1.
Berlin-Spandau
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Spandau is a locality of Berlin in the homonymous borough of Spandau. The historic city is situated, for the most part, on the banks of the Havel river. As of 2008 the estimated population of Spandau was 33,433, the locality is situated in the middle of its borough. It borders Wilhelmstadt in the south, Staaken and Falkenhagener Feld in the west, Hakenfelde in the north as well as Haselhorst, Siemensstadt and Westend in the east. Spandau proper is subdivided into four neighbourhoods, Altstadt Spandau Neustadt Spandau Stresow Kolk-Spandau The city was founded at the confluence of the rivers Spree. The settlement of the area can be traced back to the 6th century when the territories of the Elbe river were populated by several Slavic tribes. The history of Spandau begins in the 7th or 8th century and it was conquered in 928 by the German King Henry I, but returned to Slavic rule after the rebellion of 983. In 1156, the Ascanian count Albert the Bear took possession of the region and is believed to have established a fortress here and it was around this fortress that the city of Spandow developed, becoming the centre of the entire region. It was first mentioned as Spandowe in 1197 in a deed of Otto II, Spandau was given city rights in 1232. During the Ascanian Rule the construction of the Spandau Citadel began, in 1558 the village of Gatow became part of Spandau. During the Thirty Years War Spandau was surrendered to the Swedes in 1634, in 1806, after the Battle of Jena and Auerstedt, French troops under Napoleon took possession of the city and stayed there until 1807. In 1812, Napoleon returned and the Spandau Citadel was besieged in 1813 by Prussian and Russian troops. The poet and revolutionary Gottfried Kinkel was an inmate of the Spandau town prison from 1849 and it was also a garrison town with numerous barracks, home of the 5th Guards Infantry Brigade and the 5th Foot Guards of the German Army. In 1920, the independent city of Spandau was incorporated into Greater Berlin as a borough, after World War II until 1990, when Berlin was divided into four sections administered by the victorious Allies, Spandau was part of the British Occupation Sector in West Berlin. The Spandau Prison, built in 1876, was used to house Nazi war criminals who were sentenced to imprisonment at the Nuremberg Trials. After the death of its last inmate, Rudolf Hess in 1987, Spandau Prison was completely demolished by the Allied powers and this date is commonly regarded as the beginning of the Protestant Reformation in the Margraviate of Brandenburg. The Baroque spire was attached in 1744 and refurbished by Karl Friedrich Schinkel in 1839, Spandau Old Town with medieval Gotisches Haus of the 15th century Rathaus Spandau, the town hall, finished in 1913. Spandau is served by the Berliner S-Bahn line S5 and by the U-Bahn line U7, the main railway station is Berlin Spandau, one of the most important of the city
2.
Kingdom of Prussia
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It was the driving force behind the unification of Germany in 1871 and was the leading state of the German Empire until its dissolution in 1918. Although it took its name from the region called Prussia, it was based in the Margraviate of Brandenburg, the kings of Prussia were from the House of Hohenzollern. Prussia was a power from the time it became a kingdom, through its predecessor, Brandenburg-Prussia. Prussia continued its rise to power under the guidance of Frederick II, more known as Frederick the Great. After the might of Prussia was revealed it was considered as a power among the German states. Throughout the next hundred years Prussia went on to win many battles and it was because of its power that Prussia continuously tried to unify all the German states under its rule. Attempts at creation of a federation remained unsuccessful and the German Confederation collapsed in 1866 when war ensued between its two most powerful states, Prussia and Austria. The North German Confederation which lasted from 1867–1871, created a union between the Prussian-aligned states while Austria and most of Southern Germany remained independent. The North German Confederation was seen as more of an alliance of military strength in the aftermath of the Austro-Prussian War, the German Empire lasted from 1871–1918 with the successful unification of all the German states under Prussian hegemony. This was due to the defeat of Napoleon III in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, in 1871, Germany unified into a single country, minus Austria and Switzerland, with Prussia the dominant power. Prussia is considered the predecessor of the unified German Reich. The Kingdom left a significant cultural legacy, today notably promoted by the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, in 1415 a Hohenzollern Burgrave came from the south to the March of Brandenburg and took control of the area as elector. In 1417 the Hohenzollern was made an elector of the Holy Roman Empire, after the Polish wars, the newly established Baltic towns of the German states including Prussia, suffered many economic setbacks. Many of the Prussian towns could not even afford to attend political meetings outside of Prussia, the towns were poverty stricken, with even the largest town, Danzig, having to borrow money from elsewhere to pay for trade. Poverty in these towns was partly caused by Prussias neighbors, who had established and developed such a monopoly on trading that these new towns simply could not compete and these issues led to feuds, wars, trade competition and invasions. However, the fall of these gave rise to the nobility, separated the east and the west. It was clear in 1440 how different Brandenburg was from the other German territories, not only did it face partition from within but also the threat of its neighbors. It prevented the issue of partition by enacting the Dispositio Achillea which instilled the principle of primogeniture to both the Brandenburg and Franconian territories, the second issue was solved through expansion
3.
Potsdam
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Potsdam is the capital and largest city of the German federal state of Brandenburg. It directly borders the German capital Berlin and is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region and it is situated on the River Havel,24 kilometres southwest of Berlins city centre. Potsdam was a residence of the Prussian kings and the German Kaiser, around the city there are a series of interconnected lakes and cultural landmarks, in particular the parks and palaces of Sanssouci, the largest World Heritage Site in Germany. The Potsdam Conference in 1945 was held at the palace Cecilienhof, the Filmstudio Babelsberg is the oldest large-scale film studio in the world. Potsdam developed into a centre of science in Germany in the 19th century, today, there are three public colleges, the University of Potsdam, and more than 30 research institutes in the city. The area was formed from a series of large moraines left after the last glacial period, today, the city is three-quarters green space, with just a quarter as urban area. There are about 20 lakes and rivers in and around Potsdam, such as the Havel, the Griebnitzsee, Templiner See, Tiefer See, Jungfernsee, Teltowkanal, Heiliger See, the highest point is the 114-metre high Kleiner Ravensberg. Potsdam is divided into seven city districts and nine new Ortsteile. The appearances of the city districts are quite different, the districts in the north and in the centre consist mainly of historical buildings, the south of the city is dominated by larger areas of newer buildings. Potsdam has an Oceanic climate, with cool, snowy winters, the average winter high temperature is 3.5 °C, with a low of −1.7 °C. Snow is common in the winter, summers are mild, with a high of 23.6 °C and a low of 12.7 °C. The name Potsdam originally seems to have been Poztupimi, a common theory is that it derives from an old West Slavonic term meaning beneath the oaks, i. e. the corrupted pod dubmi/dubimi. The area around Potsdam shows occupancy since the Bronze Age and was part of Magna Germania as described by Tacitus. After the great migrations of the Germanic peoples, Slavs moved in and it was first mentioned in a document in 993 AD as Poztupimi, when Emperor Otto III gifted the territory to the Quedlinburg Abbey, then led by his aunt Matilda. By 1317, it was mentioned as a small town and it gained its town charter in 1345. In 1573, it was still a market town of 2,000 inhabitants. Potsdam lost nearly half of its due to the Thirty Years War. After the Edict of Potsdam in 1685, Potsdam became a centre of European immigration and its religious freedom attracted people from France, Russia, the Netherlands and Bohemia
4.
Germany
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Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD. The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed
5.
German Empire
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The German Empire was the historical German nation state that existed from the unification of Germany in 1871 to the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1918, when Germany became a federal republic. The German Empire consisted of 26 constituent territories, with most being ruled by royal families and this included four kingdoms, six grand duchies, five duchies, seven principalities, three free Hanseatic cities, and one imperial territory. Although Prussia became one of kingdoms in the new realm, it contained most of its population and territory. Its influence also helped define modern German culture, after 1850, the states of Germany had rapidly become industrialized, with particular strengths in coal, iron, chemicals, and railways. In 1871, it had a population of 41 million people, and by 1913, a heavily rural collection of states in 1815, now united Germany became predominantly urban. During its 47 years of existence, the German Empire operated as an industrial, technological, Germany became a great power, boasting a rapidly growing rail network, the worlds strongest army, and a fast-growing industrial base. In less than a decade, its navy became second only to Britains Royal Navy, after the removal of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck by Wilhelm II, the Empire embarked on a bellicose new course that ultimately led to World War I. When the great crisis of 1914 arrived, the German Empire had two allies, Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Italy, however, left the once the First World War started in August 1914. In the First World War, German plans to capture Paris quickly in autumn 1914 failed, the Allied naval blockade caused severe shortages of food. Germany was repeatedly forced to send troops to bolster Austria and Turkey on other fronts, however, Germany had great success on the Eastern Front, it occupied large Eastern territories following the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. German declaration of unrestricted submarine warfare in early 1917 was designed to strangle the British, it failed, but the declaration—along with the Zimmermann Telegram—did bring the United States into the war. Meanwhile, German civilians and soldiers had become war-weary and radicalised by the Russian Revolution and this failed, and by October the armies were in retreat, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire had collapsed, Bulgaria had surrendered and the German people had lost faith in their political system. The Empire collapsed in the November 1918 Revolution as the Emperor and all the ruling monarchs abdicated, and a republic took over. The German Confederation had been created by an act of the Congress of Vienna on 8 June 1815 as a result of the Napoleonic Wars, German nationalism rapidly shifted from its liberal and democratic character in 1848, called Pan-Germanism, to Prussian prime minister Otto von Bismarcks pragmatic Realpolitik. He envisioned a conservative, Prussian-dominated Germany, the war resulted in the Confederation being partially replaced by a North German Confederation in 1867, comprising the 22 states north of the Main. The new constitution and the title Emperor came into effect on 1 January 1871, during the Siege of Paris on 18 January 1871, William accepted to be proclaimed Emperor in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles. The second German Constitution was adopted by the Reichstag on 14 April 1871 and proclaimed by the Emperor on 16 April, the political system remained the same. The empire had a parliament called the Reichstag, which was elected by universal male suffrage, however, the original constituencies drawn in 1871 were never redrawn to reflect the growth of urban areas
6.
