 18 November 1868 and Wilhelmine von Boyen born Jülich 8 January 1818 died Minden 29 September 1845-- daughter of Generalfeldmarschall and Prussian War Minister Hermann von Boyen (1771-1848), reformist colleague of Scharnhorst.)

Since Major Fritz was dumped out of his Stahlhelm/SA Reserve I post on 30 January 1934, it seems he just couldn't "get along" with the Nazis.

[Daniel Krause]

niiice information!!!!

Thank You all very much for the replys.
And all Info came out on a simle piece of metal with some ribbons sewn on. Can somebody from the zinc forums present such stories as we can do here in Imperial???

[Rick Research]

Four generations from one ribbon bar

Those guys? Pfah! No way!

<marquee behavior=alternate> Imperial rules </marquee>

[mravery]

You guys are just awsome !