Rudolf Bamler (6 May 1896 – 13 March 1972) was a German general during World War II. Although Bamler was a member of the Nazi PartyMichael Mueller, Geoffrey Brooks, Canaris: The Life and Death of Hitler's Spymaster, Naval Institute Press, 2007, p. 95 he would later serve as a leading member of the East German security forces.
Early life Bamler was born in Osterburg (Altmark), Saxony-Anhalt, the son of Protestant clergyman Johannes Bamler (born 1864) and his wife Anna Garlipp (1873-1932).Rüdiger Wenzke, "Rudolf Bamler – Karrierebruch in der KVP" on Hans Ehlert, Armin Wagner (eds.), Genosse General! Die Militärelite der DDR in biografischen Skizzen, Ch. Links Verlag, Berlin 2003, p. 33 He enlisted in the Prussian Army and served in the First World War with the 15th Division.Jürgen Kraus, Handbuch der Verbände und Truppen des deutschen Heeres 1914–1918. Teil IX: Feldartillerie Band 1, Verlag Militaria Wien 2007, p. 266
Abwehr Bamler was attached to the Abwehr as the head of section III (counterespionage) and here he helped to encourage closer co-operation with the Gestapo and Sicherheitsdienst (SD).George C. Browder, Foundations of the Nazi Police State: The Formation of Sipo and SD, University Press of Kentucky, 2004, p. 180 This role also meant that Bamler maintained a network of informers across German society rivalled only by that of the SD.Peter Padfield, Himmler, Cassell & Co, 2001, p. 215 Although he had a difficult personal relationship with his superior Wilhelm Canaris the two co-operated closely in supporting Canaris' friend Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War.John H. Waller, The Unseen War in Europe: Espionage and Conspiracy in the Second World War, I.B.Tauris, 1996, p. 16
World War II
Following the outbreak of the Second World War Bamler was appointed Chief of Staff of Wehrkreis VII (Munich) before a transfer to the same role in XX (Danzig).Samuel W. Mitcham, The German Defeat in the East, 1944-45, Stackpole Books, 2007, p. 39 Bamler was then made Chief of Staff to the XXXXVII Panzer Corps in 1940. From 1942 to 1944 he was Chief of StaffToppnazisten ble kommunist - sønnen ble spion [The top Nazi became a communist - the son became a spy] to the German Army in Norway under Generaloberst Nikolaus von Falkenhorst, having risen to the rank of lieutenant general.Hans Fredrik Dahl, Quisling: A Study in Treachery, Cambridge University Press, 1999, p. 343
Bamler was then moved to the Eastern Front; from June 1 to June 27, he was commander of the 121st Infantry Division, before being replaced by Helmuth Prieß.Samuel W. Mitcham, German Order of Battle Volume One, Volume 3, Stackpole Books, 2007, p. 173 He commanded, simultaneously, the 12th Infantry Division, and was in turn succeeded by Gerhard Engel.Mitcham, German Order of Battle Volume One, Volume 3, p. 52 Bamler's command concluded with his surrender to the Red Army on 27 June 1944 of the 12th Infantry Division and Mogilev during Operation Bagration. Following his capture, he later defected to the Soviet Union.
Later years Bamler settled in East Germany and worked as a Stasi police officer there from 1946 until his retirement in 1962. He also held the rank of major general in the Kasernierte Volkspolizei.Walter Henry Nelson, Germany Rearmed, Simon and Schuster, 1972, p. 246 He died in Groß Glienicke aged 77.Wenzke, p. 52
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