Generaloberst
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It was equivalent to Generaladmiral in the Kriegsmarine until 1945, or to Flottenadmiral in the Volksmarine until 1990. The rank was the highest ordinary rank and the highest military rank awarded in peacetime. In general, a Generaloberst had the privileges as a general field marshal. Together with the rank of general field marshal, Generaloberst was generally reckoned as the equivalent of a five-star general in NATO armies. The rank was created originally for Emperor William I—then Prince of Prussia—because traditionally members of the family were not promoted to the rank of a field marshal. Such generals were entitled to four pips on their shoulder boards. As such, Generaloberst could be an equivalent of the general field marshal rank. In 1915 the Generaloberst rank was introduced to the Austro-Hungarian Common Army and it was the second highest behind the Feldmarschall rank. Pertaining to the NATO-Rangcode it might have been comparable to the three-star rank, the equivalent to the Generaloberst was Admiral of the Volksmarine
7.
Wilhelm II, German Emperor
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Wilhelm II or William II was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia, ruling the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia from 15 June 1888 to 9 November 1918. He was the eldest grandchild of the British Queen Victoria and related to many monarchs and his leading generals, Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff, dictated policy during the First World War with little regard for the civilian government. An ineffective war-time leader, he lost the support of the army, abdicated in November 1918, and fled to exile in the Netherlands. Wilhelm was born on 27 January 1859 at the Crown Princes Palace, Berlin to Prince Frederick William of Prussia and his wife, Victoria, Princess Royal, the eldest daughter of Britains Queen Victoria. At the time of his birth, his great-uncle Frederick William IV was king of Prussia, a traumatic breech birth left him with a withered left arm due to Erbs palsy, which he tried with some success to conceal. His left arm was about 6 inches shorter than his right arm, historians have suggested that this disability affected his emotional development. In 1863, Wilhelm was taken to England to be present at the wedding of his Uncle Bertie, William attended the ceremony in a Highland costume, complete with a small toy dirk. During the ceremony the four-year-old became restless and his eighteen-year-old uncle Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, charged with keeping an eye on him, told him to be quiet, but Wilhelm drew his dirk and threatened Alfred. When Alfred attempted to subdue him by force, Wilhelm bit him on the leg and his grandmother, Queen Victoria, missed seeing the fracas, to her Wilhelm remained a clever, dear, good little child, the great favourite of my beloved Vicky. His mother, Vicky, was obsessed with his damaged arm and she blamed herself for the childs handicap and insisted that he become a good rider. The thought that he, as heir to the throne, should not be able to ride was intolerable to her, riding lessons began when Wilhelm was eight and were a matter of endurance for Wilhelm. Over and over, the prince was set on his horse. He fell off time after time but despite his tears was set on its back again, after weeks of this he finally got it right and was able to maintain his balance. Wilhelm, from six years of age, was tutored and heavily influenced by the 39-year-old teacher Georg Hinzpeter, Hinzpeter, he later wrote, was really a good fellow. Whether he was the tutor for me, I dare not decide. The torments inflicted on me, in this riding, must be attributed to my mother. As a teenager he was educated at Kassel at the Friedrichsgymnasium, in January 1877, Wilhelm finished high school and on his eighteenth birthday received as a present from his grandmother, Queen Victoria, the Order of the Garter. After Kassel he spent four terms at the University of Bonn, studying law and he became a member of the exclusive Corps Borussia Bonn
8.
Order of the Red Eagle
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The Order of the Red Eagle was an order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was awarded to military personnel and civilians, to recognize valor in combat, excellence in military leadership, long and faithful service to the kingdom. As with most German orders, the Order of the Red Eagle could only be awarded to commissioned officers or civilians of equivalent status. However, there was a medal of the order, which could be awarded to non-commissioned officers and enlisted men, lower ranking civil servants and other civilians. The predecessor to Order of the Red Eagle was founded on November 17,1705 and this soon fell into disuse but was revived in 1712 in Brandenburg-Bayreuth and again in 1734 in Brandenburg-Ansbach, where it first received the name Order of the Brandenburg Red Eagle. The statutes were changed in 1777 and the Order named therein as the Order of the Red Eagle, the Order was conferred in one class, limited to fifty knights. The Kingdom of Prussia absorbed both Brandenburg-Bayreuth and Brandenburg-Ansbach in January,1792, and on June 12,1792, King Frederick William II again revived the order as a Prussian royal order. After the Order of the Black Eagle, the Red Eagle was the second highest order of the kingdom in order of precedence, in 1810, King Frederick William III revised the statutes of the Order, expanding it into three classes. In 1830, a breast star was authorized for the Second Class, the statutes were further revised in 1861, and a Grand Cross was established as the highest class of the Order. By 1918, an affiliated soldiers medal had been available to commoners. The monarchy collapsed on November 9,1918, a new German constitution was signed into law, August 11,1919, effectually putting a legal end to the monarchy. Among these were, All classes but the Medal of the Red Eagle Order could be awarded with swords for distinction in wartime, the swords passed through the arms of the cross behind the center medallion. All classes above the 4th Class could be awarded with Swords on Ring, indicating that the recipient of that class without swords had earlier received a class of the order with swords. A pair of crossed swords were worn above the cross on the ring or above the medallion on the upper arm of the breast star. All classes could be awarded with or without crown as an added distinction, the Grand Cross, 1st and 2nd Class could be awarded with oak leaves, indicating prior receipt of the next lower class of the order, and/or with diamonds, as a special distinction. Royal family members were awarded the Grand Cross with crown, the Maltese cross badge was suspended from a miniature of the Prussian crown, which covered the usual suspension ring. The Grand Cross was awarded at least once with crossed marshals batons, the crossed batons were worn above the Maltese cross badge of the Grand Cross, on its suspension ring. The 3rd Class could be awarded with bow, indicating prior receipt of the 4th Class, prussians who were Knights of the Order of St. John of Malta
9.
Prussia
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Prussia was a historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg, and centred on the region of Prussia. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organised, Prussia, with its capital in Königsberg and from 1701 in Berlin, shaped the history of Germany. In 1871, German states united to create the German Empire under Prussian leadership, in November 1918, the monarchies were abolished and the nobility lost its political power during the German Revolution of 1918–19. The Kingdom of Prussia was thus abolished in favour of a republic—the Free State of Prussia, from 1933, Prussia lost its independence as a result of the Prussian coup, when the Nazi regime was successfully establishing its Gleichschaltung laws in pursuit of a unitary state. Prussia existed de jure until its liquidation by the Allied Control Council Enactment No.46 of 25 February 1947. The name Prussia derives from the Old Prussians, in the 13th century, the Teutonic Knights—an organized Catholic medieval military order of German crusaders—conquered the lands inhabited by them. In 1308, the Teutonic Knights conquered the region of Pomerelia with Gdańsk and their monastic state was mostly Germanised through immigration from central and western Germany and in the south, it was Polonised by settlers from Masovia. The Second Peace of Thorn split Prussia into the western Royal Prussia, a province of Poland, and the part, from 1525 called the Duchy of Prussia. The union of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Prussia in 1618 led to the proclamation of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701, Prussia entered the ranks of the great powers shortly after becoming a kingdom, and exercised most influence in the 18th and 19th centuries. During the 18th century it had a say in many international affairs under the reign of Frederick the Great. During the 19th century, Chancellor Otto von Bismarck united the German principalities into a Lesser Germany which excluded the Austrian Empire. At the Congress of Vienna, which redrew the map of Europe following Napoleons defeat, Prussia acquired a section of north western Germany. The country then grew rapidly in influence economically and politically, and became the core of the North German Confederation in 1867, and then of the German Empire in 1871. The Kingdom of Prussia was now so large and so dominant in the new Germany that Junkers and other Prussian élites identified more and more as Germans and less as Prussians. In the Weimar Republic, the state of Prussia lost nearly all of its legal and political importance following the 1932 coup led by Franz von Papen. East Prussia lost all of its German population after 1945, as Poland, the main coat of arms of Prussia, as well as the flag of Prussia, depicted a black eagle on a white background. The black and white colours were already used by the Teutonic Knights. The Teutonic Order wore a white coat embroidered with a cross with gold insert
10.
Colonel general
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Colonel general is a four-star rank in the army, equivalent to that of a full general in the US Army. North Korea and Russia are two countries that have used the rank extensively throughout their histories, the rank is also closely associated with Germany, where Generaloberst has formerly been a rank above full General and below Generalfeldmarschall. Colonel general was the second-highest rank in the Austro-Hungarian Army, introduced following the German model in 1915, the rank was not used after World War I in the Austrian Army of the Republic. The Peoples Liberation Army had a rank of Da Jiang from 1955 to 1965, Da Jiang corresponded to the Soviet rank of colonel general. The rank system of the Peoples Liberation Army was abolished in 1965, the 1988 system introduced a rank of Yi Ji Shang Jiang. No one had held such rank and it was abolished in 1994, the rank of colonel general was created in the Czechoslovak army in 1950, it was dropped after the 1993 dissolution of the state. The Egyptian Army uses a rank that translates as colonel general and it is equal to the rank of 4-star or full general. Colonel general is, however, junior to the rank of marshal and is an honorary distinction usually held only by defense ministers. In the French Army, under the Ancien régime, the officer in command of all the regiments of a particular branch of service was known as the colonel general. This was not a rank, but an office of the Crown, however, the Bundeswehr does not use the rank. Rank insignia Generaloberst In Hungary, the rank of general was introduced to the Imperial and Royal Army in 1915. The rank replaced the ranks of gyalogsági tábornok, lovassági tábornok, the equivalent rank for Colonel general in Iraq is called Ferik Awwal, in Arabic فريق اول, which is considered the highest rank in Iraqi Army now a days. The North Korean rank of sangjang translates as colonel general, sangjang is senior to that of jungjang and junior to that of daejang. This rank is held by the commanding officer of units along the Korean DMZ. It is also the rank held by the KPA Pyongyang Defense Commands commanding general, the rank of colonel general did not exist in Imperial Russia and was first established in the Red Army on 7 May 1940, as a replacement for previously existing командарм второго ранга. During World War II, about 199 officers were promoted to colonel general, before 1943, Soviet colonel generals wore four stars on their collar patches. Since 1943, they have three stars on their shoulder straps, so Charles Pettibone compares the rank to the US lieutenant general. The rank still exists in the contemporary Russian Army, the combrig rank that corresponded to one-star general only existed in the Soviet Union during 1935–1940
11.
