Otto Brauer
Kapitän zur See Otto Brauer (29 December, 1880 – 30 December, 1958) was an officer in the Imperial German Navy.
He is not the same man as Otto Breuer, who also commanded German capital ships in this period.
Life & Career
From the crew of 1900, he started World War I as First Officer of S.M.S. Luchs in the Kreuzergeschwader under von Spee and along with his C.O. Korvettenkapitän Thierichens, took command of the raider Prinz Eitel Friedrich which was outfitted for raiding in China. After a fairly eventful raiding career, this ship was interned in Newport News, Virginia on 11 March 1915 for overstaying her visit and violating the rules of neutrality.[1]
Brauer escaped after a month and, disguised as a Norwegian seaman, returned to Germany where he went through a succession of posts as Torpedo Officer aboard the battlecruiser Lützow and later Seydlitz. After Seydlitz was interned, the Kapitän zur See William Taegert, captain of Seydlitz returned to Germany and Brauer became the captain for internment on 5 December, 1918 until 21 June, 1919 when Seydlitz was scuttled in Scapa Flow.[2][3]
He then returned to Germany along with his remaining crew in 1920 and served in the RMA from 1920-1923. He worked in the Nautical Department as a civilian editing navigational handbooks, continuing in a similar role in World War II. Near the end of World War II, he was shot in the lung and later robbed. He was found in the street half-starved and poisoned and taken in and cared for by a woman he married in 1947. [4]
See Also
- His 1917 book, "Kreuzerfahrten des Prinz Eitel Friedrich" on Google Books
Bibliography
Service Records
| Naval Appointments | ||
| Preceded by William Taegert |
Captain of S.M.S. Seydlitz 5 Dec, 1918[5] – 21 Jun, 1919[6] |
Succeeded by Vessel Scuttled |
Footnotes
- ↑ Stuart Haller, email to Tony Lovell, Aug 20 2012.
- ↑ Dave Allton on GWPDA
- ↑ Stuart Haller, email to Tony Lovell, Aug 20 2012
- ↑ Stuart Haller, email to Tony Lovell, Aug 20 2012
- ↑ Dave Alton on GWPDA
- ↑ Dave Alton on GWPDA
