Navy officer in FreiKorps

[Paul C]

A while back and on another forum there was a discussion on who was more likely to fight in the Freikorps, army or navy officers. The disccusion is get rather heated. I recently came across this picture of Kapt z. See Karl Thannemann. He entered the Navy in 1918 and is listed in the 1922 Navy Ranklist. His service awards seem to indicate at least 25 years of service. So he was active duty Navy and fighting in the Freikorps which is indicated by his Schlesisches Adler first and second class awards.

[Guest Rick Research]

That's 18 and 4-- nice photo.

"Heated?"

It's not a question of "more" or "less" likely. After all, the navy was tiny compared to the army-- therefore, there were far fewer naval members of Freikorps than there were army members.

The DISTINCTION to be made (always bearing in mind that what we are talking about are border defense units and NOT politically-motivated street fighters contesting German cities) is that while the navy-- which had mutinied in November 1918-- a proximate cause of the Kaiser's abdication and establisghment of the Weimar Republic

regarded ITS Freikorps members as the true-blue LOYAL cadre who continued with their patriotic duty in Germany's (then) darkest hour

the army (sitting on their Hinterteile in barracks drawing pay and polishing their boots over and over until April 1920) regarded THEIR Freikorps members as ill-disciplined, ragtag troublemakers.

The career consequence was that in the final personnel selections of the spring of 1920, the Reichsmarine retained a far higher proportion of their ex-Freikorps members in the tiny Weimar navy, while in most cases the army fell over itself discharging theirs while favoring officers known as von Seeckt's "Turkish Mafia" from their common service in that obscure wartime front.

God, I feel old. This was common knowledge from the generation which taught me-- who KNEW these guys personally.