German language
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German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol, the German-speaking Community of Belgium and it is also one of the three official languages of Luxembourg. Major languages which are most similar to German include other members of the West Germanic language branch, such as Afrikaans, Dutch, English, Luxembourgish and it is the second most widely spoken Germanic language, after English. One of the languages of the world, German is the first language of about 95 million people worldwide. The German speaking countries are ranked fifth in terms of publication of new books. German derives most of its vocabulary from the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, a portion of German words are derived from Latin and Greek, and fewer are borrowed from French and English. With slightly different standardized variants, German is a pluricentric language, like English, German is also notable for its broad spectrum of dialects, with many unique varieties existing in Europe and also other parts of the world. The history of the German language begins with the High German consonant shift during the migration period, when Martin Luther translated the Bible, he based his translation primarily on the standard bureaucratic language used in Saxony, also known as Meißner Deutsch. Copies of Luthers Bible featured a long list of glosses for each region that translated words which were unknown in the region into the regional dialect. Roman Catholics initially rejected Luthers translation, and tried to create their own Catholic standard of the German language – the difference in relation to Protestant German was minimal. It was not until the middle of the 18th century that a widely accepted standard was created, until about 1800, standard German was mainly a written language, in urban northern Germany, the local Low German dialects were spoken. Standard German, which was different, was often learned as a foreign language with uncertain pronunciation. Northern German pronunciation was considered the standard in prescriptive pronunciation guides though, however, German was the language of commerce and government in the Habsburg Empire, which encompassed a large area of Central and Eastern Europe. Until the mid-19th century, it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of the Empire and its use indicated that the speaker was a merchant or someone from an urban area, regardless of nationality. Some cities, such as Prague and Budapest, were gradually Germanized in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain, others, such as Pozsony, were originally settled during the Habsburg period, and were primarily German at that time. Prague, Budapest and Bratislava as well as cities like Zagreb, the most comprehensive guide to the vocabulary of the German language is found within the Deutsches Wörterbuch. This dictionary was created by the Brothers Grimm and is composed of 16 parts which were issued between 1852 and 1860, in 1872, grammatical and orthographic rules first appeared in the Duden Handbook. In 1901, the 2nd Orthographical Conference ended with a standardization of the German language in its written form
12.
Brandenburg
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Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federated states of Germany. It lies in the northeast of the country covering an area of 29,478 square kilometers and has 2.48 million inhabitants, the capital and largest city is Potsdam. Brandenburg surrounds but does not include the capital and city-state Berlin forming a metropolitan area. Brandenburg is one of the states that was re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former East Germany. Governed by the Hohenzollern dynasty from 1415, it contained the future German capital Berlin, after 1618 the Margraviate of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Prussia were combined to form Brandenburg-Prussia, which was ruled by the same branch of the House of Hohenzollern. In 1701 the state was elevated as the Kingdom of Prussia, Brandenburg is situated in territory known in antiquity as Magna Germania, which reached to the Vistula river. By the 7th century, Slavic peoples are believed to have settled in the Brandenburg area, the Slavs expanded from the east, possibly driven from their homelands in present-day Ukraine and perhaps Belarus by the invasions of the Huns and Avars. They relied heavily on river transport, the two principal Slavic groups in the present-day area of Brandenburg were the Hevelli in the west and the Sprevane in the east. Beginning in the early 10th century, Henry the Fowler and his successors conquered territory up to the Oder River, Slavic settlements such as Brenna, Budusin, and Chośebuz came under imperial control through the installation of margraves. Their main function was to defend and protect the eastern marches, in 948 Emperor Otto I established margraves to exert imperial control over the pagan Slavs west of the Oder River. Otto founded the Bishoprics of Brandenburg and Havelberg, the Northern March was founded as a northeastern border territory of the Holy Roman Empire. However, an uprising of Wends drove imperial forces from the territory of present-day Brandenburg in 983. The region returned to the control of Slavic leaders, the Roman Catholic Church brought bishoprics which, with their walled towns, afforded protection from attacks for the townspeople. With the monks and bishops, the history of the town of Brandenburg an der Havel, in 1134, in the wake of a German crusade against the Wends, the German magnate, Albert the Bear, was granted the Northern March by the Emperor Lothar III. He formally inherited the town of Brandenburg and the lands of the Hevelli from their last Wendish ruler, Pribislav, after crushing a force of Sprevane who occupied the town of Brandenburg in the 1150s, Albert proclaimed himself ruler of the new Margraviate of Brandenburg. Albert, and his descendants the Ascanians, then made progress in conquering, colonizing, Christianizing. Within this region, Slavic and German residents intermarried, during the 13th century, the Ascanians began acquiring territory east of the Oder, later known as the Neumark. In 1320, the Brandenburg Ascanian line came to an end, under the Luxembourgs, the Margrave of Brandenburg gained the status of a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire
13.
Generalfeldmarschall
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Generalfeldmarschall was a rank in the armies of several German states and the Holy Roman Empire, in the Habsburg Monarchy, the Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, the rank Feldmarschall was used. The rank was the equivalent to Großadmiral in the Kaiserliche Marine and Kriegsmarine, the title of Kaiserlich-Königlicher Feldmarschall is used in statutes of the Holy Roman Empire to describe senior military officials. The rank existed in the Austrian Empire as Kaiserlicher Feldmarschall and in the Austro-Hungarian Empire as Kaiserlicher und königlicher Feldmarschall, both were based on usage in the Holy Roman Empire. The monarch held the ex officio, other officers were promoted as required. Between 1914 and 1918, ten men attained this rank, of four were members of the reigning Habsburg dynasty. The equivalent of colonel-general in the German Navy was the rank of Generaladmiral, in 1870 Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia and Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm—who had commanded armies during the Franco-Prussian War—became the first Prussian princes appointed as field marshals. Not even such well-known German commanders as Erich Ludendorff and Erich von Falkenhayn received marshals batons, the equivalent of a Generalfeldmarschall in the navy was Großadmiral. Unlike Kaiser Wilhelm II, Adolf Hitler distributed the rank more widely, promoting 26 Heer and Luftwaffe officers in total and two Kriegsmarine Grand Admirals. Four weeks after the Heer and Luftwaffe had won the Battle of France, in the promotion Hitler noted that no German or Prussian field marshal at that point in history had ever been captured alive. Paulus surrendered the day anyway, claiming Ich habe nicht die Absicht. A disappointed Hitler commented, Thats the last field marshal I make in this war, Generalfeldmarschall was the highest regular general officer rank in the German Wehrmacht, comparable to NATO rank codes OF10, and to the five-star rank in anglophone armed forces. It was equivalent to Großadmiral of the German Kriegsmarine and he also bestowed generous presents on his highest officers, with Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb receiving RM250,000 for his 65th birthday from Hitler. Promotion to the rank did not guarantee Hitlers ongoing favor, however, as the tide of the war turned, Hitler took out his frustrations on his top commanders, relieving most of the Generalfeldmarschalls of duty before the wars conclusion. Von Bock, Von Brauchitsch, Von Leeb, and List were all relieved of their posts in 1942 for perceived failures during Operation Barbarossa, paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist, Von Manstein and Sperrle were similarly retired in 1944 and Von Rundstedt and Maximilian von Weichs in March 1945. Grand Admiral Erich Raeder was retired in January 1943 following an argument with Hitler over the future of the German surface fleet. Walther Model, one of Hitlers most successful commanders, had nevertheless lost the Fuhrers confidence by wars end and committed suicide to avoid capture, ferdinand Schörner ignominiously abandoned his command to save himself in the wars last days. Von Kluge, Von Witzleben and Rommel were either executed or forced to suicide for their real or imagined roles in assassination plots against Hitler. By wars end, only Keitel, Kesselring, Robert Ritter von Greim, the Nationale Volksarmee of the Deutsche Demokratische Republik or DDR created the rank of Marschall der DDR on 25 March 1982
14.
German General Staff
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It existed unofficially from 1806, and was formally established by law in 1814, the first general staff in existence. Its rise and development gave the German armed forces a decisive advantage over their adversaries for nearly a century. The Prussian General Staff also enjoyed greater freedom from political control than its contemporaries, and it came to be regarded as the home of German militarism in the aftermath of the World War I, and the victors attempted to suppress the institution. It nevertheless survived to play its part in the rearmament of Germany. In a broader sense, the Prussian General Staff corps consisted of those qualified to perform staff duties. Their exhaustive training was designed not only to weed out the less motivated or less able candidates, General Staff–qualified officers alternated between line and staff duties but remained lifelong members of this special organization. For other European armies which lacked this professionally trained staff corps and this served as a check on incompetence and also served for the objecting officer to officially disassociate himself with a flawed plan. Only the most stubborn commanders would not give way before this threat, for these reasons, Prussian and German military victories would often be credited professionally to the Chief of Staff, rather than to the nominal commander of an army. Before the nineteenth century, success on the battlefield was largely the result of the competence of whichever king was in power. While Frederick the Great brought success in battle to Prussian arms, his successors did not have his talent, reformers in the army began to write and lecture on the need to preserve and somehow institutionalize the military talent that had brought martial glory to Prussia. For a small group of reformers, critical decision making had to be removed from arbitrary winds of chance, the country could no longer afford to wait until a war started to gather military staff talent. One carefully selected professional staff would do the work of planning logistics, from the last years of the eighteenth century, it became the practice to assign military experts to assist the generals of Prussias Army. This was largely at the instigation of comparatively junior but gifted officers such as Gerhard von Scharnhorst and August von Gneisenau. Nevertheless, such measures were insufficient to overcome the inefficiency of the Army, in 1806, the Prussian Army was defeated by French Emperor Napoleon I at the Battle of Jena, and in the aftermath of this defeat, the Prussian Army and state largely collapsed. In most non-Prussian military academies of the time, the emphasis of the syllabus was the preparation of junior artillery and engineering officers. Although Prussian commanders of forces were appointed by rigid seniority or royal patronage, each Army, Korps. Scharnhorst intended that they support incompetent Generals, providing the talents that might otherwise be wanting among leaders and commanders. The unlikely pairing of the erratic but popular Field Marshal Blücher as Commander in Chief with Lieutenant General von Gneisenau as his Chief of Staff showed this system to its best advantage, after the defeat of Napoleon, the General Staff was formally established
15.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
16.
German Army (German Empire)
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The Imperial German Army was the name given to the combined land and air forces of the German Empire. The term Deutsches Heer is also used for the modern German Army, the German Army was formed after the unification of Germany under Prussian leadership in 1871 and dissolved in 1919, after the defeat of the German Empire in World War I. When operating together, the units were known as the Federal Army, Prussia formed the North German Confederation and the treaty provided for the maintenance of a Federal Army and a Federal Navy. Further laws on military duty also used these terms, through these conventions and the 1871 Constitution of the German Empire, an Army of the Realm was created. The contingents of the Bavarian, Saxon and Württemberg kingdoms remained semi-autonomous, the Constitution of the German Empire, dated April 16,1871, changed references in the North German Constitution from Federal Army to either Army of the Realm or German Army. After 1871, the armies of the four kingdoms remained relatively distinct. German Army was used in legal documents, such as the Military Penal Code. Württemberg and Saxon units were numbered according to the Prussian system, the commander of the Imperial German Army, less the Bavarian contingent, was the Kaiser. He was assisted by a Military Cabinet and exercised control through the Prussian Ministry of War, the Chief of the General Staff became the Kaisers main military advisor and the most powerful military figure in the Empire. Bavaria kept its own Ministry of War and General Staff, saxony also maintained its own Ministry of War and the Ministry of War of Württemberg also continued to exist. Command of the Prussian Army had been reformed in the wake of the defeats suffered by Prussia in the Napoleonic Wars, the General Staff system, that sought to institutionalize military excellence, was the main result. It provided planning and organizational work during peacetime and wartime, the Prussian General Staff, proven in battle in the Wars of Unification, became the German General Staff upon formation of the German Empire, given Prussias leading role in the German Army. During wartime, the staff of the Army inspectorates formed field army commands, during World War I, a higher command level, the army group, was created. Each army group controlled several field armies, Germany was divided into army inspectorates, each of which oversaw three or four corps. There were five in 1871, with three more added between 1907 and 1913, the corps consisted of two or more divisions and various support troops, covering a geographical area. The corps was responsible for maintaining the reserves and Landwehr in the corps area. By 1914, there were 21 corps areas under Prussian jurisdiction, besides the regional corps, there was also a Guard Corps, which controlled the elite Prussian Guard units. A corps usually included an infantry battalion, a heavy artillery battalion, an engineer battalion, a telegraph battalion
17.
Paul von Hindenburg
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Hindenburg retired from the army for the first time in 1911, but was recalled shortly after the outbreak of World War I in 1914. He first came to attention at the age of 66 as the victor of the decisive Battle of Tannenberg in August 1914. As Germanys Chief of the General Staff from August 1916, Hindenburgs reputation rose greatly in German public esteem. He and his deputy Erich Ludendorff then led Germany in a de facto military dictatorship throughout the remainder of the war, in line with Lebensraum ideology, he advocated sweeping annexations of territories in Poland, Ukraine, and Russia in order to resettle Germans there. Hindenburg retired again in 1919, but returned to life in 1925 to be elected the second President of Germany. In 1932, Hindenburg was persuaded to run for re-election as German president, although 84 years old and in poor health, Hindenburg was re-elected in a runoff. He was opposed to Hitler and was a player in the increasing political instability in the Weimar Republic that ended with Hitlers rise to power. He dissolved the Reichstag twice in 1932 and finally, under pressure, in February, he signed off on the Reichstag Fire Decree, which suspended various civil liberties, and in March he signed the Enabling Act of 1933, which gave Hitlers regime arbitrary powers. Hindenburg died the year, after which Hitler declared the office of President vacant. Hindenburg was embarrassed by his mothers non-aristocratic background and hardly mentioned her at all in his memoirs and his paternal lineage was considered highly distinguished, in fact, he was descended from one of the most respected ancient noble families in Prussia. His paternal grandfather was Otto Ludwig von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg, Hindenburg was also a descendant of Martin Luther and his wife Katharina von Bora through their daughter Margareta Luther. Hindenburgs younger brothers and sister were Otto, Ida and Bernhard, Hindenburg was proud that one of his ancestors, Colonel Otto Frederich von Hindenburg had lost a leg at the Battle of Torgau in 1760 and had been awarded an estate at Neudeck by Frederich the Great. Hindenburg received a typical Junker upbringing, being taught the virtues of duty, discipline, obedience to authority and loyalty to Prussia, Hindenburgs governess was known to shout Quiet in the ranks. Before entering the Prussian Cadet Corps in 1859, the 12-year old Hindenburg soberly wrote up his last will and testament in case he should die, Hindenburgs favorite reading materials were war and adventure stories with The Pathfinder by James Fenimore Cooper being his favorite. As a cadet, Hindenburg was admired for his commitment to duty, obsession with details, however, he was considered of mediocre intelligence and utterly lacking in a sense of humor, a dedicated if somewhat dull cadet. After his education at schools in Berlin and Wahlstatt, Hindenburg was commissioned as a lieutenant in 1866. He fought in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 and the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871, during the Seven Weeks War of 1866, Hindenburg wrote his parents, I rejoice in this bright-colored future. For the soldier war is the state of things…If I fall, it is the most honorable
18.
Otto von Emmich
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Albert Theodor Otto Emmich was a Prussian general. Emmich was the son of an Oberst and he married Elise Pauline Sophie, daughter of Karl von Graberg. Born in Minden, Emmich entered the Prussian Army in 1866, a veteran of the Franco-Prussian War, he was promoted to major-general in 1901 and given command of the 31st Infantry brigade. In 1905 he was promoted to lieutenant-general and given command of the 10th Division and he attained the rank of general of infantry in 1909, and was placed in command of the X Army Corps at Hanover. The Battle of Liège began shortly after the morning of August 5,1914 when German bombardment began on the eastern Belgian forts and this marks it chronologically as the first battle to take place during World War I, beginning shortly before the Battle of Mulhouse. The Imperial German troops were obliged to entrench and bring up heavy siege artillery and he laid siege to Liège, which he entered on August 7,1914 but the last forts only surrendered on August 16,1914. After the fall of Liège, Emmich reverted to command and fought at the Marne. In April 1915 Emmich was transferred to the Eastern front where he fought in the Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive and he died of arteriosclerosis in Hanover. In Daily Chronicle War Books, volume iv, The Campaign Around Liége, the Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman
19.
Order of the Black Eagle
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The Order of the Black Eagle was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg, in his Dutch exile after World War I, deposed Emperor Wilhelm II continued to award the order to his family. He made his wife, Princess Hermine Reuss of Greiz. The statutes of the order were published on 18 January 1701, membership in the Order of the Black Eagle was limited to a small number of knights, and was divided into two classes, members of reigning houses and capitular knights. Before 1847, membership was limited to nobles, but after that date, capitular knights were generally high-ranking government officials or military officers. The Order of the Black Eagle had only one class, by statute, members of the order also held the Grand Cross of the Order of the Red Eagle, and wore the badge of that order from a ribbon around the neck. From 1862, members of the Prussian royal house, upon award of the Order of the Black Eagle, the badge of the Order was a gold Maltese cross, enameled in blue, with gold-crowned black eagles between the arms of the cross. The gold center medallion bore the monogram of Friedrich I. This badge was worn either a broad ribbon or a collar. The ribbon of the Order was an orange moiré sash worn from the shoulder to the right hip. The sash color was chosen in honor of Louise Henriette of Nassau, daughter of the prince of Orange, the star of the Order was a silver eight-pointed star, with straight or faceted rays depending on the jewelers design. The center medallion displayed a black eagle on a background, surrounded by a white enamelled ring bearing a wreath of laurels. At meetings of the chapter of the Order of the Black Eagle and at certain ceremonies, embroidered on the left shoulder of each cape was a large star of the Order. From its founding in 1701 to 1918, the Order of the Black Eagle was awarded 407 times, subjects of the Prussian King receiving the order which was only given in one class were promoted to the peerage and received hereditary title. The Order was also conferred upon Prussian queens, though other members of the royal family usually received the Order of Louise instead. Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn – Kaiser Wilhelm IIs uncle, Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland – Prince of Sweden Carol I of Romania – King of Romania, member of the Princely House of Hohenzollern. Louis XVIII – King of France, ludwig II of Bavaria – King of Bavaria. Emperor Meiji – Emperor of Japan, mozaffar al-Din Shah – Shah of Persia –29 May 1902 – during the visit to Berlin of the Shah Naser al-Din Shah Qajar – Shah of Persia
20.
Order of the Crown (Prussia)
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The Order of the Crown was a Prussian order of chivalry. Officially the Order of the Red Eagle and the Order of the Crown were equal, most officials did however prefer to be appointed in the older Order of the Red Eagle. The Order of the Crown was often used as a decoration of someone who had to be rewarded while the Prussian government did not want to award the Order of the Red Eagle. The badge of the Order for the 1st to 4th classes was a gilt cross pattée, the obverse gilt central disc bore the crown of Prussia, surrounded by a blue enamel ring bearing the motto of the German Empire Gott Mit Uns. The reverse gilt disc has the Prussian royal monogram, surrounded by a blue ring with the date 18 October 1861. The star of the Order was a gilt eight-pointed star, a silver eight-pointed star, or a silver four-pointed star, the gilt central disc again bore the crown of Prussia, surrounded by a blue enamel ring bearing the motto Gott Mit Uns. The ribbon of the Order was blue, the order could be awarded in dozens of variations. For example with superimposed Cross of Geneva, with swords and with oak leaves, the following lists show a fair cross section of individuals who were known to be conferred with the Order in its several classes, in order of precedence. Sir Christopher George Francis Maurice Cradock Baron Giacomo Natoli - 1st Class Mustafa Kemal Atatürk - 1st Class, Count Charles John dOultremont, Knight Grand Cross. Ernst von Bibra - 3rd Class 1869 Gen. Major-General Sir John McNeill - 1st class,1899 - in connection with the visit of Emperor Wilhelm II to the United Kingdom
21.
House Order of Hohenzollern
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The House Order of Hohenzollern was a dynastic order of knighthood of the House of Hohenzollern awarded to military commissioned officers and civilians of comparable status. Associated with the versions of the order were crosses and medals which could be awarded to lower-ranking soldiers. The House Order of Hohenzollern was instituted on December 5,1841 by joint decree of Prince Konstantin of Hohenzollern-Hechingen and these two principalities in southern Germany were Catholic collateral lines of the House of Hohenzollern, cousins to the Protestant ruling house of Prussia. On August 23,1851, after the two principalities had been annexed by Prussia, the order was adopted by the Prussian branch of the house. Also, although the two principalities had become a region of the Prussian kingdom, the princely lines continued to award the order as a house order. The Prussian version was known as the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern. The Princely House Order continued to be awarded, unofficially, after the fall of the German Monarchy, Prince Karl Antons second son, Karl Eitel Friedrich of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, had become prince and then king of Romania as Carol I. Carol I had died childless and was succeeded by his nephew Ferdinand I and this form of the order existed until the Romanian monarchy was abolished in 1947, King Michael also awarded a slightly altered order in exile. The Royal House Order of Hohenzollern came in the classes, Grand Commander Commander Knight Member Member was a lesser class for soldiers who were not officers. The Members Cross, especially swords, was a rare distinction for non-commissioned officers. Another decoration, the Members Eagle was often given as an award to lesser officials such as schoolteachers. The Eagles were solely civilian awards, and could not be awarded with swords, all other grades could be awarded with swords. When awarded with swords it was worn on the ribbon of the Iron Cross, all grades could be awarded with swords. During World War I, the grade of the Princely House Order was often awarded to officers. 40, a regiment raised in the principalities of Hohenzollern. Soldier in the regiments sister reserve and Landwehr regiments also received the decoration. Unlike the Royal House Order, awards of the Princely House Order were made on the ribbon of the order regardless of whether they were with or without swords. As with the Prussian and Hohenzollern versions, crossed swords could be used to indicate a wartime or combat award, the badge of the House Order of Hohenzollern was a cross pattée with convex edges and curved arms
22.
Iron Cross
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The Iron Cross was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire and Nazi Germany. It was established by King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia in March 1813 backdated to the birthday of his late wife Queen Louise on 10 March 1813 during the Napoleonic Wars, Louise was the first person to receive this decoration. The recommissioned Iron Cross was also awarded during the Franco-Prussian War, World War I, the Iron Cross was normally a military decoration only, though there were instances of it being awarded to civilians for performing military functions. The design of the symbol was black with a white or silver outline. It was ultimately derived from the cross pattée occasionally used by the Teutonic Order from the 13th century, the black cross patty was also used as the symbol of the German Army from 1871 to March/April 1918, when it was replaced by the Balkenkreuz. In 1956, it was re-introduced as the symbol of the Bundeswehr, the Black Cross is the emblem used by the Prussian Army, and by the army of Germany from 1871 to present. It was designed on the occasion of the German Campaign of 1813, from this time, the Black Cross also featured on the Prussian war flag alongside the Black Eagle. The design is due to neoclassical architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel, based on a sketch by Frederick William, the design is ultimately derivative of the black cross used by the Teutonic Order. This heraldic cross took various forms throughout the history, including a simple Latin cross. When the Quadriga of the Goddess of Peace was retrieved from Paris at Napoleons fall, an Iron Cross was inserted into her laurel wreath, making her into a Goddess of Victory. The Black Cross was used on the naval and war flags of the German Empire, the Black Cross was used as the symbol of the German Army until 1915, when it was replaced by a simpler Balkenkreuz. The Reichswehr of the Weimar Republic, the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany, the traditional design in black is used on armored vehicles and aircraft, while after German reunification, a new design in blue and silver was introduced for use in other contexts. The ribbon for the 1813,1870 and 1914 Iron Cross was black with two white bands, the colors of Prussia. The non-combatant version of this award had the same medal, but the black, the ribbon color for the 1939 EKII was black/white/red/white/black. Since the Iron Cross was issued several different periods of German history. For example, an Iron Cross from World War I bears the year 1914, the reverse of the 1870,1914 and 1939 series of Iron Crosses have the year 1813 appearing on the lower arm, symbolizing the year the award was created. The 1813 decoration also has the initials FW for King Frederick William III, the final version shows a swastika. There was also the 1957 issue, a replacement medal for holders of the 1939 series which substituted an oak-leaf cluster for the banned swastika
23.
Order of Saint Hubert
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The Bavarian Order of Saint Hubert is a Roman Catholic dynastic order of knighthood founded in 1444 or 1445 by Gerhard VII, Duke of Jülich-Berg. He sought to commemorate his victory over the House of Egmond at the Battle of Linnich on 3 November, which is Saint Huberts day. In 1778, Charles Theodore, Duke of Jülich and Berg, initially, the order was open to men and women, although limiting the number of male companions to sixty. It commemorated the conversion of Saint Hubert and his standing as the saint of hunters. Over time, the award had other uses as a reward for loyalty to the monarch, sources agree that the Order of Saint Hubert honors a military victory of the Duke of Jülich, on Saint Huberts day,3 November 1444. Consequently, the date of the founding depends on the source, still other sources date the founding of the Order as late as 1473 or 1475. Twentieth century investigation has helped to clear up some of the confusion, the original Latin statutes of the foundation use Good Friday, in this case 26 March 1445. Furthermore, there is written evidence that the Order existed prior to March 1445. These remained the governing documents of the Order until 1708, in this confirmation probably lies the root of confusion over the date of the Orders foundation. Initially the Order was a brotherhood, reflecting the overlapping religious. Saint Hubert was the saint of hunters and knights. The founding of the Order of the Golden Fleece in the early 15th century started a trend in confraternal princely orders. The purpose of these, whether established by monarchs or princes, was to foster loyalty to a sovereign, when Reinhold IV, Duke of Gelder, died in 1423, his nephew Arnold inherited the dukedom. Arnolds cousin, Adolf of Berg, inherited territories near Liège, Arnold believed that Adolf had inherited the better of the two properties, and coveted it for himself. He tried to take it by force and failed, a compromise was reached by which the two agreed to a truce. Adolf of Berg died in 1437 and his cousin, Gerhard IV, Arnold reasserted his old claim, maintaining that the truce to which he and Adolf agreed was no longer valid, and prepared to take the duchies by force. Confident in his right to the inheritance, Gerhard met Arnold in battle, at the village of Linnich and he and his knights defeated Arnold and his knights on Saint Huberts day in 1444. In celebration, Gerhard declared the founding of the Order, to reward his loyal, the Order remained in collateral branches of the family of the Dukes of Jülich and Berg until 1521, when the male line holding the two duchies and the county of Ravensberg became extinct
24.
Order of the Rue Crown
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The Order of the Rue Crown is a Dynastic order of knighthood of the Kingdom of Saxony. It was established in 1807 by Frederick Augustus I, the first King of Saxony, the order takes its name from the green floral crown of rue found on the Coat of arms of Saxony. The order was created to be the counterpart to the Military Order of St. Henry. The order was limited to 24 knights, but exceptions were made for members of ruling houses. The Order of the Rue Crown was presented in a single grade, twice, the order was granted in a special grade with diamonds, to Portuguese Prime Minister Dom Nuno José de Moura Barreto, Duke of Loulé in 1859 and Chancellor Otto von Bismarck in 1885. From its founding to the fall of the Kingdom of Saxony in 1918, the badge of the order is a gold Maltese cross enameled in green with a white border. The white center medallion features the monogram of Frederick Augustus I of Saxony encircled by a green crown of rue. Between the arms of the cross is a crown of rue. The star of the order is of made of silver, and has eight points, the center of the star bears a gold medallion with the motto of the order PROVIDENTIÆ MEMOR inside a ring of green rue leaves. The badge of the order is borne on a ribband of grass green worn over the right shoulder
25.
Order of Leopold (Austria)
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The Imperial Austrian Order of Leopold was founded by Franz I of Austria on 8 January 1808. The orders statutes stipulated only three grades, Grand Cross, Commander and Knight, during the war, in common with the other Austro-Hungarian decorations Crossed Swords were instituted to reward bravery in the face of the enemy. The Grand Cross was somewhat larger than the First Class as was the width of the Sash, the Commanders Cross was worn to the neck, suspended from a 52 mm wide ribbon, the Knight wore his Order on a triangular ribbon on the left breast. The actual Order consists of a red enameled cross, with white enamel edging. The obverse of the Order displays the initials FIA in gold on a red enamel background, the Mottoes of the Order were INTEGRITATI ET MERITO and OPES REGUM CORDA SUBDITORUM. The ribbon of the Order is red with two narrow white side-stripes, the Cross is surmounted by a golden Emperors Crown. The Grand Cross could also be awarded with diamonds, from 1808 to 1918 only four people received this honour, the last recipient, Ernst Graf von Silva-Tarouca, was awarded the decoration on 11 November 1918, just hours before Charles I of Austria withdrew from public affairs. After 1918 the Order was no longer awarded, gustav Adolph Ackermann, Ordensbuch, Sämtlicher in Europa blühender und erloschener Orden und Ehrenzeichen
26.
Order of the Iron Crown
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The Order of the Iron Crown was an order of merit that was established on June 5,1805, by Napoleon Bonaparte under his title of King Napoleon I of Italy. The order took its name from the ancient Iron Crown of Lombardy and this crown also gave its name to the Order of the Crown of Italy, which was established in 1868. After the fall of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy, the order was re-established in 1815 by the Emperor of Austria, Francis I, as the Austrian Imperial Order of the Iron Crown. The Iron Crown of Lombardy, made for Theodelinda, Queen of the Lombards, was alleged to be crafted from one of the nails in the True Cross used in the Crucifixion of Jesus. Regardless of origin, her crown was crafted of six hinged plates of gold, set with precious gems, thus came the term of “Iron Crown”. Upon Theolinda’s death in 628, her crown was donated to the Church at Monza and it was used during the coronation of Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne, as he took the throne of Lombardy in 774. Later Holy Roman Emperors followed suit in this tradition, during his continued expansion of power, Napoleon Bonaparte conquered Italy in much the same manner as Charlemagne. As a symbolic gesture, he had crowned as King of Italy using the Iron Crown of Lombardy for the coronation. Soon after, Napoleon founded the Order of the Iron Crown on June 5,1805, the Order was divided into three classes, with an allowance of up to 20 grand cross knights,100 commander knights, and 500 ordinary knights. With the eventual end of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy, the French version of this order ceased to exist, however, the Emperor of Austria, Francis I, re-established the order in 1815 as the Austrian Imperial Order of the Iron Crown. The ribbon colors of the order were gold and green, with the badge of the order being an imperial eagle set upon a representation of the Iron Crown of Lombardy, knights wore a traditional military style medal on the left chest. Commanders wore a military style medal on the left chest. Holders of the Grand Cross wore a sash over the right shoulder, Napoleon I, Emperor of the French and King of Italy,1806 –1814,1815 Blom, Philipp. To Have and to Hold, An Intimate History of Collectors, leipzig, Kingdom of Saxony, Georg Joachim Goeschen,1819. Media related to Order of the Iron Crown at Wikimedia Commons
27.
Order of Franz Joseph
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The Imperial Austrian Franz Joseph Order was founded by the Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria on December 2,1849, on the first anniversary of his accession to the imperial throne. The order was awarded in three classes, Grand Cross, Commanders Cross, and Knights Cross. In 1869, the class of Commander with Star was added, the Officers Cross, which ranked between Commander and Knight, was introduced on February 1,1901. The order ceased to exist with the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918 and it was not re-established with the foundation of the Republic of Austria. Knights wore the decoration suspended from a ribbon on the left breast. Officers wore it on the left breast without a ribbon, Commanders wore the decoration at the neck, as did Commander with Star, who in addition also wore a breast star. The Grand Cross was worn suspended from the shoulder and also came with a breast star, the ribbon of all classes of the order was plain red. However, if soldiers were honoured, it was usually for distinguished service as opposed to gallantry in the face of the enemy, anton Bruckner Philipp Sarlay Carl von In der Maur Émile Baudot, Abraham Salomon Camondo. Consul General Oskar Stross. and Adoph Stross, benjamin Thomas Brandreth-Gibbs Media related to Imperial Order of Franz Joseph at Wikimedia Commons
28.
Order of Saint Stephen
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The Order of Saint Stephen is a Roman Catholic Tuscan dynastic military order founded in 1561. The order was created by Cosimo I de Medici, first Grand Duke of Tuscany, the last member of the Medici dynasty to be a leader of the order was Gian Gastone de Medici in 1737. The order was abolished in 1859 by the annexation of Tuscany to the Kingdom of Sardinia. The former Kingdom of Italy and the current Italian Republic also did not recognize the order as a legal entity, the order was founded by Cosimo I de Medici, first Grand Duke of Tuscany, with the approbation of Pope Pius IV on 1 October 1561. The rule chosen was that of the Benedictine Order, the first grand master was Cosimo himself and he was followed in that role by his successors as grand duke. The objective of the order was to fight the Ottoman Turks, the Turks and the pirates were making dangerous inroads on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea where Cosimo had recently inaugurated the new port of Livorno. Cosimo also needed a symbolic fight to unite the nobility of the different cities that combined to form his new grand duchy, finally, the creation of a Tuscan military order would also strengthen the prestige, both internal and international, of Cosimos new state. They burned the city, killed 470 people and took 1,500 captives, after its aggressive capabilities had been recognized, the Order concentrated on the defence of the Mediterranean coasts against Turkish and African pirates. In particular, the Knights made some incursions into the Aegean Islands controlled by the Turks, after 1640, military involvement was reduced. The Order concentrated on the defence and on ordnance duties. The orders last military action dates from 1719, Grand Duke Peter Leopold of Tuscany promoted a reorganization of the order, turning it into an institute for education of the Tuscan nobility. On 7 March 1791, six months after becoming Emperor, Leopold abdicated the Grand Duchy to his son, Ferdinand III. Although Ferdinand was the first European sovereign to recognize the French Republic and he abdicated both the Grand Duchy and the Grand Magistery of Saint Stephen. The order survived during the short-lived Kingdom of Etruria, following the restoration of Ferdinand III in 1814, the revival of the Order was proposed. By a decree dated 1815 the Ripristinazione dellOrdine dei Cavalieri di S. Stefano was proclaimed, the Order was again dissolved in 1859, when Tuscany was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia. The descendants of the former Tuscan ruling family maintain that the Order of Saint Stephen was a religious, today, Archduke Sigismund, Grand Duke of Tuscany awards an Order of Saint Stephen which he claims to be a continuation of the order founded by Grand Duke Cosimo I. Approximately 80 individuals are associated with this order. All members must be Roman Catholic, although exceptions are made for Heads of State and members of royal families who are members of the other Christian denominations
29.
Order of the Dannebrog
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The Order of the Dannebrog is an Order of Denmark, instituted in 1671 by Christian V. In 1808, the Order was reformed and divided into four classes, the Grand Commander class is reserved to persons of princely origin. It is only awarded to royalty with close ties with the Danish Royal House. The statute of the Order was amended in 1951 by a Royal Ordinance so that men and women could be members of the Order. The badge of the Order is a white enamelled Dannebrog cross with a red enamelled border, for the Knights in silver and for everyone else in gold or silver gilt. On its reverse are found the crowned royal cyphers of Valdemar II Sejr, Christian V and Frederik VI, as well as the years 1219,1671 and 1808, in each of the four angles of the cross is found a small Danish royal crown. The Grand Cross can, as an honor, be awarded with diamonds. There is also a Cross of Honour, when the collar is worn the sash is not worn. The star of the Order is a silver star with straight rays with an enamelled Dannebrog cross at the centre. The breast cross of the Order is similar to the cross on the star but larger and with faceted silver instead of white enamel, the ribbon of the Order is white silk moiré with red borders, the national colours of Denmark. The Order originally had a distinctive habit worn by the knights on very solemn occasions, over this red mantle was worn a short white shoulder cape with a standing collar embroidered in gold, upon which was worn the collar of the Order. The habit also had a hat with a plume of white. This habit was almost identical to that worn by the knights of the Order of the Elephant, each Danish ministry has a quota of Knights and Knights 1st class that they may use at their discretion. It is most often given to high-ranking officers of the police, armed forces, also used for politicians in Folketinget after 8 years of elected service. Ministers are given the rank of Knight 1st Class, the rank of Commander is given to Colonels, ministers and other high-ranking officials as a retirement-decoration after long service. Commander 1st class is given for Admirals, Generals, Supreme-court judges, ambassadors, Grand Cross is most often used for admirals, generals, Supreme-court judges, ambassadors and similar as a reward for very meritorious service to Denmark. Grand Cross with Breaststar with Diamonds is most often given to high-ranking officers of the Royal Court, finally, the Grand Commander grade is only given to 8 people. The reigning monarch is always a Grand Commander, and he/she may give the grade to 7 others - most often close family, the Order of the Dannebrog is often used as a tool of diplomacy
30.
Royal Victorian Order
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The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch of the Commonwealth realms, members of the monarchs family, the present monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, is the Sovereign of the order, its motto is Victoria, and its official day is 20 June. The orders chapel is the Savoy Chapel in London, the organisation was founded a year preceding Victorias Diamond Jubilee, so as to give the Queen time to complete a list of first inductees. The orders official day was made 20 June of each year, in 1902, King Edward VII created the Royal Victorian Chain as a personal decoration for royal personages and a few eminent British subjects and it was the highest class of the Royal Victorian Order. It is today distinct from the order, though it is issued by the chancery of the Royal Victorian Order. The order was open to foreigners from its inception, the Prefect of Alpes-Maritimes, Queen Elizabeth II then appointed her daughter, Anne, Princess Royal, to the position in 2007. Foreigners may be admitted as members, there are no limits to the number of any grade. Retiring Deans of the Royal Peculiars of St, prior to 1984, the grades of Lieutenant and Member were classified as Members and Members, respectively, but both with the post-nominals MVO. On 31 December of that year, Queen Elizabeth II declared that those in the grade of Member would henceforth be Lieutenants with the post-nominals LVO. Upon admission into the Royal Victorian Order, members are given various insignia of the organisation, each grade being represented by different emblems and robes. For Knights and Dames Grand Cross, Commanders, and Lieutenants, the orders ribbon is blue with red-white-red stripe edging, the only difference being that for foreigners appointed into the society, their ribbon bearing an additional central white stripe. For Knights Grand Cross, the ribbon is 82.5 millimetres wide, for Dames Grand Cross 57.1 millimetres, for Knights and Dames Commander 44.4 millimetres, and for all other members 31.7 millimetres. Though after the death of a Knight or Dame Grand Cross their insignia may be retained by their family, the collar must be returned. Knights and Dames Grand Cross also wear a mantle of blue satin edged with red satin and lined with white satin. Since 1938, the chapel of the Royal Victorian Order has been the Queens Chapel of the Savoy, in central London, upon the occupants death, the plate is retained, leaving the stalls festooned with a record of the orders Knights and Dames Grand Cross since 1938. There is insufficient space in the chapel for the display of knights and dames banners, founded by Michael Jackson, the group has, since 2008, gathered biennially. The practice of notifying the Prime Minister of Canada of nominees ended in 1982, in Canada, the order has come to be colloquially dubbed as the Royal Visit Order, as the majority of appointments are made by the sovereign during her tours of the country. Persons have been removed from the order at the monarchs command, anthony Blunt, a former surveyor of the Queens Pictures, was in 1979 stripped of his knighthood, after it was revealed that he had been a spy
31.
Order of St. Andrew the First-Called
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The Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called is the highest order of the Russian Federation. Established as the first and highest order of chivalry of the Russian Empire in 1698, the Order was established in 1698 by Tsar Peter the Great, in honour of Saint Andrew, the first apostle of Jesus and patron saint of Russia. It was bestowed in a class and was only awarded for the most outstanding civilian or military merit. Peter learned of the practice of bestowing awards from his travels in the West during the Great Embassy, in the past, service to the Russian state was rewarded with money or large estates. He witnessed first hand the awards ceremonies for Englands Order of the Garter and Austrias Order of the Golden Fleece and noticed the loyalty and it also saved the state land and money. Count Fyodor Golovin was the first recipient of the order, until its abolition following the Russian Revolution of 1917, just over one thousand awards had been made. Moreover, recipients of lower ranks were automatically promoted to the rank of lieutenant general or vice admiral, the Order of Saint Andrew continued to be awarded by the Russian Imperial House in exile. The first post revolutionary presentation was to HH Prince Georgy Konstantinovich of Russia on attaining his majority in April 1923. It was worn on a blue sash over the right shoulder. Star, eight-pointed silver star bearing a miniature of the badge on a background at the center, surrounded by the motto For Faith. It was worn on the left chest, the insignia of order could be awarded with diamonds as a special distinction. Saint Andrews Cathedral in Saint Petersburg was the church of this order of chivalry. Recipient of Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called uses the post-nominal letters KA, for example, if one is awarded Order of the Garter, in that case, post-nominals of KG used before KA because the Order of the Garterr has been created in 1348. An order with the name but with different insignia and statutes was first unofficially re-established by the Orthodox Church of Russia on December 27,1988. The order was officially re-instated as the highest Russian civilian and military award by Presidential Decree №757 on June 1,1998, the Orders award criteria were modified by Presidential Decree 1099 of September 7,2010. The Order may also be awarded to heads of states for outstanding service to the Russian Federation. Unlike the original Imperial institution, the modern Order does not have special robes nor strict rules regulating its wearing, the collar of the original Order was worn across the shoulders, modern recipients tend to wear it as a chain around the neck. The design of the modern Order of St. Andrew has changed little from the imperial design
32.
Royal Order of the Seraphim
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The Royal Order of the Seraphim is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Polar Star. Since the reorganization of the orders in 1975, the Order of the Seraphim is only awarded to heads of state. The order has one class with the dignity of Knight. The three above-mentioned Orders together with the Order of Vasa form the Orders of His Majesty the King. A Swedish Knight of the Order of the Seraphim is not referred to as a Knight of the Seraphim, but rather as a Knight and Commander of the Orders of His Majesty the King. This form is used because the Swedish word orden is an old plural form which indicates that a knight has to be a Knight Grand Cross or Knight of at least one of the other Swedish Orders. Foreign Knights are for the greater part Knights of the Order of the Seraphim. A Knight of the Order may be styled Herr + surname, which used to be the style for Swedish secular Knights appointed by the Swedish King. Until 1975 the sons of the Swedish monarch received a version of the orders insignia at their baptism. As part of a reform on orders and decorations, a law was passed in 1974 restricting the conferral of orders to foreign citizens and this law was revised in 1995 to allow members of the Swedish Royal Family to receive the order. That year, on her 18th birthday, Crown Princess Victoria became a member of the order, prince Carl Philip and Princess Madeline likewise became a knight/member of the order on their 18th birthday. Princess Leonore, daughter of Princess Madeleine and Christopher ONeill, was conferred the order at her baptism on June 8,2014. This requirement eventually died out as boards of physicians and other professionals made such supervision by the Knights of the Seraphim anachronistic during the course of the 19th century. It seems reasonable to assume, at very least, that the accounts of these earlier knightly collars influenced the choice of design for the collar of the 1748 order. This medieval custom survived into the period of the Vasa dynasty as well, similarly, John III had bestowed the Order of the Lamb of God in 1569. Queen Christina founded an Order of the Amaranth, although not at her coronation. Because of these orders the first set of statutes described the Order as revived. Also like the French royal orders of chivalry the breast stars of the Swedish orders similarly took the form of silver crosses
33.
Leutnant
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Leutnant is the lowest Lieutenant officer rank in the armed forces of Germany, Austrian Armed Forces, and military of Switzerland. The German noun (with the meaning “Stellvertreter” from Middle High German «locum tenens» Platzhalter was derived from the French word «Lieutenant» about 1500, in most German-speaking armies it is the lowest officer rank (in German-speaking navies «Leutnant zur See». In the German Bundeswehr the ranks Leutnant OF1b and Oberleutnant OF1a belong to the Leutnant rank group, in some other armed forces there is the lower grade of Unterleutnant. From about 1500 until the middle of the 17th century the designation of «Leutnant» was commonly used for any deputy to a commanding officer. So at the level there was the appointment of General-Leutnant, at the regimental level there was that of Oberst-Leutnant. With the formation of standing armies in the half of the 17th century. In the 18th and 19th century, at the unit level several Leutnants served as platoon leaders, at that time the ranks of Premier-Lieutenant and Seconde-Lieutenant came into existence. With effect from January 1,1899 in the German Empire these ranks were renamed as Oberleutnant and Leutnant, the term «Leutnant» has been used in German armed forces since 1899. In the Bundeswehr today the «Leutnant» will be appointed as platoon leader. However, the rank of «Leutnant» might also be held while an officer is studying at the University of the German Federal Armed Forces or at another training or education establishment. The «Leutnant» of the Bundeswehr belongs to the Leutnant’s rank group, in Germany Leutnant is the designation of a soldier of the lowest officer rank. The equivalent in the German Navy is the Leutnant zur See, in the GDR National Peoples Army the OF1b-rank «Leutnant» was the second lowest commissioned offer rank until 1990. This was in reference to the Soviet military doctrine and in line to other armed forces of the Warsaw pact, the equivalent rank of the Volksmarine was the Leutnant zur See, later simple Leutnant. However, internal the wording Leutnant zur See was used continuously, in reference to the Soviet armed forces and to other armed forces of the Warsaw pact Leutnant was the second lowest officer rank until 1990. In Nazi Germany, within the SS and Waffen-SS, the rank of SS-Untersturmführer was considered to be the equivalent of an Leutnant in the German Army, however, in the SA the equivalent to Leutnant was SA-Sturmführer. In Austria the Leutnant is the second lowest CO rank, mandatory to be promoted to that OF1b-rank is a six-month course of high school studies with 180 ECTS points on the Theresian Military Academy in the Wiener Neustadt. The studies are focused on “Military Command and Control” and the graduate to Bachelor. The career in the Militia is structured in a different way, here the modular education comprises the so-called one-year volunteer year as well as several courses, seminars, and exercises with a final aptitude test
34.
Oberleutnant
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Oberleutnant is the highest lieutenant officer rank in the armed forces of Germany, Austrian Armed Forces, and Military of Switzerland. In the German Army, it dates from the early 19th century, translated as senior lieutenant, the rank is typically bestowed upon commissioned officers after five to six years of active duty service. Oberleutnant is used by both the German Army and the German Air Force, in the NATO military comparison system, a German Oberleutnant is the equivalent of a First lieutenant or Poruchik in the Army/Air Forces of Allied nations. Other uses The equivalent naval rank is Oberleutnant zur See, in Nazi Germany, within the SS, SA and Waffen-SS, the rank of Obersturmführer was considered the equivalent of an Oberleutnant in the German Army. Comparative military ranks of World War I Comparative military ranks of World War II Ranks of the German Bundeswehr Rank insignia of the German Bundeswehr Yliluutnantti
35.
Hauptmann
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Hauptmann is a German word usually translated as captain when it is used as an officers rank in the German, Austrian and Swiss armies. While haupt in contemporary German means main, it also has the meaning of head, i. e. Hauptmann literally translates to head man and it equates to Captain in the British and US Armies, and is rated OF-2 in NATO. More generally, it can be used to denote the head of any hierarchically structured group of people, for example, a Feuerwehrhauptmann is the captain of a fire brigade, while the word Räuberhauptmann refers to the leader of a gang of robbers. Official Austrian/German titles incorporating the word include Landeshauptmann, Bezirkshauptmann, Burghauptmann and Berghauptmann, in Saxony during the Weimar Republic, the titles of Kreishauptmann and Amtshauptmann were held by senior civil servants. The word may cognate with the Swedish Hövitsman, which has the root meaning Head man or the man at the head and is related to the word hövding, meaning Chieftain. Since medieval times, both titles have used for state administrators rather than military personnel. See also On the shoulder there are three silver pips
36.
Major (Germany)
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For the use of this rank in other countries, see major. Major is the lowest staff officer rank in the German Army, the rank is rated OF-3 in NATO. The rank insignia is a silver oakleaf cluster with a silver pip, the OF-3 equivalent of the German Navy is the Korvettenkapitän. On the shoulder there is one silver pip in silver oak leaves. The Major rank in German speaking armed forces dates back to the Middle Ages and it equates to major in the British and US Armies, and is rated OF-3 in NATO. During World War II, the SS equivalent was Sturmbannführer, ranks of the German Bundeswehr Rank insignia of the German Bundeswehr Comparative military ranks of World War I Comparative military ranks of World War II
37.
Oberstleutnant
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For the use of this rank in other countries, see Lieutenant colonel. Oberstleutnant is a German Army and German Air Force rank equal to lieutenant colonel, above Major, see also ⇒ Artikle, Ranks of the German Bundeswehr ⇒ Artikle, Rank insignia of the German Bundeswehr There are two paygrade associated to the rank of Oberstleutnant. Paygrade A14 is the standard level paygrade whereas A15 is assigned to senior Oberstleutnant personnel, Oberstleutnant of the General Staff or Reserve have the words im Generalstabsdienst, der Reserve after their rank—thus, OTL i. G. Oberstleutnant who are retired are described as außer Dienst During World War II. On the shoulder there are two silver pips in silver oak leaves. Comparative military ranks of World War I Comparative military ranks of World War II
38.
Oberst
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Oberst is a military rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway, the Swedish rank överste is a direct translation, as are the Finnish rank eversti and the Icelandic rank ofursti. In the Netherlands the rank overste is used as a synonym for a lieutenant colonel, Oberst is the highest staff officer rank in the German Army, German Air Force. On the shoulder there are three silver pips in silver oak leaves. Spelled with a capital O, Oberst is a noun and defines the military rank of colonel or group captain. Spelled with a lower case o, or oberst, it is an adjective, meaning top, topmost, uppermost, highest, chief, head, first, principal, both usages derive from the superlative of ober, the upper or the uppermost. As a family name, Oberst is common in the southwest of Germany, the name is also concentrated in the north-central cantons of Switzerland. Here the Swiss version of Oberst is spelled Obrist, the name first appeared in the thirteenth century in the German-Swiss border area, and early forms were Zoberist and Oberist. The name most likely refers to the tribe that lives the highest on the mountain or the family that lives the highest in the village, with the emergence of professional armies in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, an Oberst became the commander of regiment or battalion-sized formations. By the eighteenth century, Obersten were typically afforded aides or lieutenants and this led to formation of the modern German rank of the same name, translated as lieutenant colonel. Oberst was used in the militaries of Germany and Austria during both World Wars, Oberst was also used as the prefix of the now obsolete SS rank of Oberstgruppenführer. The SS Standartenführer was equivalent to an Oberst, a colonel general during the World Wars was called Generaloberst. Again, rather than literally meaning colonel general, its more accurate translation is supreme general as it was normally the highest peacetime military rank, the rank of Oberst is known in American cinema, since several popular movies have featured characters holding the rank. Luftwaffe Colonel Klink of the television series Hogans Heroes was a caricature of such a character
39.
Generalmajor
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For the use of this Two-star rank in other countries, see Major general. Generalmajor, short GenMaj, is the third highest general officer rank in the German Army and this rank is also used in the Austrian Armed Forces, but is abbreviated as GenMjr. The rank is rated OF-7 in NATO, and is grade B7 in the pay rules of the Federal Ministry of Defence and it is equivalent to Konteradmiral in the German Navy or to Generalstabsarzt, and Admiralstabsarzt in the Zentraler Sanitätsdienst der Bundeswehr. On the shoulder there are two golden pips in golden oak leaves. Comparative military ranks of World War I Comparative military ranks of World War II
40.
Generalleutnant
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Generalleutnant, short GenLt, is the second highest general officer rank in the German Army, German Air Force. The rank is rated OF-8 in NATO, and is grade B7 in the pay rules of the Federal Ministry of Defence and it is equivalent to Vizeadmiral in the German Navy, or to Generaloberstabsarzt, and Admiraloberstabsarzt in the Zentraler Sanitätsdienst der Bundeswehr. On the shoulder there are three golden pips in golden oak leaves. Prior to 1945, Generalleutnant was the rank associated with the command of a division. It was thus the equivalent of the rank of general in English-speaking armies. Comparative military ranks of World War I Comparative military ranks of World War II
41.
Wayback Machine
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The Internet Archive launched the Wayback Machine in October 2001. It was set up by Brewster Kahle and Bruce Gilliat, and is maintained with content from Alexa Internet, the service enables users to see archived versions of web pages across time, which the archive calls a three dimensional index. Since 1996, the Wayback Machine has been archiving cached pages of websites onto its large cluster of Linux nodes and it revisits sites every few weeks or months and archives a new version. Sites can also be captured on the fly by visitors who enter the sites URL into a search box, the intent is to capture and archive content that otherwise would be lost whenever a site is changed or closed down. The overall vision of the machines creators is to archive the entire Internet, the name Wayback Machine was chosen as a reference to the WABAC machine, a time-traveling device used by the characters Mr. Peabody and Sherman in The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, an animated cartoon. These crawlers also respect the robots exclusion standard for websites whose owners opt for them not to appear in search results or be cached, to overcome inconsistencies in partially cached websites, Archive-It. Information had been kept on digital tape for five years, with Kahle occasionally allowing researchers, when the archive reached its fifth anniversary, it was unveiled and opened to the public in a ceremony at the University of California, Berkeley. Snapshots usually become more than six months after they are archived or, in some cases, even later. The frequency of snapshots is variable, so not all tracked website updates are recorded, Sometimes there are intervals of several weeks or years between snapshots. After August 2008 sites had to be listed on the Open Directory in order to be included. As of 2009, the Wayback Machine contained approximately three petabytes of data and was growing at a rate of 100 terabytes each month, the growth rate reported in 2003 was 12 terabytes/month, the data is stored on PetaBox rack systems manufactured by Capricorn Technologies. In 2009, the Internet Archive migrated its customized storage architecture to Sun Open Storage, in 2011 a new, improved version of the Wayback Machine, with an updated interface and fresher index of archived content, was made available for public testing. The index driving the classic Wayback Machine only has a bit of material past 2008. In January 2013, the company announced a ground-breaking milestone of 240 billion URLs, in October 2013, the company announced the Save a Page feature which allows any Internet user to archive the contents of a URL. This became a threat of abuse by the service for hosting malicious binaries, as of December 2014, the Wayback Machine contained almost nine petabytes of data and was growing at a rate of about 20 terabytes each week. Between October 2013 and March 2015 the websites global Alexa rank changed from 162 to 208, in a 2009 case, Netbula, LLC v. Chordiant Software Inc. defendant Chordiant filed a motion to compel Netbula to disable the robots. Netbula objected to the motion on the ground that defendants were asking to alter Netbulas website, in an October 2004 case, Telewizja Polska USA, Inc. v. Echostar Satellite, No.02 C3293,65 Fed. 673, a litigant attempted to use the Wayback Machine archives as a source of admissible evidence, Telewizja Polska is the provider of TVP Polonia and EchoStar operates the Dish Network
42.
Integrated Authority File
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The Integrated Authority File or GND is an international authority file for the organisation of personal names, subject headings and corporate bodies from catalogues. It is used mainly for documentation in libraries and increasingly also by archives, the GND is managed by the German National Library in cooperation with various regional library networks in German-speaking Europe and other partners. The GND falls under the Creative Commons Zero license, the GND specification provides a hierarchy of high-level entities and sub-classes, useful in library classification, and an approach to unambiguous identification of single elements. It also comprises an ontology intended for knowledge representation in the semantic web, available in the RDF format
43.
Virtual International Authority File
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The Virtual International Authority File is an international authority file. It is a joint project of national libraries and operated by the Online Computer Library Center. The project was initiated by the US Library of Congress, the German National Library, the National Library of France joined the project on October 5,2007. The project transitions to a service of the OCLC on April 4,2012, the aim is to link the national authority files to a single virtual authority file. In this file, identical records from the different data sets are linked together, a VIAF record receives a standard data number, contains the primary see and see also records from the original records, and refers to the original authority records. The data are available online and are available for research and data exchange. Reciprocal updating uses the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting protocol, the file numbers are also being added to Wikipedia biographical articles and are incorporated into Wikidata. VIAFs clustering algorithm is run every month, as more data are added from participating libraries, clusters of authority records may coalesce or split, leading to some fluctuation in the VIAF identifier of certain authority records
Generaloberst
